The Tour de France has left UK soil and crossed the channel into France. Stage 4 in the Nord Pas de Calais region was in stark contrast to the festive atmosphere and massive crowds that Yorkshire put on. You’d be forgiven for mistaking today’s stage for the Dauphine or some minor race.
Not only were the crowds small, but the number of journalists and photographers was reduced after major delays with the Eurotunnel last night and this morning. However, chartered ferries and flights for the riders and the race organisation made sure that the race was on schedule.
Not to worry. We were treated with another day of fine racing where we saw Marcel Kittel claim his third victory in four stages in Lille, France. Vincenzo Nibali once again finished safely in the main field to maintain his lead in the general classification ahead of his third day in yellow.
Tomorrow’s stage is the day we’ve all been waiting for which will take place over more than 15 kilometers of cobblestones that are typically only seen in Paris-Roubaix. Stage 5 starts in Ypres, Belgium, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I in a city devastated by the conflict. The nine cobbled sectors will put the GC contentors to the test and with Froome’s wrist injury in today’s stage, it remains to be seen if he’ll be still considered a favourite after stage 5.
Enjoy the photos from stage 4 courtesy of BrakeThrough Media (follow on Instagram and Twitter) and Cor Vos.
Click here for a full report and results from Stage 4 of the 2014 Tour de France.
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- The teams took to the ferries to cross the English Channel last night after stage in London.
- The start in Le Touquet Paris-Plage.
- Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Belisol) and Bart De Clercq at the start.
- Alberto Contador
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- Europcar’s Thomas Voeckler was the first to attack on stage 4, the showman starting the stage at the front of the field and breaking clear soon after the flag was waved. He was joined by Luis Angel Mate (Cofidis) and the pair got to work building up a maximum of three and a half minutes on the bunch. Voeckler was the last man standing until 20km remaining before the inevitable happened and he got swallowed up by the peloton.
- Koen de Kort, John Degenkolb and Roy Curvers leading Giant-Shimano keeping Voeckler and Mate’s gap under control.
- Alexander Kristoff jumped a fraction early and was overhauled by Marcel Kittel who took the narrowest of his three victories in the race so far. Kristoff held on for second, French national champion Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) was third and Peter Sagan, who worked his way back to and through the peloton in the tricky closing kilometres, managed to take an impressive fourth place.
- Greg Henderson fell on his right knee today which had just undergone surgery in the offseason. He said, “I can’t express how upset I am right now. Nothing to say but my knee exploded and I had to hold it together till I could get to the Ambulance. At the TDF clinic they didn’t have the correct equipment to drain and stitch so Im off for surgery now. Will know more tomorrow re resuming training. Was a dirty disgusting looking wound. I now know what a kneecap looks like minus skin. Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I’m pretty emotional right now but I will try remain positive.”
- Vincenzo Nibali retains the yellow jersey for his third consecutive day.