Stage four of Tour de l’Ardeche was a race towards the Station du Mont Serien atop Mont Ventoux. The 116km stage, full of action, was won by Eider Merino (Spanish national team) with Kasia Niewiadoma finishing fourth on the stage. The CANYON//SRAM Racing rider also maintains her lead in the QOM classification.

“Again, it was a hard day of racing! Many things were happening throughout the stage so there was no time for boredom which I liked,” said Niewiadoma.

“The last huge mountain was brutal. I’m feeling very tired and I gave my best but it was enough for only fourth place. I was happy to have my teammates be around me all the time. Tiff (Cromwell) and Alexis (Ryan) especially, they are unbreakable!”

Niewiadoma keeps her second position on the overall classification, eight seconds behind leader Margarita Garcia (Spanish national team). Her teammate Tanja Erath, reclaimed the Rush Classification jersey after her win in the first intermediate sprint of the stage.

Today’s fifth stage, from Grandrieu to Mont Lozére is set to be another day for the climbers to relish with close to 2700m of elevation for the 138km stage. The stage starts at 13:00 CEST.

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