cycling: Tour de France Stage #4: Arnaud Démare wins Fall Festival

Cycling: Arnaud Démare (FDJ) has won the fourth stage of the Tour de France. The French champion prevailed in Vittel's mass sprint ahead of Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin). There were several falls in the last kilometer. Among others, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) was hit hard.

The lonely Guillaume van Keirsbulck

After Peter Sagan on yesterday third stage once again provided a real eye-catcher, today's fourth stage wasn't exactly an advertisement for cycling. On the 207,5 kilometer route from Mondorf-les-Bains – the home town of the Schleck brothers – to Vittel, the spectators saw a fairly uneventful flat stage. Immediately after the start, Guillaume van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) was able to break away from the peloton. The Belgian looked around several times during and after his attack, but he saw no one. Nobody wanted to keep him company. Guillaume van Keirsbulck adopted the typical position of a time trialist. Bent over the handlebars, he reeled off kilometer after kilometer as a soloist. The situation was of course perfect for the peloton. The sprinter teams only had to bring back one driver and the classification drivers are happy that they can relax again before tomorrow's first mountain stage.

Soloist provided - mass sprint in Vittel

Since the entire section was heading south, Guillaume van Keirsbulck had to deal with headwinds most of the time. At least the temperatures were pleasant: the comfortable ride was enjoyed in sunshine and 25 degrees Celsius. Guillaume van Keirsbulck didn't have a realistic chance of winning the stage, despite a lead of more than 13 minutes. After all, he was able to secure the only mountain classification and the intermediate sprint. Of course, the red shirt number of the most combative driver could only be given to the Belgian today. Incidentally, Guillaume van Keirsbulck comes from a cycling-mad family. His grandfather Benoni Beheyt won a stage of the Tour de France in 1964 and even became world champion the following year. However, as expected, none of this helped Guillaume van Keirsbulck today. After his solo over 190 kilometers he was caught 15 kilometers from the finish line by the peloton. As in ours Preview of the fourth stage of the Tour de France suspected, it actually came to a mass sprint in Vittel.

Arnaud Démare wins in Vittel - falls in the last kilometers

As usual, the teams of the world's best sprinters fought for the best positions. The last wave before the finish was taken by the peloton, so that some sprinters' faces were already contorted with pain. On the uphill home straight, there was a mass crash about a kilometer before the line. Among other things, Geraint Thomas (Sky) also fell. As a result, Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) lost touch. Around 200 - 300 meters before the end, the top sprinters dared to slip out of the slipstream. André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) had a good position. Behind him, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) on the right driving side slammed into the gang after contact with Peter Sagan and a horrific crash ensued. Diego Ulissi (UAE) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) fell over him. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha-Alpecin), Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) and Arnaud Démare (FDJ) then passed André Greipel at the very front. And the French champion Arnaud Démare came out on top in the end! Arnaud Démare takes over the green jersey from Marcel Kittel. Geraint Thomas remains in yellow. According to initial rumours, the Tour de France may even have ended for Mark Cavendish. The Briton is said to have broken his right shoulder.

Result of the 4th stage of the 2017 Tour de France

Overall ranking of the 2017 Tour de France after 4 of 21 stages