López capitalised on an attack inside the final 10 kilometres to go clear with a 30 second gap at one point as the finish line grew nearer, until Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) managed to bridge across and out-sprint the Spaniard to the stage win.
While he was frustrated to not get the victory after misjudging the final corner, López still had much to cheer about as he took over the overall lead by 39 seconds, with stage rival Kämna in second.
López became the first Spaniard since 2015 to wear the pink jersey, emulating Contador who won that year's Giro. Contador also took a stage win on Etna in 2011, the statistics meaning more to López as the pair are closely linked.
López was a product of Contador's cycling foundation, based in Pinto, to help foster young Spanish talent. López progressed to El Pistolero's professional team in 2018, Polartec-Kometa where he rode for a year until signing on with Trek-Segafredo in mid 2019.
With such strong links to his prolific fellow countryman, naturally López was prepared to field questions about comparisons between the two, and was overjoyed to be able to succeed Contador the way he did.
"Everybody I’ve spoken to has talked to me about Contador,” López said with a smile following the stage.
“And certainly to wear the pink jersey like he did is an incredible feeling.”
“I didn't see the Giro on TV when Contador won here in 2011, because I started cycling really late. But for sure I saw some videos of how it all happened later on.
The 24-year-old also revealed his strong performance on Mount Etna came in uncharted territory, as he decided to test his legs and those of his rivals on the most difficult section.
“And I didn’t know the climb at all, either, but I was in the break and the team director told me over the radio what it was like and I tried to get away on the hardest part.
“I had no idea if I would be able to stay away, but after I got past Oldani my confidence grew a bit. Then Kämna caught me late on, but I could stay in contact.
López admitted how long he can stay in pink is another unknown, but if more performances like this are to be expected from him, his reign will surely continue.
“I have no idea how long I can lead this race for,” he said.
“I’ll just have to take it day by day and see how it goes.”
The Giro d’Italia continues with Stage 5, expected to be one for the sprinters, but with a big climb mid-stage that may make a strong breakaway fancy their chances. The stage starts on SBS On Demand at 7.20pm AEST, with the SBS broadcast starting at 11pm AEST. WA viewers can tune in on SBS VICELAND from 9pm AWST.
