Kittel Wins Tour De France Stage Four

Last updated : 05 July 2016 By CNS Sport

Etixx Quick Step's Marcel Kittel has won the fourth stage of the Tour De France.

Stage four was the longest stage in the race at 237.5kms from Samur to Limgoes and had Peter Sagan in the yellow jersey, Mark Cavendish on the Isle Of Man national day wearing the Green Points jersey, Jasper Stuyven in the KOM and Julian Alaphilippe in the Young Riders white jersey.

Actor Gerard Depardieu was the guest at the start line in Samur which last hosted the race in 1987 and is the native city of Coco Chanel, the perfume and fashion designer.

The 198 riders, the first time since 2011, that no-one had abandoned in the first three stages, set off and it was not until twenty one kilometres had been raced that a break formed. In that was, Maciej Bodnar (Tinkoff), Markel Irizar (Trek-Segafredo), Natnael Berhane (Dimension Data), Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon18), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Julien Vermote (Etixx-Quick Step) and Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange).

They were quickly caught and Oliver Naesen (IAM Cycling), Alexis Gougerard (AG2R-La Mondiale), Markel Irizar (Trek-Segafredo) and Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon18) took over, going through Loudun with a lead of a minute but by the thirty six kilometre mark, the peloton which included birthday boy Alexander Kristoff of Katusha, had let them get 3.50 clear.

Going through Berthegon after 55kms, the four out front were now five minutes clear and they covered 40,5kms in the second hour of racing at an average speed for today of 42.5 km/h.

After 94kms in Monthoron, the gap stood at 5.35 which meant that Naesen was the virtual leader on the road on a day where the weather was the best since the 2016 race started.

With a hundred kilometres to go, the gap was dropping all the time and it stood at 3.34 with 97kms left.

The day's sprint came at La Doret and Andreas Schillinger (Bora-Argon18) rode away to take the main points with Sagan just beating Kittel and Cavendish to the eleven points which meant that Cavendish continues to lead the points competition by five points.

With 182kms gone, Markel Irizar (Trek-Segafredo) got away to take the single KOM point on the Côte de la Maison Neuve.

The gap was at 1.48 with 50kms left before Gougerard decided he had done enough for the day and dropped back towards the peloton.

On the D220 heading for the D97, with 24kms left, the gap was down to forty seconds with Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), stage three's most combative rider of the day leading the peloton.

The trio worked hard to keep their lead at around 27 seconds heading towards Limgoes in the La Haute-Vienne department which had been visited by the race on fourteen previous occasions. 

Through Le Palais Sur Vienne, the trio were still twenty second ahead.but the peloton were determined that this should be a bunch sprint.

Schillinger dropped back with 7.4kms left and a kilometre later, the break was over.

A pinch point with 3.4kms left, slowed a number of riders but not those from Lotto Soudal who were on the front.

Under the flam rouge, the peloton was riding at 65kmh. Mark Cavendish was squeezed out so Marcel Kittel took on Bryan Coquard and it was a photo finish yet again which was awarded to Marcel Kittle with Coquard in second and race leader Peter Sagan in third place, followed by Dylan Groenewegen (Lotto NL-Jumbo) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha).

British rider Dan McLay was seventh with Mark Cavendish in eighth place.

Peter Sagan continues to lead the race and also takes over the points jersey yet again.

"I'm very emotional," said Kittel. "It feels like my first stage win.

"I am so happy to back and having a stage win after a few tough days where things went wrong."