Lopez claims 4th stage, overall lead in Catalonia

MADRID, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Colombian cyclist Miguel Angel 'Superman' Lopez (Astana) claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Volta de Catalonya (Tour of Catalonia) on Thursday.

Lopez timed his attack to perfection on the final climb of the second consecutive day in the high mountains to finish ahead of the chasing group of climbers.

Thursday's stage between Llanars and the mountaintop finish of La Molina was only 150 kilometers long but included two first category and one special category climb.

The stage saw an important breakaway led by Marc Solar (Movistar), which was only reeled in with around 5 kilometers to go by a select group of the race favorites, although Solar was able to hang on to that group .

Egan Bernal (Sky), Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) were in the group, along with Wednesday's winner Adam Yates and his brother Simon (Mitchelton-Scott).

Lopez used his strength to escape with Soler (who made another huge effort) and Gregor Muhlberger (Bora) with Adam Yates and Bernal in pursuit and he opened up enough of a gap after taking risks on a short downhill before the final ramps to the finish line.

The Colombian left Soler in his wake in the final straight and claimed the stage by 16 seconds ahead of Muhlberger, but thanks to the 10-second time bonus for winning the stage, he also becomes the overall leader of the race, replacing Thomas De Gendt, who was dropped on the penultimate climb.

Lopez now holds a 14 second lead over Adam Yates in the overall classification with Bernal a further two seconds behind.

Friday's 188-kilometer fifth stage kicks off with a climb, but the second half of the day is relatively flat and probably won't produce and major changes in the overall standings.