Santiago Buitrago flew to victory on stage four of Paris-Nice, as the Bahrain-Victorious rider attacked from a late move to triumph on Mont Brouilly.
His companion in the winning move, Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), could not hang on on the final climb, but did take the yellow jersey, a good consolation prize.
There was little to separate the other general classification hopefuls, but the top ten has now been reshaped as a result of UAE Team Emirates' four star riders losing time.
Plapp powered off the front with 25km to go, accompanied by Louis Vervaeke (Soudal Quick-Step), who unwittingly kickstarted the winning move of the day, meaning his team leader Remco Evenepoel could not claim it.
He was then joined by Buitrago with 22km, at which stage the pair had just 10 seconds on the group of leaders, with there not really being much of a peloton to speak of anymore.
However, working together, the pair were able to contest the final climb of Mont Brouilly for victory, with Buitrago leaving Plapp behind with just over a kilometre to go. Plapp hung on to claim enough time on previous leader Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates), to take the yellow jersey.
After the pair had crossed the line, the other GC hopefuls were left to battle it out, but with little time gained or lost. Evenepoel attempted to claim some bonus seconds, but was outsprinted by Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek). Evenepoel sits in fifth, 30 seconds behind Plapp now, after he also gained six bonus seconds on the intermediate sprint.
The other pre-race favourite, Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), is in 15th, 1-10 down.
Evenepoel described the day as "very good" post-stage.
"I thought I was third, then I was shown that Plapp was still in front," the Belgian said. "I thought I took seconds on the line, but it’s not a big thing. I think it was overall a good stage for us.
"The tactics of UAE were a bit strange, to let the guy go all of a sudden, especially if you have four guys in the classification. In the end, Vine stopped riding, which was unfortunate for all of us, and all of the GC guys that Buitrago and Plapp, two dangerous guys, could stay away. Overall, [it was] a very good day for us."
"Luke is 30 ahead, which is not a nice present to go into the final weekend with," he continued. "Two good climbers [up there], in good shape. We’re going to have to sit down and have a good think about the tactics, and hopefully some other teams don’t let them go again. I don’t want to blame anybody, it was just a bit unfortunate for two guys to take 40 seconds out of nowhere."
"I didn't really expect it today..." a smiling Buitrago said post-stage. "You never know how things are going to come out in the wash, but I'm really happy. Winning here is amazing for me."
The win was the Colombian's first of 2024, and the first on French soil. Meanwhile, it was Plapp's second time in a WorldTour leader's jersey, after the UAE Tour last year, but his first since moving to Jayco AlUla.
RESULTS: Paris-Nice stage four, Chalon-sur-Saône > Mont Brouilly (183km)
1. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain-Victorious, in 4:25:52
2. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +10s
3. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +37s
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, s.t.
5. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +39s
6. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
7. Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe
8. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, all s.t.
9. Harold Tejada (Col) Astana-Qazaqstan, +43s
10. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, +46s
General classification after stage four
1. Luke Plapp (Aus) Jayco AlUla, in 13:15:04
2. Santiago Buitrago (Col) Bahrain-Victorious, +13s
3. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, +27s
4. João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates, +29s
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +30s
6. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, +40s
7. Chris Harper (Aus) Jayco AlUla, +46s
8. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +52s
9. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education-EasyPost, +54s
10. Carlos Rodríguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers, +1:02
