After just one day in the yellow jersey, John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) had to give up his lead again. At the end of the fourth stage, which ran over 200 kilometers from Nevers to Belleville, Brit Geraint Thomas (Sky) took the lead. A second place on the day behind Dutchman Tom Jelte Slagter (Garmin-Sharp) was enough for him. His compatriot Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) was third on the day.
The stage offered excitement, especially in the final. With almost 14 kilometers to go, the field split into several groups on the last climb of the day. One of the victims of the increased pace was Degenkolb, who passed the Côte du Mont Brouilly pass almost thirty seconds behind the group around the eventual winner of the day. Together with Thomas, he was able to fight off an illustrious group of pursuers around Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Carlos Betancur (Ag2R-La Mondiale) and Frank Schleck (Trek) to the finish.
Result
1. Tom Jelte Slagter (Garmin Sharp) 5:00:09
2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) 0:00:00
3. Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) 0:00:05
4. Michael Matthews (Orica GreenEdge) 0:00:05
5. Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) 0:00:05
Total
1. Geraint Thomas (Sky) 18:14:25
2. John Degenkolb (Giant Shimano) 0:00:03
3. Tom Jelte Slagter (Garmin Sharp) 0:00:04
4. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Movistar) 0:00:08
5. Samuel Dumoulin (Ag2R-La Mondiale) 0:00:12