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Stage stats: Stage 4
Villers-Cotterets to Joigny, 193km
Weather: Partly cloudy all day, but no showers, brisk southwesterly winds, highs in upper 60s
Stage winner: Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) came off an excellent lead-out from Julian Dean to win ahead of a fast-charging Robert Hunter (Barloworld) in the fourth-straight sprint finish. The victory is the Norwegian’s first since winning a stage in last year’s Vuelta a España. “The victory means a lot. I’ve been sick and had crashes all spring,” he said.
Race leader: Cancellara enjoyed his fourth day in yellow but saw Hushovd claw within 29 seconds. Team CSC kept a five-man break on a short leash and the sprinter teams finished off the move to set up the mass gallop. “I don’t know how many more days I have in yellow, so every one is very special,” Cancellara said.
Green jersey: Overnight leader Tom Boonen (QuickStep-Innergetic) could only muster eighth in the sprint, but widened his grip on the green after Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) finished a distant 16th. Erik Zabel moved into second with 86 points to Boonen’s 98 while McEwen fell to third with 84.
King of the Mountains: Stéphane Auge (Cofidis) enjoyed his first full day in the polka-dot jersey despite four Cat. 4 climbs en route. Teammate Sylvain Chavanel moved into second with seven points. “It was nice to ride in the polka-dot jersey, we’ll see if I can keep tomorrow,” Auge said, referring to Thursday’s eight-climb stage.
Best Young Rider: Vladimir Gusev (Discovery Channel), fifth in Saturday’s opening prologue, retained his six-second lead to Thomas Dekker (Rabobank). Best team: Astaná retained its two-second lead over Team CSC.
Most aggressive rider: Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Telecom) won the day’s prize for instigating the day’s main break, with the eight-man panel lauding him because “the presence of such rouleurs as Flecha and Chavanel didn’t facilitate the chances of success and caused the peloton to keep them under close watch.”
Lanterne Rouge: Rémy Di Gregorio (FDJeux), the young climbing prodigy who crashed early in the stage and finished more than eight minutes back, moved into last at 9:31 back.
Top American:Fred Rodriguez (Predictor-Lotto) is feeling better following his nasty spill Monday and sprinted to 23rd while helping team captain McEwenGeorge Hincapie (Discovery Channel) remained best-placed in GC, now fifth overall at 43 seconds back.
The peloton: There were no non-starters. Xabier Zandio (Caisse d’Epargne) broke his collarbone and dislocated his shoulder in a nasty crash at 63km and abandoned. The peloton now numbers 186 riders.
Medical report:Di Gregorio (FDJeux), cuts, scrapes to right knee, wrist and elbow, transferred to local hospital for X-raysZandio (Caisse-d’Epargne), broken right clavicle with dislocation – abandonAzana (Euskaltel), cuts to left elbowLandaluze (Euskaltel), pain to left heelElmiger (Ag2r), heel painThomas (Barloworld), pains in left knee – all involved at crash at 63kmRughie (Lampre), cuts to left hand, arm and leg, crash at 39kmFlorencio (Bouygues), lingering knee pain from crash two days agoHushovd (Credit Agricole), digestive problemsScheirlinckx (Cofidis), multiple cuts and scrape – crash at 144kmGeslin (Bougues), minor cuts, crash at 176km
Jury decisions:LeQuatre (Cofidis), Di Gregorio (FDJeux) – each fined 100CHF for not signing inContador (Discovery), Parra (Cofidis) – fined 100 CHF “comportement incorrect”Azaza and Landaluze (both Euskaltel), Geslin (Bouygues) – fined 30 CHF for illegal drafts – Reminder to leaders of team GC (in this case, Astana) to appear at the pre-stage sign-in podium together
Announcements:Warnings to one press car, another from the Tour organization and two sponsor cars for excessive speedsMark Cavendish (T-Mobile) will receive a “galligraphie” from a local artist at Thursday’s start.
Forecast: Partly sunny with 20 to 30kph westerly, southwesterly winds, highs in the low 70s.
