Corbin Strong retakes Tour de Wallonie lead after stage 4
Corbin Strong moved a step closer to claiming the first GC victory of his pro career on Tuesday as he retook the Tour de Wallonie race lead after a challenging fourth stage.
After dominating the finish in Nassogne in Saturday’s opener, Strong placed second in Seraing following the toughest stage of the UCI ProSeries to date, one that retraced parts of the Liège – Bastogne – Liège route.
The 25-year-old was part of a four-rider group that went clear on the uncategorised Côte de la Haute Rochette with 7.5 kilometers remaining.
Despite being beaten by Mathias Vacek (LTK) at the finish, Strong moved back into the orange jersey thanks to the time bonus he took at the race’s intermediate sprint in Flémalle.
He holds a one-second advantage over Vacek entering Wednesday’s final stage, which is again suited to puncheurs like the Kiwi.
He says: “I had a lot of fun racing today. In the finish I was scared of getting caught with 500m to go like yesterday so I made the decision to risk the stage win, to get some time on GC.
“Unfortunately, Vacek got the jump on me and I couldn’t recover to win the stage, but I’m happy with how today went. To be back in the overall GC lead means it was a successful day.”
Taking the GC victory at the Tour de Wallonie would be additionally satisfying for Strong. Last year, he finished second overall, level on time with winner Matteo Trentin, having been controversially relegated for his sprint on stage 4 – something that ultimately cost him the GC after it was decided on countback.
“Tomorrow will be a big challenge to defend the GC, but I’m looking forward to the race,” Strong adds.
