Lennard Kaemna put in a clever ride to win the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia at Mount Etna on Monday.

The German took the victory after a sprint finish with Juan Pedro Lopez, though there was sufficient consolation for the Spaniard as he now holds the maglia rosa.

It was Kaemna's first stage win in the Giro, and his second Grand Tour victory following the Villard-de-Lans stage at the 2020 Tour de France.

Lopez at 24 years of age is the youngest Spanish rider in the maglia rosa ever, taking the record from Alberto Contador (2008).

After the win, Kaemna revealed his belief of a "tacit agreement" for him to take the stage victory and Lopez to claim the maglia rosa, though that did not appear to be the case as Lopez turned the final corner without allowing much space.

"It was a very tough lap, especially the final climb," Kaemna said. "I thought it was gone when Lopez was signaled at 30. When I took him back maybe there was a tacit agreement, stop with me and maglia rosa with him.

"I'm happy to have won a stage, it takes a lot of pressure off the team too."

A 14-man breakaway had established a lead of over seven minutes as the climb to Mount Etna began, with Alpecin Fenix's Stefano Oldani eventually making a move out in front with six other riders.

However, Lopez took control after that, before Kaemna joined him for the last 2.5km as the duo set up an exciting finish, which the latter took on the final corner.

MOTORBIKE CRASH ALMOST RUINS RACE

The day did not get off to the best start for many riders as a motorbike caused a crash in the early phases of stage four.

The motorbike was part of the race convoy and had moved close to a tightly-packed peloton, before it clipped something at the side of the road and went down, causing several riders to fall with it, while many others were forced to stop.

Roger Kluge of Lotto Soudal seemed to hit the vehicle directly as he was riding behind it, but the German was able to get up and continue his race.

STAGE RESULT  

1. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 4:32:11  
2. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) same time  
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:34  
4. Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal) +2:12
5. Mauri Vansevenant (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) +2:12 

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS  

General Classification  

1. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 14:17:07  
2. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:39
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:58

Points Classification   

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) 62  
2. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 55  
3. Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) 53  

King of the Mountains  

1. Lennard Kaemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) 40 
2. Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-Segafredo) 18  
3. Rein Taaramae (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 12