Arnaud Demare (FDJ) was able to capture his first stage victory of the 104th Tour de France ahead of Stage 3 winner, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).
Stage 4 began in the Luxembourgian town of Mondorf-les-Bains, where the peloton traveled into France and a total distance of 207.5 kilometers before finishing in the commune of Vittel.
Guillame van Keirsbulck (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) decided to take his chances on the stage from the start, breaking away from the peloton from the gun and building a 1:30 gap by the 3 kilometers mark. The peloton was reluctant to chase van Keirsbulck early, and let the Belgian rider create a 10 minute cushion by the time the race was 35 kilometers from the start.
With 145 kilometers remaining on the stage, jockeying for lead of the peloton began. BMC rider Thomas de Gendt and Quick-Step Floors' Juliene Vermote took their positions at the front of the pack, while the peloton slowly began to reel in van Keirsbulck.
At the 52 km to go mark, the gap between the lone leader and the peloton was down to 3:10, but van keirsbulck was able to capture the intermediate sprint points without competition. Once the peloton approached the intermediate sprint however, teams began to prepare the lead outs for their sprinters. Arnaud Demare was able to beat out Peter Sagan and Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal), and capture 17 points for the points classification at the intermediate sprint.
van Keirsbulck was once again able to benefit from his early breakaway by taking home a KOM point for reaching the 475-meter-high col des Tres-Fontaines at the 170.5 kilometer mark.
As 16.5 kilometers remained on the stage, van Keirsbulck was finally caught by the peloton. van Keirsbulck was able to lead Stage 4 for 191 kilometers, and was justly rewarded for his troubles with the most aggressive rider title for the day.
Once the race had moved to within 10 kilometers from the finish, a massive group of riders began to position themselves for the lead outs of their team's sprinter.
Unfortunately, two nasty crashes occurred as the riders fought for a stage victory. A small pile-up occurred at the front of the pack with 1 kilometer to go, allowing a smaller group to break off into the front for the final sprint. With only 100 meters remaining to the finish, Mark Cavendish (Dimesion Data) tried to move to the outside to position himself past Bora-Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan in the final sprint. There was little room on the edges for Cavendish however, and he crashed hard into the barrier from the lack of road he had to work with. Two more riders behind Cavendish were unable to avoid him, and Cavendish was hit as he stayed on the ground from the crash.
Cavendish would eventually get up with the help of the medical staff, and was able to speak with Sagan after the stage.
Despite the crashes, a pack still remained at the front, vying for the stage win. Arnaud Demare would once again refuse to be denied after beating out Sagan and Greipel at the intermediate sprint, and the French rider took the Stage 4 victory by beating out Sagan once again at the line.
Alexander Kristoff (Katush-Alpecin) was able to take 3rd, while Andre Greipel and Nacer Bouhani (Team Cofidis) finished 4th and 5th, respectively.
For his work at the intermediate sprint and with the stage win, Demare will be wearing the green jersey on Stage 5.
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) will once again retain the Maillot Jaune, as he finished the stage in the pack just behind the sprinters.
Nathan Brown (Cannondale-Drapac) will hold the polka dot mountains classification jersey for at least another day, while Pierre Latour (AG2R La Mondiale) keeps the white youth classification jersey.
Stage 5 will be a 160.5 kilometer route from Vittel to the mountain summit of La planche des Belles Filles.
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