The fourth stage of the 48. Giro delle Dolomiti led the cyclists on Thursday over the legendary queen of pass roads, the Stelvio Pass. Once again, the German Meyer siblings came to the fore: Janine Meyer celebrated her fourth stage win in a row in the women's race, while her husband Michael Meyer set the fastest time for the men.
The organizers around ASD Giro delle Dolomiti President Bettina Ravanelli were initially concerned about the weather forecast. However, the predicted thunderstorm cleared in the morning and the 400 or so participants were able to start in good conditions at around 9 am. Although there was high fog and cool temperatures on the Stelvio Pass at 2758 meters above sea level, it remained dry and nothing stood in the way of the popular stage.
Janine Meyer remains the undisputed overall leader of the 48th Giro delle Dolomiti. She reached the finish on the Stelvio Pass in an impressive 53:05 minutes and is unlikely to be caught in the overall standings. The Cologne native has a lead of over nine minutes on her compatriot and last year's winner Julia Jedelhauser, who secured second place on Thursday (54:22 minutes). Carmen Moser from Sarn came third on the day (57:21 minutes). In the overall standings, Jedelhauser and Moser are separated by just under two minutes, which means that the overall runner-up will not be decided until the final stage.
An overall victory for a Meyer is also on the cards in the men's race. Michael Meyer crossed the finish line on the Stelvio Pass in first place in 51:14 minutes. Georg Widmann from Tramin, who would have been just 25 seconds behind in the overall standings, was unable to take part in the final stage for work reasons. Behind Meyer, Widmann crossed the finish line in 52:39 minutes, followed by Dutchman Marco Van Schijndel (53:23 minutes). Without Widmann, the German Philipp Sprüssel moves into pole position for second place overall, closely followed by several cyclists, which could still provide some suspense.
The fifth and final stage of the 48th Giro delle Dolomiti takes place on Friday and leads from Bolzano via Blumau to Fiè and Siusi. The last mountain time trial climbs from St. Valentin to Compatsch (6.2 kilometers / 530 vertical meters). After the 80-kilometre stage with an altitude difference of 1775 meters, lunch and the award ceremony will be held at the Bolzano Exhibition Centre, which will bring the Giro delle Dolomiti to a festive close.
Results stage 4 - Top 5 men:
Michael Meyer (GER) 51:14 minutes
- Georg Widmann (ITA) 52:39 minutes
- Marco Van Schijndel (NED) 53:23 minutes
- Jochen Wallenborn (GER) 55:02 minutes
- Andreas Crivellin (AUT) 56:12 minutes
Stage 4 results - Top 5 women:
- Janine Meyer (GER) 53:05 minutes
- Julia Jedelhauser (GER) 54:22 minutes
- Carmen Moser (ITA) 57:21 minutes
- Finja Winterholler (GER) 1:11:34 hours
- Valentina Kostner (ITA) 1:16:11 hours
