Tour de France 2016: Stage 4 Results, General Classification and Highlights
Etixx-Quick Step’s Marcel Kittel held off a brilliant late surge from Direct Energie’s Bryan Coquard on Tuesday to win Stage 4 of the Tour de France, as another segment of the race was decided by a photo finish.
Just one day on from Mark Cavendish’s win over Andre Greipel by the width of a tyre, Kittel secured this victory by an even smaller margin, with Coquard agonisingly short in his chase. Here is a look at the moment the German grabbed a thrilling victory, per Eurosport UK:
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Tinkoff’s Peter Sagan was third and subsequently maintains possession of the yellow jersey. For the general classification contenders such as Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana it was another incident-free day; the race for the overall win will be the main focus on Wednesday, as the riders tackle the first mountain stage of this year’s tour.
Here is the result of the stage, per Sky Sports Cycling:
The event's Twitter feed noted there were no big changes in the race for the maillot jaune:
Kittel Wins in Photo Finish
With a long way to go on Tuesday—the 237.5 kilometre run from Saumur was the longest stage of the entire tour—the stage was always going to see a selection of riders breakaway. And it was Alexis Gougeard, Oliver Naesen, Markel Irizar Aranburu and Andreas Schillinger who led the way for a long spell.
As letourdata noted, they managed to put more than five minutes between themselves and the peloton at one point:
After the leisurely pace on Monday, there was never going to be much danger of the break not being reeled in, though.
With 100 kilometres remaining in the mammoth stage, the difference was down to four minutes and as the race moved to its conclusion, the quartet would have been aware their pursuit was fruitless.
The increase in pace prompted Gougeard to drop back from the breakaway, with the other three men out of the saddle seeking to salvage something after their mammoth effort. But with seven kilometres remaining, the were gobbled up by a swathe of riders and another dash for the was on the cards.
It was team Katusha that led the way into the long run for home, as they sought to set things up for Alexander Kristoff in the latter stages. A gradual incline before the finish was too much for him though, while the likes of Cavendish and Greipel were boxed in on the final straight and unable to compete for the win.
Sagan was in the mix and seemed in a good position as the incline begun. But Kittel was set up brilliantly by his team-mates, bursting through and looking set to take a comfortable win in the end. However, Coquard accelerated around the outside and after he came into contact with the burly German, they both crossed the finishing line together.
Neither man was completely sure who had emerged as the victor until the photo finish has been confirmed. Here is just how close Coquard came to riding the Etixx-Quick Step man down:
As his team’s Twitter feed noted, it was a momentous day for the German, who has now won 11 times this season:
“I feel very emotional right now—it feels like my first stage win again,” said Kittel afterwards, per Cycling News. “I’m super happy. I’m very proud because the team was really fighting for this win. Things went wrong in the last days and I’m so happy to be back in the Tour and to win a stage like this. I can’t believe it.”
Wednesday will be a fascinating day, as the GC riders go climbing when the race hits the Massif Central. After four stages that have favoured the sprinters, expect the contenders for the yellow jersey to try and build some time gaps in the overall standings, with attacks likely over a series of ascents late on.
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