Madrid, Aug 30 (IANS): Kaden Groves of Alpecin-Deceuninck clinched the fourth stage of the Vuelta a Espana in a thrilling sprint finish.

The Australian delivered a powerful sprint on a slight uphill stretch to the finish line, overtaking Sebastian Molano of the UAE Team Emirates in the last moments to win by approximately two bike lengths, reports Xinhua.

Spanning 185 kilometers from Andorra la Velle to Tarragona, this stage was one of the limited opportunities for sprinters in this year's Vuelta. Though a trio broke away early on, their chance of success was slim.

The main group reeled in the breakaway 19 minutes from the finish. Boosted by a tailwind on the descent following the day's second short climb, the peloton's speed neared 60 kilometers per hour. As they approached the finish, sprinters' teams began setting up their primary riders, while teams focused on the general classification maintained a brisk pace to safeguard their top competitors.

Amidst the battle for position, a crash occurred just over 4 kilometers from the end due to a wheel touch. This unfortunate event took down several riders, including Cofidis' Bryan Coquard - a stage favorite.

Another top contender, Marijn van den Berg from EF Education-EasyPost, misjudged the final turn while leading and went down, leaving Molano and Groves to duke it out in the sprint. Although Molano initially seemed poised for victory, the final stretch was too much for him, allowing Groves, known for his uphill sprints, to seize the win.

The overall standings remained unchanged: Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-QuickStep retained the lead, trailed by Enric Mas of Movistar by five seconds and Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo Visma 31 seconds back in fourth.