The photo-finish was once again necessary to proclaim the winner of stage 4 of the Tour de France, Tuesday. Marcel Kittel (Etixx-Quick Step) claimed his first Tour victory since 2014 just millimetres ahead of Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) after the longest stage of the race, 237.5 km from Saumur to Limoges. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) remains in yellow after finishing third on the eve of the first mountain stage.
Tour de France 2016 – 05/07/2016 – Etape 4 – Saumur/ Limoges (237.5 km) – Arrivée au sprint © ASO/G.Demouveaux
A real fight for the breakaway
A day after Armindo Fonseca’s solo act, there were much more riders willing to get in the breakaway this Wednesday amongst the 198 still in the race. Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon18) and Markel Irizar (Trek-Segafredo) jumped in a first group at the front of the race at km 18. They were then joined by Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling) to build a lead of 3’50 after 35 kilometres of racing.
Long day, strong pace
The longest stage of the Tour was designed for sprinters to shine. And the peloton quickly decided to set its intentions, with Natnael Berhane (Dimension Data) maintaining the gap around 5 minutes. It was not an easy task with the leaders travelling at an average speed of 42.3 km/h over the first three hours of racing. With 90 kilometres to go, the breakaway’s lead was already down to 2 minutes.
Coquard played his cards
Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale) was the first attacker swallowed by the peloton, 30 kilometres away from the finish-line. Schillinger, Naesen and Irizar resisted 20 more kilometres before Direct Energie’s efforts ended their breakaway. Unfortunately for the French team, Kittel was there to edge Coquard.
‘”My physio told me I had won. I felt super proud and so happy. After missing out on the Tour last year, changing teams… the expectations were very high. We came with the goal to win on the 1st stage but we missed out on the yellow jersey. We were disappointed but the team remained focused. I felt the pressure, that also explains the emotion.” said a happy Kittel.
Peter Sagan remains in the yellow jersey.
South African Riders: Louis Meintjes came in 30th, Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg in 93rd position and Daryl Impey in 100th position.
Information taken from letour.com.
via Bicycling » Tour de France http://ift.tt/29u2kxp
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