March 12, 2015 (Croix de Chaubouret, France) – Team Sky were the arch-favourites at the start of this 73rd Paris-Nice and they amply delivered in stage 4 with an impressive one-two at the top of the climb to Croix de Chaubouret on Thursday. Richie Porte, the 2013 winner, won the first major stage of this edition with team-mate Geraint Thomas on his heels, confirming the claim by the British team that they had two cards to play in the Race to the Sun. Yet their brave effort in the finale of the longest stage in this edition (204 km) was not quite enough to seize the overall lead as prologue winner Michal Kiwatkowski hanged on to take third place and claim the yellow jersey back, leading Porte by the slimmest margin. Thomas is now third, a further two seconds behind.
Three men moved on the gun: Thomas De Gendt (LTS), Antoine Duchesne (EUC), quickly joined by Chris Anker Sorensen (TCS). The peloton were happy to see them go and their lead increased steadily to reach 8:15 at Km 23. De Gendt made his intentions clear by sweeping the points on the first seven ascents of the day to dislodge Philippe Gilbert from the top of the mountain classification. Duchesne was dropped in the 2nd cat. Cote de la Gimond (km 152).
Majka dropped
On the descent, AG2R seized their chance to shake off the peloton and raised the tempo, dropping several big names like Bradley Wiggins (SKY), Thomas Voeckler (EUC) and several sprinters like Alexander Kristoff (KAT), Andre Greipel (LTS) or NaceBouhanni (FDJ). The most serious contender trapped at the back was Poland’s RafalMajka (TCS) who suffered a front wheel problem at the worst possible time and had to change bikes twice.
De Gendt and Sorensen were caught with 13 kms to go as BMC riders took the reins. At the very start of the final climb, France’s Warren Barguil (TGA) crashed as Astana and Team Sky took the reins. The British outfit steadily increased the pace, sorting out the leading contenders. While Majka and Bob Jungels (TFR) were among the first to lose ground, yellow jersey holder Michael Matthews (OGE) faltered with six kilometers to go. Tony Martin (EQS) and Tom-JelteSlagter (TCG) were done two kilometres further down the road.
Three left for final victory?
Once Lars-PetterNordhaug and Nicholas Roche had finished their team work, Geraint Thomas decided to part company with the rest of the pack three kilometres from the finish line. He was joined by Denmark’s JakobFuglsang (AST) and Slovenia’s Simon Spilak (KAT). The leading favorites slowly bridged the gap and on the junction, behind the red flame, Richie Porte struck back, taking Thomas with him. This last blow was too much to take for most of the other contenders, except Kwiatkowski. American Tejay Van Garderen is now 27 seconds adrift in fourth overall and JakobFuglsang 32 seconds off the pace in fifth.
Results
1. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 5:18:39
2. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:08
4. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
5. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 00:17
6. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 00:24
7. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal
8. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
9. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida
10. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha
11. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 00:30
12. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team
13. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha 00:34
14. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 01:04
15. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
16. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team 01:06
17. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team
18. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
19. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
20. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling
21. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing 01:12
22. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:15
23. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr
24. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha
25. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar
26. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 01:24
27. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
28. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 01:36
29. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 01:42
30. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo
31. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 01:55
32. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 01:59
33. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 02:12
34. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
35. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 02:15
36. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 02:31
37. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 02:51
38. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar 03:00
39. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge 03:03
40. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
41. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
42. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
43. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 03:13
44. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 04:43
45. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin 05:27
46. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida 06:03
47. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky 06:12
48. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha 06:49
49. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 07:37
50. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team 07:39
51. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
52. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 08:09
53. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team
54. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team
55. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr
56. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling
57. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
58. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 08:35
59. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team
60. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
61. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling 09:32
62. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 10:12
63. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale
64. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling
65. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky
66. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar 11:10
67. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha 11:48
68. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida
69. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 12:27
70. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
71. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
72. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal
73. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
74. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
75. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team
76. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr
77. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 14:01
78. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
79. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 14:06
80. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 15:00
81. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 15:03
82. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 15:10
83. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 17:04
84. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge
85. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
86. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal
87. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team
88. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling
89. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo
90. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
91. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida
92. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team 21:58
93. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar
94. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
95. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
96. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge
97. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale
98. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
99. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
100. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin
101. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
102. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
103. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge
104. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr
105. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
106. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing 22:54
107. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge 23:25
108. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida
109. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
110. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky
111. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
112. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo
113. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar
114. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr
115. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
116. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
117. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo
118. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team
119. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha
120. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
121. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
122. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge
123. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar
124. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
125. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin
126. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team
127. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar
128. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement
129. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
130. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
131. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
132. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
133. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal
134. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal
135. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal
136. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
137. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
138. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
139. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
140. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
141. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin
142. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha
143. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky
144. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing
145. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr
146. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida
147. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
148. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo
149. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha
150. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar
151. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team
152. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 23:32
153. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 25:03
154. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling 28:16
155. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling
156. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 31:41
DNF Benat Intxausti (Esp) Movistar Team
GC after Stage 4
1. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 19:44:11
2. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 0:01
3. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky 0:03
4. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:27
5. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:32
6. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:38
7. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 0:41
8. Gorka Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 0:44
9. Tiago Machado (Por) Team Katusha 0:50
10. Rafael Valls Ferri (Esp) Lampre-Merida 0:51
11. Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha 0:52
12. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:53
13. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:01
14. Luis Leon Sanchez (Esp) Astana Pro Team 1:12
15. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 1:13
16. Ruben Fernandez (Esp) Movistar Team 1:22
17. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:23
18. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:25
19. Riccardo Zoidl (Aut) Trek Factory Racing 1:30
20. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) IAM Cycling
21. Mathias Frank (Sui) IAM Cycling 1:31
22. Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 1:35
23. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 1:36
24. Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ.fr 1:42
25. Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 1:47
26. Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 1:50
27. Yury Trofimov (Rus) Team Katusha 1:51
28. Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:52
29. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 2:07
30. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Tinkoff-Saxo 2:12
31. Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 2:26
32. Luis Angel Mate (Esp) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 2:42
33. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 2:45
34. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team
35. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team 2:55
36. Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 3:06
37. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 3:12
38. Romain Sicard (Fra) Team Europcar 3:25
39. Bob Jungels (Lux) Trek Factory Racing 3:27
40. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 3:32
41. Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 3:33
42. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica GreenEdge 3:40
43. Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team 3:48
44. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 5:09
45. Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Giant-Alpecin 5:54
46. Ruben Plaza Molina (Esp) Lampre-Merida 6:15
47. Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team Sky 6:37
48. Sergei Chernetski (Rus) Team Katusha 7:13
49. Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx – Quick-Step 7:40
50. Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team 7:55
51. Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 8:15
52. Silvan Dillier (Sui) BMC Racing Team 8:33
53. Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ.fr 8:34
54. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 8:43
55. Michael Schär (Sui) BMC Racing Team 8:45
56. Vicente Reynes (Esp) IAM Cycling 8:51
57. George Bennett (Nzl) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 8:53
58. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana Pro Team 9:02
59. Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 9:04
60. Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 9:09
61. Jérôme Pineau (Fra) IAM Cycling 9:57
62. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky 0:10:45
63. Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:10:53
64. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Lampre-Merida 0:12:12
65. Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha 0:12:20
66. David Tanner (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:12:28
67. Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar 0:12:45
68. Imanol Erviti (Esp) Movistar Team 0:12:49
69. Bram Tankink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:12:54
70. Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:12:58
71. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:12:59
72. Michal Golas (Pol) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:13:23
73. Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:13:29
74. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:13:56
75. Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:14:05
76. Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:15:10
77. Ion Izagirre (Esp) Movistar Team 0:15:20
78. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:16:01
79. Christian Knees (Ger) Team Sky 0:16:04
80. Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:16:07
81. Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:16:41
82. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:17:00
83. John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:17:02
84. Simon Clarke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:17:32
85. Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:17:37
86. Peter Velits (Svk) BMC Racing Team 0:17:40
87. Heinrich Haussler (Aus) IAM Cycling 0:17:49
88. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:17:50
89. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:18:52
90. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge 0:19:43
91. Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Soudal 0:19:57
92. Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:22:16
93. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Esp) Movistar Team 0:22:20
94. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:22:32
95. Johan Van Summeren (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22:40
96. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:22:49
97. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
98. Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:22:53
99. Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:23:02
100. Jack Bauer (Nzl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:23:04
101. Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:23:23
102. Roy Curvers (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:23:26
103. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 0:23:35
104. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:23:39
105. Greg Henderson (Nzl) Lotto Soudal 0:23:42
106. Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
107. Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
108. Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:23:44
109. Florian Senechal (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:23:45
110. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar 0:23:46
111. Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:23:50
112. André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:23:55
113. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica GreenEdge 0:23:56
114. Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:24:04
115. Dominique Rollin (Can) Cofidis, Solutions Credits
116. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:24:06
117. Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Astana Pro Team 0:24:08
118. Gert Steegmans (Bel) Trek Factory Racing
119. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:24:24
120. Christian Meier (Can) Orica GreenEdge 0:24:27
121. Grégory Rast (Sui) Trek Factory Racing 0:24:30
122. Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:24:34
123. Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:24:36
124. Nikolas Maes (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step
125. Yauheni Hutarovich (Blr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:24:41
126. Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:24:43
127. Michael Morkov (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:24:49
128. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky 0:24:51
129. Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar 0:24:52
130. Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Soudal 0:24:56
131. Bryan Nauleau (Fra) Team Europcar 0:25:03
132. Maarten Wynants (Bel) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:25:12
133. Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) FDJ.fr
134. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Team Katusha 0:25:14
135. Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 0:25:16
136. Viacheslav Kuznetsov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:25:23
137. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:25:25
138. Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:25:34
139. Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica GreenEdge 0:25:43
140. Daniel Mclay (Gbr) Bretagne-Séché Environnement 0:25:59
141. Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 0:26:18
142. Michael Albasini (Sui) Orica GreenEdge 0:26:21
143. Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:26:23
144. William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:26:26
145. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky 0:26:53
146. Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:27:40
147. Matti Breschel (Den) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:27:59
148. Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:28:20
149. Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:28:25
150. Dries Devenyns (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:28:34
151. Zico Waeytens (Bel) Team Giant-Alpecin 0:28:54
152. Jonas Vangenechten (Bel) IAM Cycling 0:28:58
153. Mario Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 0:30:54
154. Sergio Paulinho (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:33:23
155. Stijn Vandenbergh (Bel) Etixx – Quick-Step 0:33:35
156. Jonas Ahlstrand (Swe) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 0:38:19