Tour's Stage 4 Is A Feast For Sprinters

As expected, stage 4 turned out to be a sprinter's race. There was an early category 4 climb, but the peloton had plenty of time to recover after that climb. There was a breakaway of five riders who lasted nearly to the finish line. However, the peloton swallowed them up about 3 kilometers from the finish and set the race up for an exciting finish for the best sprinters.

Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese) was the first sprinter to break out of the pack and was strong enough to stay in the lead all the way to the finish line and win the stage. Julian Dean, New Zealand (Garmin-Transitions) had a good day finishing in second place and Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway (Sky Pro) was the third place finisher.

Although Petacchi won the stage, Thor Hushovd, Norway (Cervelo) finished ninth and that gave him enough points to retain the Green Jersey for another day. The Yellow and Polka Dot Jerseys also remained with the riders who started the day wearing them since the peloton finished together and there were no real mountains. That means there was no change in the overall standings.

Stage 5 should be basically a replay of stage 4, with the sprinters fighting for a stage win and the overall standings being unaffected. It is a 187.5 kilometer ride from Epernay to Montargis. There are two category 4 climbs that are very early and then then course flattens out. There should be plenty of time for the peloton to deliver the sprinters to the end for an exciting sprint to the finish line.

Here are the current standings:

YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Leaders)

1. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland (Saxo Bank)

2. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain (Sky Pro).....0' 23"

3. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing).....0' 39"

4. Ryder Hesjedal, Canada (Garmin-Transitions).....0' 46"

5. Sylvain Chavanel, France (Quick Step).....1' 01"

6. Andy Schleck, Luxembourg (Saxo Bank).....1' 09"

7. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Cervelo).....1' 19"

8. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan (Astana).....1' 31"

9. Alberto Contador, Spain (Astana).....1' 40"

10. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgium (Omega Pharma-Lotto).....1' 42"

11. Nicolas Roche, Ireland (AG2R La Mondiale).....1' 42"

18. Lance Armstrong, USA (Radio Shack).....2' 30"

GREEN JERSEY (Sprinters)

1. Thor Hushovd, Norway (Cervelo).....80 pts

2. Alessandro Petacchi, Italy (Lampre-Farnese).....70 pts

3. Robbie McEwen, Australia (Katusha).....62 pts

4. Geraint Thomas, Great Britain (Sky Pro).....56 pts

5. Jose Joaquin Rojas, Spain (Caisse D'Epargne).....49 pts

6. Sylvain Chavanel, France (Quick Step).....44 pts

7. Daniel Oss, Italy (Liquigas-Doimo).....40 pts

8. Sebastien Turgot, France (Bouygues Telecom).....39 pts

9. Cadel Evans, Australia (BMC Racing).....38 pts

10. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norway (Sky Pro).....38 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Climbers)

1. Jerome Pineau, France (Quick Step).....13 pts

2. Sylvain Chavanel, France (Quick Step).....8 pts

3. Rin Taaramae, Estonia (Cofidis).....8 pts

4. Maxime Montfort, Belgium (HTC-Columbia).....5 pts

5. Matthew Lloyd, Australia (Omega Pharma-Lotto).....4 pts

6. Ryder Hesjedal, Canada (Garmin-Transitions).....3 pts

7. Iban Mayoz, Spain (Footon-Servetto).....3 pts

8. Jurgen Roelandts, Belgium (Omega Pharma-Lotto).....3 pts

9. Stephen Cummings, Great Britain (Sky Pro).....2 pts

10. Carlos Barredo, Spain (Quick Step).....2 pts

11. Marcus Burghardt, Germany (BMC Racing).....2 pts

12. Francis De Greef, Belgium (Omega Pharma-Lotto).....2 pts

13. Francesco Gavazzi, Italy (Lampre-Farnese).....2 pts

TEAM STANDINGS

1. Saxo Bank

2. Garmin-Transitions.......0' 11"

3. Sky Pro.......0' 25"

4. Astana.......2' 21"

5. BMC Racing.......2' 50"

6. Cervelo.......3' 22"

7. Rabobank.......3' 37"

8. Omega Pharma-Lotto.......3' 40"

9. AG2R La Mondiale.......3' 49"

10. Caisse D'Epargne.......3' 55"

11. Radio Shack.......4' 28"

12. HTC-Columbia.......4' 29"