Ale-Jet Has Landed, Again – 97th Tour de France, Stage 4
A Tour win, is a Tour win, is a Tour win no matter how you slice it. But after Alessandro Petacchi's Stage 1 victory in Brussels, questions remained about the true nature of his form and whether his victory was more of a product of his rivals laying on the tarmac rather than his outright speed.
On Stage 4, the 36-year old Italian would answer all questions and even offer up one of his own, who is the fastest man in the peloton?
After misfiring on Stage 1 and the mishaps on Stage 2, the sprinters and their teams would finally get their opportunity to shine. Short, flat and fast, the parcours of the 153.5 km route from Cambrai to Reims were tailored made for the sprinters. Remarkably, five men would go off the front shortly after the start. The break, which included Dmitri Champion (AG2R-La Mondiale), Iban Mayoz (Footon-Servetto), Nicolas Vogondy (Bbox-Bouygues Telecom), Francis De Greef (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and Inaki Isasi (Euskaltel-Euskadi) would build a lead of over three minutes, but their efforts were essentially doomed from the start.
On the wide and open roads into Reims, the peloton would keep the group within arms reach before overtaking them with less than four kilometers to go. The HTC-Columbia train attempted to take over from there, leading the strung out peloton into the finish. The vaunted Cavendish lead-out; however, faltered severely and allowed other riders to disrupt their path. With all the top sprinters lined up across the road, with the exception of Tyler Farrar (Team Garmin-Transitions), who is still smarting from numerous injuries incurred in the past two days, the first true bunch sprint of the 97th Tour de France was about to get underway.
Petacchi would be the first to jump. With the afterburners on full, none came close to seriously challenging the man known as Ale-Jet for the win. He would take his second victory in this year's Tour and the sixth overall in his career. Julian Dean (Team Garmin-Transitions), who along with teammate Robbie Hunter have temporarily taken over the lead sprint duties for their team, finished second and Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky Professional Cycling Team) came in third.
Stage 4 Results
1. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini
2. Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions
3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Professional Cycling Team
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General Classification After Stage 4
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team - 0:00:23
3. Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team - 0:00:39
4. Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Transitions - 0:00:46
5. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step - 0:01:01
6. Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank - 0:01:09
7. Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team - 0:01:19
8. Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana - 0:01:31
9. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana - 0:01:40
10. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto - 0:01:42
With his win, Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-Farnese Vini) moved to within 10 points of the Thor Hushovd (Cervelo Test Team) in the competition for the green points jersey.
Jersey Leaders After Stage 4
maillot jaune - Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank
maillot vert - Thor Hushovd (Nor) Cervelo Test Team
maillot à pois rouges - Jerome Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
maillot blanc - Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
Next: Stage 5 - Épernay to Montargis (187.5km)
Another day for the sprinters? Follow our LIVE Tour de France coverage of Stage 5 on LIVESTRONG.com.
This post was sponsored by Bing
Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
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