Tour de France 2014: Stage 4 Winner, Results and Updated Leaderboard Standings

Marcel Kittel continued his dominance of the 2014 Tour de France, winning another mass sprint on Tuesday to capture Stage 4. In what was without a doubt the closest finish of the year, Kittel just edged out Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Demare with an excellent jump on the line.

The full results of Tuesday's race:

Position	Rider	Team	Time
1	Marcel Kittel	Giant-Shimano	3:36:39
2	Alexander Kristoff	Katusha	Same Time
3	Arnaud Demare	FDJ	Same Time
4	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	Same Time
5	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	Same Time
6	Andre Greipel	Lotto-Belisol	Same Time
7	Mark Renshaw	OPQS	Same Time
8	Danny van Poppel	Trek Factory	Same Time
9	Davide Cimolai	Lampre-Merida	Same Time
10	Daniel Oss	BMC	Same Time

The Tour de France peloton lost another big name on Tuesday, as former winner Andy Schleck decided not to start, following his heavy crash during Monday's stage, per Sky Sports News:

Stage 4 was dominated by mechanical issues and early attacks. Thomas Voeckler (who else) was feeling particularly adventurous, and the peloton allowed him and Spain's Luis Angel Mate to build an early lead.

The pack was shocked by an early crash, and Tour favourite Chris Froome was one of the riders who went down. The Brit was able to continue the race, but according to Team Sky, he took quite a bit of damage during the crash:

Niki Terpstra was the next to get acquainted with the tarmac, and while the Dutchman, too, was able to continue the race per OPQS, the former Paris-Roubaix winner will have been hoping for a smoother ride with an eye on tomorrow's stage.

Voeckler and Mate took advantage of numerous punctures and crashes in the peloton, building up a maximum lead of 3:23. But with 70 kilometers still to go, mechanical issues finally caught up with the duo.

Mate's shifting gear broke down, forcing local hero Voeckler to continue on his own. The pack then started to push the tempo, looking to force another mass sprint, and Lotto-Belisol even managed to break the peloton in half on two occasions.

Lotto's pace was so high they even forced a crash of their own. It was terrible news for Andre Greipel, who lost a big part of his sprint train ahead of the finish in Lille. Greg Henderson had to exit the race, according to Roadcyclinguk, so the German sprint specialist will be without his pilot for the rest of the Tour de France:

Voeckler was finally caught with 17 kilometers still to go, setting the stage for the third mass sprint in four days. Giant-Shimano and Tinkoff-Saxo organised the peloton, with Tony Martin attempting an unsuccessful late break.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step made the sprint for Mark Renshaw, but it was Kristoff who led the pack into the final 200 meters. Kristoff seemed to resist the pressure from the peloton, but in-form Kittel took over the lead late and finished with a beautiful jump.

Place	Rider	Team	Time
1	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana	17:07:52
2	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	+2 secs
3	Michael Albasini	GreenEdge	Same Time
4	Greg Van Avermaet	BMC Racing	st
5	Alberto Contador	Tinkoff-Saxo	st
6	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar	st
7	Chris Froome	Team Sky	st
9	Jurgen Van den Broeck	Lotto	st
9	Bauke Mollema	Belkin	st
10	Jakob Fuglsang	Astana	st

Place	Rider	Team	Points
1	Peter Sagan	Cannondale	158
2	Marcel Kittel	Giant	135
3	Bryan Coquard	Europcar	121
4	Alexander Kristoff	Katusha	82
5	Mark Renshaw	OPQS	48
6	Arnaud Demare	BMC Racing	44
7	Greg Van Avermaet	Garmin	42
8	Ramunas Navardauskas	Astana	38
9	Michael Albasini	GreenEdge	37
10	Andre Greipel	Lotto Belisol	37

Position	Rider	Team	Points
1	Cyril LeMoine	Confidis	6
2	Blel Kadri	AG2R La Mondiale	5
3	Jens Voigt	Trek	4
4	Nicolas Edet	Cofidis	3
5	Thomas Voeckler	Europcar	3
6	Pierre Rolland	Europcar	2
7	Tom-Jelte Slagter	Garmin-Sharp	2
8	Perrig Quemeneur	Europcar	2
9	David de la Cruz Melgarejo	NetApp-Endura	2
10	Chris Froome	Team Sky	1

Wednesday's stage is all about the cobblestones, and the riders will hope the weather clears up ahead of the start in Ypres. The peloton will follow parts of the legendary Paris-Roubaix course, and with heavy winds expected, Stage 5 has all the makings of an instant classic.

Pure power-riders like Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara will be the favourites for the race win, with the top contenders for the leaderboard probably riding with two hands on their brakes on Wednesday.

A crash on Roubaix's cobblestones has ended many a season for riders in the past, so don't expect the likes of Froome and Alberto Contador to take any risks. The cobblestone specialists will be given free rein to make the race on Wednesday, and it's unlikely the pack will do much to stop them.

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