Scott Thwaites not just at the Vuelta a España 'to make up the numbers'

By getting out in the successful breakaway on stage four of the Vuelta a España, Scott Thwaites prooved he's more-than ready for his first Grand Tour

Scott Thwaites escapes on stage 4 of the 2016 Vuelta a España (Watson)

(Image credit: Watson)

Scott Thwaites (Bora-Argon 18) is pleased to be racing his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España, but says that he did not come to Spain simply to make up the numbers. That showed on stage four when he attacked and rode free in the summit finish stage to San Andrés de Teixido.

The 26-year-old Yorkshireman escaped, his first time to do so in a Grand Tour, with team-mate Cesare Benedetti and 19 others. They succeeded through the northwest costal region of Galicia; Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie) won the stage, Darwin Atapuma (BMC) took the leader's jersey and Benedetti placed tenth. Thwaites too held off the Chris Froome (Sky) group to place 17th.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.