Jolien d'Hoore (centre) after winning the fourth stage of the women's Giro d'Italia ©GiroRosaCycling

So close was the sprint that closed the 118 kilometres fourth stage of the women’s Giro d’Italia in Occhiobello that Jolien d’Hoore, the Belgian national champion riding for Wiggle-High 5, congratulated her former team-mate Chloe Hosking, an Australian riding for Ale Ciollini, on her victory before the photo-finish equipment testified that it was d’Hoore who had earned the win.

The United States Coryn Rivera, of Team Sunweb, took third place on a day when second stage winner Annemiek van Vleuten, riding for Orica-Scott, missed a crucial break and dropped from second to fourth overall, with the race leader remaining her Netherlands team-mate Anna van der Breggen.

What was expected to be a day for the sprinters rather than the climbers in the Giro Rosa came to life dring the final 50km when the Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team split the peloton in the crosswinds.

"We went to the front as a full team and didn't look back," Lizzie Deignan, Britain’s 2015 world road race champion, told Cyclingnews.

"The gap increased sufficiently for me to make the call for Anna [van der Breggen], Megan [Guarnier] and Amalie [Dideriksen] to stay in the wheels.

"It was down to the rest of us to push as hard as we could for as long as we could."

The winning time was 2 hours 42min 04sec. 

Jolien d’Hoore, the Belgian national champion, wins the fourth stage of the women's Giro d'Italia from Chloe Hosking on a photo-finish in Occhiobello ©GiroRosaCycling
Jolien d’Hoore, the Belgian national champion, wins the fourth stage of the women's Giro d'Italia from Chloe Hosking on a photo-finish in Occhiobello ©GiroRosaCycling

Van Vleuten, who began the day just 18 seconds behind van der Breggen, dropped down to fourth place at 2min 17sec behind.

Italy's Elisa Longo Borghini from Wiggle-High5 moved up to second place at 26-seconds.

Guarnier, America's defending champion from Boels-Dolmans, jumped from fourth place to third at 1:57.

"The GC (general classification) has been shaken up," Deignan added.

"We are in a really strong position.

"We are really confident heading into the second-half of the race.

"Every rider on our team is strong and motivated - that makes us hard to beat."

Tomorrow is due to be a 12.73km individual time trial in Sant'Elpidio a Mare.