Team Visma | Lease a Bike unable to compete for victory in tough finale of fourth stage Tour of Britain

# Team Visma | Lease a Bike Faces Challenges in Tough Fourth Stage of Tour of Britain

In a grueling fourth stage of the Tour of Britain, Team Visma | Lease a Bike battled through a demanding 185-kilometre route from Atherstone to Burton Dassett. This longest stage of the race featured undulating terrain, culminating in a series of steep climbs in the finale that tested the riders’ endurance.

From the outset, a breakaway group of four cyclists made their move, but the field swiftly began to close in on them as they entered the local laps. Notably, Remco Evenepoel initiated an attack on the first passage of the finish line, successfully linking up with the breakaway. However, the peloton quickly regrouped, making the climb more challenging for the general classification leader, Olav Kooij, who struggled to keep pace but persevered at his own tempo.

Despite multiple attempts to break away, the main group arrived at the final kilometres largely intact. In the challenging steep last kilometre, Matthew Brennan, last stage’s winner, found himself unpositioned to capitalize on another potential victory, ultimately finishing in fourteenth place but retaining a strong second overall in the standings.

Team Sports Director Marc Reef commented on the team’s strategy: “Due to the profile of today’s stage, we decided to take a slightly more defensive approach and let other teams control the race. Over the past few days, we’ve used a lot of energy securing stage wins with Olav and Matthew. Today, Matthew had another chance to see how far he could go. Thomas Gloag also rode a strong race. He did an excellent job several times by neutralising attacks from others. In the end, Matthew was just a bit too far back to fight for the win, but he still finished strongly. Tomorrow brings another tough stage with a summit finish. Thomas will have another opportunity to show what he can do there as well.”

### Stage 4 Results
1. Romain Grégoire (Groupama – FDJ) – 04:06:18
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – +00:00:00
3. Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain – Victorious) – +00:00:02
14. Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:00:02
38. Thomas Gloag (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:00:25
73. Julien Vermote (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:04:17
92. Edoardo Affini (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:04:58
93. Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:04:58
Loe van Belle (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – DNF

### Overall Standings
1. Romain Grégoire (Groupama – FDJ) – 13:55:08
2. Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:00:02
3. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – +00:00:04
38. Thomas Gloag (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:00:35
72. Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:04:48
90. Julien Vermote (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:07:59
93. Edoardo Affini (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +00:09:13

As the Tour of Britain progresses, all eyes will be on the next stage, featuring a demanding summit finish where Team Visma | Lease a Bike will hope to leverage their strengths and regain momentum.