Tour de France LIVE: Mark Cavendish wins Stage 4 - result and latest reaction

Stage four is another opportunity for the sprinters but will there be more caution after a chaotic start to the tour

Tour de France in numbers

This year’s Tour de France has been crazy from the outset, with some of the most hectic stages any of us have ever seen.

To follow up wins for Julian Alaphilippe and Mathieu van der Poel, Tim Merlier stormed to victory on stage three with a wreckage in behind. He left Caleb Ewan and Peter Sagan on the concrete and in some pain, joining the likes of Geraint Thomas, Primoz Roglic and Arnaud Demare among the most high-profile names to be caught up in serious crashes on an unbelievable afternoon from Lorient to Pontivy.

Ewan was unable to finish the stage and abandoned following his horror crash inside the final 100 metres, which also brought down Sagan. Thomas was the first to go down and was forced to put his dislocated shoulder back in before getting back into the peloton. He ended up negotiating the stage well and finished with Pogacar’s group, less than 30 seconds down on stage winner Tim Merlier.

But the same could not be said for last year’s runner-up Roglic who came across the line nearly one minute behind Pogacar and Thomas. He was also clearly suffering with some bad injuries as he finished with a lot less of his jersey and shorts. On the face of it, stage four appears to be a routine one. But you could have said exactly the same about Monday’s route and that turned out to be one of the most dramatic day’s racing in recent memory. It is marked down as another one for the sprinters and is probably a slightly easier finale than Monday when any little rise in the road was causing havoc among those at the front of the main bunch. The peloton will be hoping for a more relaxed stage. But as we’ve seen already, truly anything can happen.

Follow live updates from the Tour with more drama likely in store from this gripping race:

Tour de France 2021 Stage 4

• Yellow jersey: Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Fenix) (12hrs 58mins 53secs)
• Tim Merlier wins chaotic stage three as Geraint Thomas and Primoz Roglic crash

[29 June 2021 15:19 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 40 km to go

The peloton has closed the gap to the breakaway to 1:15 as the race approaches today’s intermediate sprint at Vitré, which is coming up shortly. The pace has quickened up at the front of the bunch.

[29 June 2021 15:11 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 45 km to go

One theory being discussed by the television commentators is that Cavendish has swapped his bike ahead of the closing stages for one that is better suited for the upcoming sprint finish. I’m sure we’ll find out after the race. It also looks like yellow jersey wearer Van der Poel had a brief stop as he suddenly turned up at the back of the peloton, but it seems that the Dutch rider was answering the call of nature along with a few other riders ahead of the closing stages.

[29 June 2021 15:07 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 48 km to go

Is there a problem for Cavendish? The sprinter is on a new bike, but it’s hard to tell what happened to his old one. After a quick stop and swap, he is back in the peloton, so no damage done.

[29 June 2021 15:03 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 50 km to go

Van Moer and Perichon holding steady at the front of the race - 50 km to go!

(AFP via Getty Images)

[29 June 2021 14:54 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 60 km to go

Van Moer and Perichon continue to lead the breakaway - the riders covered 44.6km in their second hour of the race. Van Moer, 23, is riding in the Tour de France for the first time and the breakaway has actually increased its lead back up to two minutes as the peloton ride though Liffre, which is just outside Rennes. The pack now turn east for around 25km until they reach the town of Vitre, which will stage today’s intermediate sprint.

[29 June 2021 14:39 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 75 km to go

We’ve reached the halfway point of today’s stage as the peloton approach the town of Noyal-sur-Vilaine. The gap from the peloton to the front of the race continues to decrease and it has now been reduced to 1:10. Deceuninck-QuickStep and Alpecin–Fenix continue to set the pace at the front of the bunch, with Kristian Sbaragli and Tim Declercq retaining their positions at the head of the peloton. Yellow jersey holder Mathieu van der Poel is up near the front as well.

[29 June 2021 14:24 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 80 km to go

The gap between the breakaway riders and the peloton is cut down to around 90 seconds as the race proceeds through the town of Châteaugiron.

Chris Froome offered an update on his fitness earlier today and also explained some of the riders’ concerns over safety following yesterday’s stage.

Froome, who crashed on the opening day of the Tour, said to ITV: “I’m doing okay. Yesterday was hard. I am still really sore. I am surviving. I should be able to make it through these days and the time trial will be another opportunity to recover before we head into the mountains.

“I think what happened yesterday is really unfortunate, especially given that quite a few teams before the race, raised concerns with the UCI and asked for a rule change for GC to be taken earlier and remove the stress from the situation and remove the need for guys to fight for that final the way they did.

“That request for a rule change was denied by the UCI, which is unfortunate in a season where they are introducing so many other rules on riders, like on our positions, which actually don’t have much of a bearing on safety at all.

“So then when we go to them with a real safety concern like yesterday it is denied. It leaves us wondering do they really care about our safety?”

[29 June 2021 14:18 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 85 km to go

The most significant moment of today’s action was right at the start of the stage, when the peloton came to a halt in an apparent protest in the opening kilometre. The riders were not happy following yesterday’s chaotic stage three, with the professional cyclists’ union releasing the following statement this morning in which they raised concerns over rider safety.

“Following the crashes during the third stage of the Tour de France, the riders have been discussing how they wish to proceed to show their dissatisfaction with safety measures in place and demand their concerns are taken seriously. Their frustration about foreseeable and preventable action is enormous...

“For this reason they are asking the UCI to set up discussions with all race stakeholders to adapt the 3 km rule during stage races. This could avoid circumstances such as those which occurred in yesterday’s stage.

“Through this course of action, the riders intend to show their understanding to all parties and to open up to a constructive dialogue rather than create difficulties for cycling and the fans. However, riders and CPA are determined to pursue changes for the safety and physical integrity of athletes. These changes are more necessary than ever.”

[29 June 2021 14:08 · Jamie Braidwood]

Tour de France stage four - 100 km to go!

Brent Van Moer and Pierre-Luc Perichon continue to lead to the two-man breakaway and are two minutes ahead of the peloton with 100km to go. It’s been a fairly uneventful stage so far, certainly in comparison to the drama we have seen over the first few stages.

[29 June 2021 13:35 · Jack Rathborn]

Toms Skujiņš reacts to Tour de France’s chaotic start

“That was a bit of a hectic day but it could have ended worse for us. Our guys stayed upright, and there’s almost 18 days to go,” Skujiņš said.

“[Mollema]” rode over Roglic wheel and still didn’t crash. I was already prepared to jump off my bike and give him my wheel but luckily the bike was fine.”