A supporter waves a French flag as the peloton heads for Calais. drives
(AP)
The Tour de France 2022 is finally home after a three-day jaunt around Denmark and a rest day to transition from Sunday’s finish in Sonderborg. Yves Lampaert and . from QuickStep Fabio Jakobsen won the first two stages via an individual time trial and a sprint finish respectively, before BikeExchange’s Dylan Groenewegen secured a thrilling photo finish on the line to win stage 3for the man in the yellow jersey Wout van Aert†
In stage 4, the peloton will arrive in northern France for a 171.5km route from Dunkerque to Calais, via a series of category four climbs inland. Given the lack of opportunities for sprinters in the coming days, this looks like an unmissable opportunity for Jakobsen, Groenewegen and Van Aert to continue their impressive start to the Tour, while others like Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Felix) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) will be eager to put their name in the spotlight after a few days under the radar.
The categorized climbs offer King of the Mountains points so far gobbled up by Danish rider Magnus Cort Nielsen in his home country, and he continues in the dots today. Jakobsen wears green because Van Aert – dressed in yellow – is the only rider above him in the points category, while reigning champion Tadej Pogacar wears the white jersey of the best young riders today.
Follow all the latest updates from stage 4 of the Tour de France below.
Tour de France stage 4
There is just under 15km to go until the next climb and if the peloton maintains this pace they can overtake Cort and Perez before they reach it.
60 km to go and the gap has shrunk to just over two minutes.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 15:10
Tour de France stage 4
With 68km to go in stage 4, the riders will have covered 500km in the 2022 version of the Tour de France. Only 2,800 km to go.
The gap between the peloton and the leading group is now only two minutes and 23 seconds. The leading pair will eventually be ruled, it’s just a matter of when now.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 15:02
Tour de France stage 4
Cort and Perez reach the top of Cote de Harlettes and Magnus wins again. 10 mountain points from 10 ascents from him now.
There seems to be an agreement between the two riders. They are no longer racing for the finish and Perez seems happy that Cort continues to take these points.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 3:00 PM
Tour de France stage 4
Meanwhile, the peloton has reached the bottom of the climb, reducing the time difference with the leaders to just four minutes and 16 seconds.
Lotto-Soudal sets the pace for the rest of the pack.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:51 PM
Tour de France stage 4
500 meters to go in the climb and Magnus Cort leads Anthony Perez. He keeps looking back at his rival, to give himself an idea of when to run to the finish line.
Another 300m to the left and Cort has slipped backwards. Both riders continue to attack each other.
100 meters to go. There is no battle between the riders as Cort squeezes back to the front and takes the win.
He has won all nine climbs of the Tour de France so far.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:49 PM
Tour de France stage 4
Bradley Wiggins believes the peloton will start to panic when the wind picks up. He says the teams will begin to maneuver for a position near the front of the field.
Cort and Perez approach the first of two consecutive climbs. This is the Cote de Nielles-Les-Blequin and is 1.2 km with a gradient of 7.7%.
That in itself is not too difficult, but the sharp run-up to the second climb at Cote de Harlettes makes it more difficult for the riders.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:45 PM
Tour de France stage 4
The Belgian team Lotto-Soudal increases the pace for the peloton with Alpecin-Deceuninck. They reduced the gap on the breakaway pair to six minutes.
Magnus Cort and Anthony Perez are traveling well and the Eurosport commentary team is starting to talk about them potentially winning the stage.
However, there is still such a long way to go, 80km and their lead is constantly diminishing as the peloton raises the bar.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:39 PM
Tour de France stage 4
Still 88 km to go with Perez and Cort reaching the southernmost point of the stage. They are now heading west with a light crosswind before turning north into a headwind towards the coast and Calais.
The gap between them and the pack is seven minutes and ten seconds.
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:25 PM
Tour de France stage 4
Magnus Cort Nielsen is the first rider to win the first eight consecutive mountain points in the Tour de France. One more and his count will be out of range until phase 7.
There are still four climbs to do today.
(EPA)
Michael JonesJuly 5, 2022 2:21 PM