Sean Flynn sprints 9th for Team dsm-firmenich on Stage 4 of Vuelta a España

On the first opportunity for the sprinters at this year’s Vuelta a España, Sean Flynn sprinted to a fine ninth place, after the team were active in the chase the whole day.

After the start in Andorra la Vella this morning, the three-man breakaway went clear to create a stable race situation early on. In the bunch, Team dsm-firmenich were immediately active in the chase with Romain Combaud and Chris Hamilton helping to keep the three leaders close to setup for a sprint finale. The rest of the team looked after each other well and made sure that sprinter Alberto made it over the two climbs of the day in the best possible condition. The three riders upfront never got much more than two minutes advantage to the peloton and were caught at 18 kilometres before the finish.

Coming into the final, the guys found each other early and picked their position not far from the front of the bunch. Into the final 10 kilometres the run-in was quite technical, with some roundabouts en route to the finish. As expected, things were quite hectic in the final and unfortunately some riders hit the deck. Sean Flynn tried to bring Alberto to the front for the final kick to the line, but they lost each other in the chaos and Sean led the team over the line in a fine ninth place.

Speaking after the stage Flynn expressed: “We did a good job at the start, making sure the break was easy to control. Romain [Combaud] and Chris did a really good job throughout the day, to keep the break close so that we could have a sprint with Alberto. We passed the climbs in good position and didn’t waste too much energy. Into the final, we tried our best to stick together, but it got super chaotic with the crash and all the roundabouts and technical corners. I tried my best to help Alberto to get in good position, but unfortunately we didn’t arrive in the perfect spot and didn’t get the result we came for, but we will try again tomorrow.”

Team dsm-firmenich coach Phil West added: “The break that went on the start was exactly what we wanted and we then chased together with Alpecin. Romain [Combaud] did a really good job there, chasing for almost 150 kilometres. We were then able to come over the last climb in a really good way, also with Alberto. It was a pretty chaotic final and we were not good enough as a team to do, what we wanted to do today. But we will evaluate that and come back swinging for the next stages.”