Fabio Jakobsen barely endured a remarkable fightback from Ireland's Sam Bennett in a dramatic photo finish.
The Dutch cyclist held Bennett off to win the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Tuesday.
Jakobsen claimed the narrowest of victories in El Puig after a head-to-head sprint with Bennett towards the end.
Photo finish
Jakobsen, a member of the Deceuninck-QuickStep team won in dramatic fashion. He picked up his first grand tour victory in his Vuelta debut appearance.
Bennett made a last-minute surge as he recovered from a wrong turn. Bennett took a wrong turn around a roundabout which cost him the race.
The Irish cyclist made the costly mistake when he went right around the penultimate roundabou with just over 5km to go which lost precious time on the leaders.
Germany's Maximilian Walscheid of Team Sunweb came in third. Walscheid's Team Sunwebwhile team-mate Nicolas Roche from Ireland retained the overall leader's red jersey.
Roche maintained his lead over Movistar's Nairo Quintana and EF Education First's Rigoberto Uran.
Focusing on the finish
"I don't know how close it was, maybe a couple of millimetres," Jakobsen said. "I just threw my bike at the line," he added.Jakobsen shared that he knew he won after seeing guys from his team cheering. I couldn't see clearly however as he had his eyes closed as he was nearing the finish.
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Max Walscheid (Ger) Sunweb
4. Fernando Gaviria (Col) UAE Team Emirates
5. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Marc Sarreau (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team
8. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
9. Jon Aberasturi (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
10. Juan Sebastián Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates, all at same time
2. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 2 seconds
3. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education First, at 8s
4. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Mitchelton-Scott, at 22s
5. Miguel Ángel López (Col) Astana, at 33s
6. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 35s
7. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education First, at 37s
8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Sunweb, at 38s
9. Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 46s
10. Rafał Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
Results
Vuelta a España 2019, stage four: Cullera to El Puig (175.5km)
1.Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck – Quick-Step, in 4-04-162. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Max Walscheid (Ger) Sunweb
4. Fernando Gaviria (Col) UAE Team Emirates
5. Luka Mezgec (Slo) Mitchelton-Scott
6. Marc Sarreau (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Szymon Sajnok (Pol) CCC Team
8. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data
9. Jon Aberasturi (Esp) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
10. Juan Sebastián Molano (Col) UAE Team Emirates, all at same time
General classification after stage four
1. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Sunweb, in 13-55-302. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 2 seconds
3. Rigoberto Urán (Col) EF Education First, at 8s
4. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Mitchelton-Scott, at 22s
5. Miguel Ángel López (Col) Astana, at 33s
6. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 35s
7. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education First, at 37s
8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Sunweb, at 38s
9. Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 46s
10. Rafał Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at same time
What are your thoughts on Fabio Jakobsen's narrow win? Let us know in the comments below.
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