An exciting final in the fourth stage of the 40th Settimana Ciclistica Lombarda was won by Josè Rodolfo Serpa Perez, after the jury decided that Matteo Carrara needed to be relegated to third place. In the 153km stage, Michele Scarponi finished second and increased his lead in the overall to Riccardo Riccò to 30 seconds.
Serpa Perez, Scarponi and Carrara had escaped on the final climb of the day, the Gandosso. Scarponi was the first to give up in the sprint, which then pitted Serpa Perez against Carrara. Carrara squeezed Serpa Perez against the barriers in the sprint and the jury was quick to relegate Carrara to third place.
The chasers were led home by Johann Tschopp five seconds later. Carrara was also given a 30-second penalty for his aggressive riding, which dropped him to fourth place in the overall classification.
The break of the day developed at km 19, when eight riders took off. Six more joined at km 30. The maximum gap was 3'41 at km 80. The break was caught at km 144, with the ascent of the Gandosso looming.
Przemyslaw Niemiec, fourth in the overall, made the first move. He was followed by Scarponi, Serpa Perez, Carrara and Zanasca. The latter was dropped in the final kilometer.
Tomorrow is the final stage, 153km from La Montello-Bergamo di km 153.
Results - 152,8 km
1. Josè Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Androni Giocattoli - Diquigiovanni)in 3h28'33 (avg 43,961 km/h)
2. Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli - Diquigiovanni)
3. Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team)
4. Johann Tschopp (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) at 0'05
5. Nicolas Schnyder (Price – Custom Bikes)
6. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Miche)
7. Luca Zanasca (CDC – Cavaliere)
8. Bartosz Huzarski (ISD – Neri) at 0'08
9. Fortunato Baliani (Miche)
10. Emanuele Sella (Carmiooro Ngc)
Standings after stage four
1. Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli - Diquigiovanni)
2. Riccardo Ricco' (Ceramica Flaminia) 0'30
3. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Miche) 0'35
4. Matteo Carrara (Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team) 0'42
5. Luca Zanasca (Cdc – Cavaliere) 0'45
6. Riccardo Chiarini (De Rosa - Stac Plastic) 1'00
7. Fortunato Baliani (Miche) 1'01
8. Johann Tschopp (Bbox Bouygues Telecom) 1'07
9. Emanuele Sella (Carmiooro Ngc) 1'09
10. Jose' Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Androni Giocattoli – Diquigiovanni) 1'10