Tour de France Stage 4 - Abbeville to Rouen
Tour de France Stage 4 from Abbeville is another long 214km (133 ilems) stage for the sprinters. The route takes riders inland from Abbeville in the north of France along the coast that abuts the English Channel for 80+kms before turning back inland to finish at Rouen. Along the way, the peloton will encounter four Category 4 climbs. So once again, a break featuring current King of the Mountains Jersey wearer, Michael Mørkøv (Saxo Bank-Tinkoff), is likley to develop. (Mørkøv, by the way, stands no chance of holding onto the jersey beyond stage 6, as the peloton enounters the first real mountain stage with the Stage 7 summit finish at La Planche des Belles Filles.)
- Km 38.0 - Côte du Mont Huon2.1 kilometre-long climb at 4.1% - category 4
- Km 69.0 - Côte de Dieppe1.8 kilometre-long climb at 3.9% - category 4
- Km 74.0 - Côte de Pourville-sur-Mer1.9 kilometre-long climb at 4.4% - category 4
- Km 143.0 - Côte de Toussaint1.9 kilometre-long climb at 4.5% - category 4
Category 4 climbs aside, the real challenge of Stage 4 could be wind developing off the English Channel. If the winds starts to blow, enchelons will form with the risk of creating significant gaps in the peloton. Tour de France Contenders 2012 like Evans, Wiggins, Menchov and others will need to pay careful attention. The resulting scurry for the head of the peloton could result in a large number of crashes. Thunderstorms forecast for the day may also present special challenges for a peloton that has already had three hard days of racing (the prologue doesn't count!).
Assuming they all make it to the outskirts of Rouen safely, the sprinters teams will take charge of the peloton with about 10km to go. Since it is Independence Day in the United States, Garmin-Sharpe and their sprinter Tyler Farrar will be particularly motivated for the stage win. But with yesterday's crashes and injuries to both Danielson and Vandevelde, Farrar may not have the support he needs to compete for the win. As with Stage 2 of the Tour, the final fireworks of the day may come down to a sprint contest between Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel, Matty Goss, Alessandro Petacchi and the Green Jersey, Peter Sagan.
Tour de France Stage 4 Results
A spectacular crash with 2.5km to go witnessed Mark Cavendish being dropped to the pavement, while his sprint competitors rode away with the victory. Andre Greipel sprinted for the win with a greatly diminished main field. Meanwhile, the General Classification contenders finished the stage safely with no change in the overall results. Cancellera held onto the Yellow Jersey, and young gun Peter Sagan held onto Green.
Stage 4 - Top 10 Finishers
| 1 | André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team | 5:18:32 |
| 2 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD | |
| 3 | Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano | |
| 4 | Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
| 5 | Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale | |
| 6 | Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank | |
| 7 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team | |
| 8 | Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | |
| 9 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | |
| 10 | Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | |
General Classification after Stage 4 (Top 10 and Favorites)
| 1 | Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack-Nissan | 20:04:02 |
| 2 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:00:07 |
| 3 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
| 4 | Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:10 |
| 5 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | 0:00:11 |
| 6 | Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team | 0:00:13 |
| 7 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:17 |
| 8 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:18 |
| 9 | Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Sharp | |
| 10 | Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:00:19 |
| 13 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:22 |
| 23 | Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:00:26 |
| 24 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:00:28 |
| 26 | Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale | 0:00:29 |
| 27 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:35 |
| 31 | Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:00:38 |
| 33 | Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi | 0:00:40 |
| 37 | Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:00:45 |
| 38 | Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | |
| 47 | Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:01:29 |
| 154 | Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin - Sharp | 0:12:02 |
| 181 | Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | 0:17:42 |
| 190 | Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:21:51 |
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