Jasper Philipsen doubled up with victory on stage four of the Tour de France as Mark Cavendish came home in fifth place.
Philipsen made it two wins in as many days as he edged out Caleb Ewan on the line after several riders hit the deck on the Circuit de Nogaro in a chaotic finish to a largely serene stage.
Cavendish, seeking a record-breaking 35th career Tour stage win, came on to the final straight in the top 10 but found himself blocked on the run to the line and could not open up his sprint until it was too late.
Philipsen underlined his status as the sprinter to beat in this Tour as he came from well back, being guided past Cavendish by his lead-out man extraordinaire Mathieu van der Poel to glide to the front of the pack.
Ewan was the faster finisher but could not get past Philipsen as both riders threw their bikes to the line.
Cavendish had tried to jump on Philipsen’s wheel when he blew past but found his path blocked by Dylan Groenewegen, unable to find clear road until the chance was gone.
“It was close in the end so I’m happy they confirmed it quickly,” said Philipsen.
“It was really an easy stage, I think everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow and the day after but the final kilometres entering the circuit there were some crashes so I hope everybody is OK and safe.
“It was a hectic final with the turns in the end I lost my team but in the final straight I found Mathieu van der Poel and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close.” PA
Tour de France, stage four: As it happened. . .
04:47 PM BST
Philipsen wins stage four at the Tour!
Jasper Philpsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wins a crazy finish. Way too many crashes for my liking. Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Dstny) takes second, with Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) third. Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) was fourth, while Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) went one better than yesterday, but could only managed fifth spot following that surprisingly dangerous crash-marred stage.
Speaking immediately afterwards, Jasper Philipsen said: “That was close in the end. I am glad they confirmed it [the result] quickly.
“It was really an easy stage, I think everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow and the day after but the final kilometres entering the circuit there were some crashes so I hope everybody is OK and safe.
“It was a hectic final with the turns in the end I lost my team but in the final straight I found Mathieu van der Poel and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close.”
Speaking to Eurosport GCN, Cavendish said: “Carnage, it was. Every team would have had a plan for that final and I bet you there weren’t any that went right, except maybe Jumbo getting their guys into the narrow roads.
“It was really a mixing point of riders in the final. I was constantly analysing who was there, who had team-mates, jumping from train to train.
“When I saw Mads [Pedersen] had [Jasper] Stuyven with him, that’s the one, I thought Mads usually goes early, it’s a headwind finish on a long straight, wide road so I thought I’d use that and they just didn’t go.
“I was waiting. At one point I thought 350 metres, maybe I should hit now, limit my losses. It’s the Tour. You gamble. I was waiting for them to go and they didn’t go, they all got the jump so I was just trying to get the best position I could.”
04:46 PM BST
1.5km to go
A messy finish. Cavendsih is safe
04:45 PM BST
2km to go
The peloton is lined out as the pace whips up. Jonas Vigegaard is second wheel! Jakobsen crashes!
04:44 PM BST
2.5km to go
Jumbo-Visma lead the way, followed by Cofidis
04:43 PM BST
3.5km to go
The road is twisting and turning, and those trains have fallen apart. But Cavendish has reemerged and is on Cees Bol’s wheel. Jumbo gunning it on the front. Cavendish in a great position.
04:42 PM BST
6km to go
Jumbi-Visam and Lotto-Dstny are well positioned, Cees Bol is in there, but I cannot see Cavendish.
04:40 PM BST
7km to go
The pace has increased, Bahrain Victorious and Phil Bauhaus are up near the front. Around a roundabout and a number of riders, including Mark Cavendish, lost a few wheels. John Degenkolb lost around 100 wheels! Cavendish 10, or so.
04:39 PM BST
8km to go
Luis León Sánchez has Mark Cavendish on his wheel, the pair are bouncing around, but near the front of the bunch. The Spaniard is doing a grand old job here.
04:37 PM BST
10km to go
It feels very much like the calm before the storm. Biniam Girmay has a posse of Intermarché-Circus-Wanty team-mates guiding him along, tucked in behind Caleb Ewan and Lotto-Dstny. Girmay would become the first black African rider to win a Tour de France stage if her were to prevail this afternoon.
