Cavendish wins the fourth leg of the Tour de France; Herringbone finishes in peleton / Pattern

British legend Mark Kavendis won the big group finish in the fourth stage of the Tour de France multi-day cycling on Tuesday, but Latvian cyclist Toms Skujiņš from the “Trek Segafredo” team took the 84th place, reports the Latvian Cycling Federation (LRF).

After the fall-rich third stage, in which a number of overall favorites lost valuable time, but one of the best sprinters, Keileb Juden from Australia, withdrew, the 150.4-kilometer plain section was suitable for sprinters on Tuesday.

Belgian Brent van Moore (“Lotto Soudal”) and Frenchman Pierre Perischon (“Cofidis, Solutions Credits”) took part in the day. Meanwhile, control of the group was largely taken over by cyclists from Alpecin – Fenix, Groupama – FDJ and Deceuninck – Quick Step.

The offensive duo worked together successfully, but Peleton was not interested in catching both refugees quickly.

In the end, van Mur managed to escape from Periscon. The Belgian fought until the last meters, but the big group reached van Moore in the last 400 meters. 36-year-old Cavendish (“Deceuninck – Quick Step”) proved to be the fastest in the exciting fight in the last meters. The legendary British won their first Tour de France victory since 2016, which was already the 31st success of the Tour de France, and burst into tears after the finish.

Cavendish entered the Tour de France list only after the last-minute Irish sprinter, Sam Bennett, resigned.

Cavendish spent three hours 20 minutes and 17 seconds in the distance. Second place went to French sprinter Naser Buan (“Arkea Samsic”), but the three was finished by Jaspers Filipsens (“Alpecin – Fenix”).

Trek – Segafredo ‘s fastest man in the plains was Mads Pedersen, who finished eighth. Toms Skujiņš also finished in the big group, who helped the team leader Baukem Mollema. The herringbone was ranked 84th.

There have been no changes in the overall rating. The leader is the Dutchman Matte van der Pool (“Alpecin-Fenix”), who is eight seconds ahead of Gillien Alafilip. The third is Richard Karapaz from “Ineos” (+0: 31), but the same time is for Belgian Vout van van Arth (Jumbo-Visma)

The herringbone retains position 26 (+2: 26).

Kavendish also topped the list of the most active riders, who won the intermediate finish at the beginning of the fourth stage on Tuesday and came to the green shirt, which is awarded to the leader of the sprinters’ overall rating. He is seven points ahead of teammate Alafilipp.

“It’s coming five years late,” Cavendish said, approaching the record of Belgian cycling legend Eddie Marx of 34 individual victories between 1969 and 1975.

“There’s been a lot of talk about my condition, and I hope it gives hope to people in my condition,” said the 36-year-old cyclist, who was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus in 2017, which can cause constant fatigue.

Shortly after the start of the stage, Peleton stopped briefly in protest of the road safety problems after a series of falls the day before, before setting off again at a leisurely pace.

The tour will continue on Wednesday, when a 27.2-kilometer-long individual ride will take place on the plain.

The Tour de France will end on July 18 with a finish in the Champs Elysées. Six days after the final stage of the “Tour de France”, the Tokyo Olympic Games will start cycling, so the multi-day trip has been postponed to a slightly earlier time this year.

The Tour de France is taking place for the 108th time. The 21-stage race will only take place on French roads this year, although the start was originally planned in Copenhagen. Seven of the stages will be more convenient for sprinters.

For the fourth year in a row, Skujiņš will start in the “Tour de France” ranks of the “Trek-Segafredo” team, who in the first half of June was crowned Latvian champion in the group and also in the individual race.

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