Higuita wins fourth stage, takes Tour Colombia lead

SANTA ROSA DE VITERBO, Colombia: Rising star Sergio Higuita beat Tour de France champion Egan Bernal into second on Friday to claim victory on the fourth stage of the Tour Colombia and move into the overall lead.

The Colombian national road race champion timed his attack to perfection on the third category climb to the finish of the 169km stage from Paipa to Santa Rosa de Viterbo, with Bernal settling for second and French star Julian Alaphilippe third.

It was a repeat of the Colombian road race result earlier this month when Higuita pipped Bernal.

Higuita said he “sprinted with my heart to the end”.

At just 22, a year younger than Bernal, Higuita is quickly making a name for himself and last year won a stage at the Vuelta a Espana before finishing 14th overall.

On the back of two successive sprint stages, Friday’s finishing climb gave the overall contenders a chance to shine but also pitted pure climbers like Higuita against puncheurs like Alaphilippe in a thrilling battle.