Slovenian Martin Hvastija (Alessio) took the fourth stage of the Ruta del Sol in Spain on Wednesday — a 175km run from Cabra to Benalmadena. Hvastja finished in a time of 4:39.27.

Leonardo Piepoli (iBanesto.com) was 27 seconds back in second, while Dave Bruylandts (Domo-Farm Frites) was third, 48 seconds off the pace.

There were no changes in the overall standings, as Rabobank’s Erik Dekker finished 10th, maintaining his lead. Rabobank teammate Marc Wauters remained second, six seconds back of Dekker, while Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Sheffr (Alessio) is still third, trailing by nine seconds. Floyd Landis (Mercury-Viatel) is the top American at 11th overall, 2:40 back.

Hvastija began the day more than 10 minutes behind in the overall standings, so few were concerned when he built a lead that topped out at six minutes. Still the victory has to be considered the biggest of his five-year career.

Up they go: The Spanish countryside provided pleasant scenery.

Photo: Graham Watson

The five-day race finishes up on Thursday with a 171km stage from Humilladero to Granada, which includes three category 3 climbs and one category 2 ascent.

Copyright AFP 2001