Tejay van Garderen wins Volta a Catalunya's big mountain stage

Chris Froome finishes seventh in poor weather conditions; Joaquim Rodriguez maintains overall race lead

Tejay Van Garderen wins stage four of the 2014 Tour of Catalonia

(Image credit: Watson)

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) claimed stage four of the 2014 Volta a Catalunya on Thursday, conquering the race's queen stage at Vallter 2000 in misty, freezing conditions.

It's van Garderen's first victory of the 2014 season, and the American can be rightly satisfied to have beaten Grand Tour rivals Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Chris Froome (Sky) in one of the year's first big mountain tests.

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