04:35 PM BST
11km to go
Mark Cavendish is the leading Astana Qazaqstan rider, tucked in behind DSM and Lidl-Trek. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Jumbo-Visma and Soudal-Quick Step – the favourites today – all on the opposite side. Lotto-Dstny are dead centre.
04:33 PM BST
13.5km to go
Mark Cavendish and his team-mates are down the right hand side, the opposite side of the road to Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jumbo-Visma.
04:31 PM BST
16km to go
The road is absolutely packed full of some of the best riders in the world. A touch of wheels, and the whole pack of cards comes crashing down. Very nervous times for the teams who will be watching from their support cars.
04:26 PM BST
The 3km rule will be in place today
04:24 PM BST
22.5km to go
The teams are fanned out, filling the width of the road as they prepare themselves for what will surely be another frenetic finale to the stage. Both the sprinters’ teams and general classification squads are all in formation, with Mark Cavendish’s Astana Qazaqstan boys in a similar position to yesterday at the 15km to go point – 20 wheels back down the right hind side of the road. Yesterday, despite looking out of position his team managed to, eventually, find a way through once a door opened when UAE Team Emirates moved to their left (see below).
04:19 PM BST
25km to go
Mathieu van der Poel drops a few wheels down the bunch before stretching his left leg, flexing it ahead of the inevitable push for the stage win with team-mate Jasper Philipsen in a short while. Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace, meanwhile, have been caught
04:14 PM BST
27km to go
Anthony Delaplace opens his account in the mountains classification with a single point atop the Côte de Dému. Overnight leader in that particular competition Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) will lose no sleep tonight, and will go into Wednesday’s first day in the high mountains in the polka-dot jersey.
04:12 PM BST
28km to go
Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace are on the only climb of the day, the category four Côte de Dému, and hold an advantage of 30sec over the peloton.
04:10 PM BST
32.5km to go
Tim Declercq is back on the front, the Belgian is pushing a fairly large gear, but rolling along at a decent lick. A few wheels back, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) is spotted chatting away with Mathieu van der Poel, the latter of whom will, I suspect, be working in Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Jasper Philpsen’s lead-out.
04:05 PM BST
35km to go
Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace are being slowly roasted, like the ducks that are often found on the menus in this region of southwestern France. Luis León Sánchez (Astana Qazaqstan), meanwhile, is forced into getting some mechanical assistance from his team car. The veteran Spaniard has been playing a key role for Mark Cavendish of late, both at the recent Giro d’Italia and this year’s Tour, shepherding the Manxman towards the final 2km.
04:00 PM BST
37.5km to go
Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace are being gradually reeled in. Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal-Quick Step and Jayco-Alula are continuing to pull hard on the front of the bunch, with Jasper Philipsen’s team being best represented. Can the Belgian make it two in a row, or will one of the Dutchmen – Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen – take the line honours? Or will it be a day for one of the other sprinters: Caleb Ewan, Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Pro), Phil Bauhaus will all fancy their chances, as will that man Mark Cavendish.
03:53 PM BST
44km to go
Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace’s advantage has dropped to 43sec. Jayco-Alula now has a rider on the front, doing his best to get team-mate and sprinter Dylan Groenewegen up near the front and in a position where he can challenge for the win. The Dutchman currenly has five stage wins on his palmarès, including a win on the Champs-Élysées in 2017.
03:47 PM BST
Ewan on today’s finale
Caleb Ewan, the Australian sprinter who finished third yesterday, spoke earlier about to finale to today’s stage: “It’s quite technical, but I think the roads are fairly wide. But perhaps it looks more technical on paper than it actually is. I’ll have to be well positioned at the last corner [800 metres from the line] to be able to launch my sprint when I want to.”
Quite incredibly, the diminutive fastman has ‘just’ five Tour de France stage wins on his palmarès. Sort of puts into perspective how incredible it is that Mark Cavendish is chasing down that 35th Tour win.
