Wout Poels stormed to a classy solo victory on stage four at Tirreno-Adriatico and moved himself into the race lead. The Dutchman launched a perfectly timed attack over the top of the Crispiero climb and rode clear of a quality group of contenders to win the stage by 14 seconds.

That was enough to hand the 27-year-old the Maglia Azzurra and a 17-second overall lead with three stages to go. Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quick-Step) led home a reduced peloton in Castelraimondo, out-sprinting Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) for the remaining bonus seconds behind a jubilant Poels.

After taking the biggest win of his career Poels told TeamSky.com:

“It was a really nice attack and a great way to take the victory. I'm really happy. It's awesome to take the victory on a stage like this, and against riders like that, as well as taking the jersey. I've worked really hard with the team this winter and also training at altitude with Froomey. I really like this race and I always seem to go well here.

“The plan today was to follow, lose no time, and stay with the best GC riders. We spoke before the stage about attacking if I had really good legs, but not too early in the stage. I had good legs, and I didn’t go too early, so the plan was perfect. I know Contador is also in really good shape, and the others too, but today I was the strongest on the final climb. It was a really good moment to attack and afterwards it was only downhill, so I was lucky.

“When you see your team-mates winning, you want to win yourself. I was the lucky one today. Having said that, I worked really hard this winter, and trained at altitude for the first time in my life. It is great to win a stage and take the lead at a really nice race like Tirreno Adriatico, and so early in the season. It was really disappointing for me that I couldn’t ride my first race with [Chris Froome], because I really want to go to the Tour de France with him to work. We have to see if I fit in the team. On the other hand, it was an opportunity for me to get a good result, and good for the team that they can win and get good results. Chris is also happy for me because we’ve done a lot of training together.
 

Looking ahead to Sunday's queen stage, Poels is up for the challenge and ready to defend his newly acquired jersey.

"I'm in good shape and I like climbing so I don't care how long the climb is. I feel good and we've got a good team here. We'll see what happens.

“Yeah, maybe after today I am the favourite. I’m in really good shape, I feel really good, and normally the long climbs are not so bad for me. The jersey gives me confidence and I feel I can keep it. But there are still 3 more stages and a time trial, Urán is also in really good shape, Contador also. The gap is 17 seconds I think: not a huge amount but not a small advantage either. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. The race is not done, and we will see.”

The longest stage of the race burst into life late on with a tricky finale. Earlier fans were treated to the unusual sight of two Orica-GreenEdge riders heading up the road. Luke Durbridge and Mathew Hayman combined to create a powerful and focused partnership.

The Aussie duo saw their advantage pegged at around the seven-minute mark but both men crashed and were finally caught heading into the final 20km. Michele Scarponi (Astana), Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) attacked first time over the Crispiero, and were joined by Daniel Moreno (Katusha) in a dangerous quartet.

The pace rose in the bunch but with 10km remaining the race came back together after Tinkoff-Saxo chased it down. That set the scene for the final climb and with overnight leader Greg van Avermaet (BMC Racing) in difficulties Poels took his opportunity with both hands and grabbed a memorable victory.

"Wout did a great job. It was a perfect attack," said Sports Director Dario Cioni after the stage. "We spoke ahead of the stage that if the guys felt good there was an opportunity to try something. We don't have Chris (Froome) here so guys like Wout could have a bit more of a free role as they are less marked.

"It's a tough stage tomorrow but so was today and he was the strongest. We'll throw everything behind him and give Wout our support."