Michal Kwiatkowski, despite having to battle a 10% gradient with 1km to go with other GC contenders up the road, finished 7th in one of the most crucial stages of the race: 244km Stage 4 on Saturday.

The finish in Cittareale (Selva Rotonda) included a 4.65km climb averaging 6.4%. Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff-Saxo) was able to get a solo advantage going into the steepest section, but was joined by Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Richie Porte (Team Sky). Contador was able to win by a second over Quintana, and 5" over Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha), who had bridged in the final meters. 

Kwiatkowski was led up the final climb by a hard working Rigoberto Uran Uran and Wout Poels. The duo used up all the energy he had helping minimize the time gaps for Kwiatkowski in the Maglia Azzurra.

Kwiatkowski now leads the GC by 16" over Contador, and 23" over Quintana. Uran is 5th in the GC, 38" back.

"I'm really happy that I'm still in the leader's jersey," Kwiatkowski said. "We expected some big attacks from Contador and Quintana, and they did them. They really pushed me to the limit but I'm really thankful to Wouter Poels, who lead for seven kilometres on the climb, and Rigo Urán because they really did a good job for me. They set a good tempo on the last climb and I didn't lose so much time.

"I knew that I couldn't follow the attacks because they could really blow me up but I was able to handle the small difference between us. That's my style, my technique.

"It was a pretty hard stage, but fighting against the best climbers in the world is always hard to do. But, actually I am really happy about what my teammates did. Wout Poels pulled for 7 kilometers in the end. That was the first time he could really help me this season and I was really impressed by what he did. Seven kilometers on that climb, we had a headwind for a few kilometers. I'm very impressed and thankful for him.

"Then I had Rigo at the end, and he did a great job for me. We set our own pace. I didn't lose much time to Alberto. But, he had a good day today so congratulations to him. I'm very happy I defended the jersey.

"He [Contador] was strong. He has this day and tomorrow where he can gain seconds on the GC. He's the biggest contender for winning the whole of Tirreno. It's normal that he won.

"Everything's going well for me but tomorrow is the last mountain stage. I expect even more attacks tomorrow than today because the climbers know they can gain some time. I'll try to do my best and my team as well.

"I think tomorrow it's going to be the last day when the climbers can gain some time. I think everything will be close. You see everyone looking for bonifications, but It's not just important to get a few seconds. It's also important to win a stage. Alberto was looking for the stage today because 10" is important at the end of this Tirreno-Adriatico. I expect some big efforts by the GC competitors and we will see how it is tomorrow.

“We [Kwiatkowski and Contador] both rode the time trial in [the Tour of] the Algarve [NOTE:Kwiatkowski beat Contador by 20 seconds over 13.6 km], so I’m pretty confident, but you never know: it’s the last day after a long and hard Tirreno-Adriatico, probably our time-trailling skills may be not so important. Who’s going to save more energy may be decisive."

You can read our preview of stage 5 here.