03:40 PM BST
51.5km to go
Just been listening to Tom Steels, the Soudal-Quick Step directeur sportif , on team radio. The former sprinter – who won nine Tour de France stages during his career – was telling Kasper Asgreen to save his legs for the finale where he could play a serious role for Fabio Jakobsen, before the Dane was told to make sure he eats and drinks. Back at the front of the race, Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace’s lead has dropped to 50sec.
03:36 PM BST
55km to go
Tim Declercq (Soudal-Quick Step), the big Belgian diesel, has taken over on the front of the peloton. The hugely experienced domestique will be monitoring the lead held by Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace, making sure they don’t gain any more time before they reach the motor circuit where today’s stage win will be decided.
03:31 PM BST
60km to go: Road to nowhere. . .
. . .come on inside. Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace are holding on to their lead of around one minute. The Ag2r-Citroën rider rises out of his saddle while chatting to the cameraperson. He appears happy enough with himself.
03:24 PM BST
65km to go
Not for the first time today, the threat of crosswinds is causing a little unease in the bunch with team directors warning their riders to be on alert. Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace and continue to tap away on the front, riding a two-up time trial into the unknown. I say unknown, we all know this move will be caught – typical of the sort of fruitless move you would expect from a baroudeur.
03:15 PM BST
70km to go
Alpecin-Deceuninck, Soudal-Quick Step and Jayco-Alula are keeping Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace on a tight lead, their lead bouncing around between 50sec and a minute. The peloton rolls through the feed zone, with riders scooping up their musettes packed with some mid-afternoon nutrition to get them through the final 70km of the stage.
03:10 PM BST
75km to go
Benoît Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace are working well together and have increased their slender advantage over the peloton to a shade below a minute. Cannot see them going all the way to the finish, but the pair appear to be enjoying themselves. Back in the bunch, Alpecin-Deceuninck are back on the front monitoring the pace, while Soudal-Quick Step and Jayco-Alula are tucked in behind, all three having world-class sprinters who will be targeting the stage.
03:00 PM BST
85km to go
Finally, a pair of riders – Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-Citroën) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa-Samsic) – have clipped off the front, with the two Frenchman from Normandy wasted little time in gaining 30 seconds on the slow-moving peloton.
This year’s Tour, by the way, goes nowhere near their home region.
02:52 PM BST
Points make prizes . . .
Jasper Philipsen becomes the virtual leader in the points classification after winning the intermediate sprint.
02:46 PM BST
‘We take positives from everything we can’
02:44 PM BST
95km to go: Keeping the faith
The peloton is (finally) into the second half of the stage, and is nearing the Notre-Dame des cyclistes which will mark the day’s intermediate sprint. Much like the Madonna del Ghisallo in northern Italy, I understand the Notre-Dame des cyclistes is one of France’s religious homages to all thing two-wheeled.
02:36 PM BST
More statistics on Adam Yates . . .
As mentioned below, Adam Yates will be wearing the yellow jersey for a seventh day today – four in 2020, three this year – which moves him up to fourth in the all-time list of Britons in yellow, but who are the others?
02:30 PM BST
100km to go
Incidentally, the last time there was no breakaway in a Tour de France stage, race leader Julian Alaphilippe lost his maillot jaune, the leader’s yellow jersey, after being handed a time penalty for receiving an illegal feed. The chief beneficiary? A certain Adam Yates who went on to lead the race for four days.
Adam Yates, by the way, was the first rider to wear yellow in the first three stages since 2017 when compatriot Geraint Thomas was the leader in the first four, before handing it over to another Briton, Chris Froome, after the fifth stage (La Planche Des Belles Filles). Yates counts now seven yellow jerseys. Among this Tour’s entrants, only three riders have had more: Tadej Pogacar (21), Alaphilippe (18) and Jonas Vingegaard (11).
02:20 PM BST
Slow day in the saddle. . .
The average speed of the peloton is a paltry 37.8km/h.
02:16 PM BST
Bauhaus upbeat after second spot
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) described his runners-up spot yesterday as “huge”, adding that it would be a “dream” to win a stage on his Tour debut.
“I wasn’t a top contender, so it’s a huge result for me”, the 28-year-old German told Tour Radio. “It’s my first Tour, but of course I dream of taking a stage.
“It feels great to be named among the favourites in a race like the Tour. I hope I can live up to the hype. It’s the first time I’ll face a mass sprint on a circuit. I have no experience in that area, but we have a great team and I’m good at latching onto wheels, so I hope I can make it happen today.”
02:06 PM BST
Oh, la la. . .
02:03 PM BST
117km to go
Not entirely sure what just happened, but Wout van Aert took things into his own hands, shifting himself to the front of the group before pulling along a small group. There was some chatter about a threat of crosswinds, but given the road they are riding down looks fairly protected – with houses and trees – I doubt they would be too badly affected. Van Aert, of course, may have simply been trying to liven things up given the levels of apparent boredom in the bunch.
02:00 PM BST
120km to go: As it stands. . .
It is one of those days at the Tour de France when nothing of not has happened yet. Nothing. There has been no attempt at a breakaway, and very little to report. The mood within the peloton appears fairly relaxed, no doubt enjoying a quiet day following a tough opening three days. With just 1,427 metres in vertical elevation, today is the fourth flattest stage from this year’s Tour de France. Despite the laissez-faire nature of the stage, we are expecting fireworks later this afternoon once the peloton reaches the Paul Armagnac motor racing circuit.
12:00 PM BST
Stage four preview
Hello and welcome to our live rolling coverage from stage four at the Tour de France, the 181.5 kilometre run from Dax to Nogaro. Following yesterday’s nail-biting finale where Jasper Philipsen was delivered to the line by his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mates to add a third Tour de France stage win to his growing palmarès, today should, in theory, be another day for the fastmen.
First up, though, there will be the intermediate sprint at Notre-Dame des cyclistes. . .
. . . followed by a very small climb where there will be a solitary point on offer in the mountains classification:
Once within the final few kilometres of the stage, the peloton will hit the Paul Armagnac motor racing circuit with 3km remaining. There will be plenty of twists and turns, but with its wide roads the speeding bunch should not be overly troubled. Motor circuit finales are never that interesting – certainly from an aesthetic viewpoint – but that will not concern the teams and riders targeting this stage.
As you can see from the below profile, the finale is relatively panflat, and so with be ideal hunting ground for the pure sprinters, particularly those with well-organised lead-out trains. And for those without a decent lead-out train – and I’m thinking about a certain Mark Cavendish here – then freelancing will be key. As we saw yesterday, Cavendish has the legs and race craft to with that 35th Tour de France stage, but may need the stars to align if he is to pull clear of Eddy Merckx. Positioning will be key for all, and Cavendish will need to sniff around and hope one of his rivals leaves the backdoor open. Should that happen, then Cavendish could take the stage win. Unfortunately for the Manxman, though, there will be a posse of other sprinters with the same idea.
Similarly to yesterday, we can expect the likes of Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal-Quick Step to take control of the stage as they attempt to tee up Philipsen and Fabio Jakobsen, their respective sprinters. Both appear to have the best drilled lead-out teams and will be favourites for the stage win. They are not, however, the only teams able to challenge for the victory. Jayco-Alula, who will be riding for Dylan Groenewegen, will again be hoping to challenge, as will Lidl-Trek who have Mads Pedersen, the 2019 world road race champion, within their ranks. And let’s not forget about Jumbo-Visma who will have an angry Wout van Aert champing at the bit, desperate to take his first win at this year’s race.
And then there is a certain Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan). The Briton looked in fine form yesterday, impressing with a sixth-placed finish. Arriving in the hometown of 94-year-old André Darrigade later this afternoon, Cavendish would pull one clear of Eddy Merckx with the all-time list of stage winners at the Tour should he prevail.
Whatever happens this afternoon, Telegraph Sport will be here to guide you through all of the key moments, taking you all the way to the line in Nogaro.
Live coverage here will get under way at 2pm (BST).
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