A group of roughly 30 riders approached the finish with 3.3 kilometers to go when Tony Martin made his move on Stage 4 of the Tour de France. The time trial specialist, who missed out on the yellow jersey due to some bad luck the last two stages, made sure he would not miss his chance.
Just one second behind Chris Froome on the general classification standings, a win would easily put Martin first thanks to a 10-second time bonus. He held off charges from the sprinters to take the stage and his first career Maillot Jaune.
And he didn't even do it on his own bike. After getting a late flat tire, he swapped bikes with teammate Matteo Trentin to ride on to victory.
Martin's redemption capped a fantastic day of racing. The yellow jersey favorites attacked the cobbles with panache. They pushed the pace into the second set of cobbles, with Vincenzo Nibali and Astana Pro Team leading the way. Chris Froome, Alberto Contador (with Peter Sagan giving him a wheel), Tejay Van Garderen and Nairo Quintana were all well-positioned behind.
Heading into the final section cobbles with 14 kilometers to go in the course, Team Sky took over the pace-setting, with Nicolas Roche and Geraint Thomas just ahead of Froome. Fortunately, the threat of rain was never fulfilled, setting up some fantastic racing. Nibali again stretched the peloton on the cobbles, accelerating and daring his competitors to keep up.
Froome did, with Thomas' help. After getting clear of the cobbles for good, the two began hunting for time, taking and pushing the break with Nibali. A chase led by Tinkoff-Saxo's Peter Sagan brought the riders back, however, to the relief of teammate Contador.
Tension was high after the pack cleared the cobbles. The final kilometers were a nervous wait for someone to attack. Martin did, and for that final stretch there was no one faster in the world.
Stage 4 results
Name | Team | Time | Gap |
Tony Martin | Etixx-Quick Step | 5:28:58 | |
John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | 5:29:01 | :03 |
Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | " | " |
Greg Van Avermaet | BMC | " | " |
Edvald Boasson Hagen | MTN-Qhubeka | " | " |
Nacer Bouhanni | Confidis | " | " |
Jacopo Guarnieri | Katusha | " | " |
Tony Gallopin | Lotto-Soudal | " | " |
Zdenek Stybar | Etixx-Quick Step | " | " |
Bryan Coquard | Europcar | " | " |
General classification (yellow jersey) standings
Name | Team | Time | Gap |
Tony Martin | Etixx-Quick Step | 12:40:26 | |
Christopher Froome | Sky | 12:40:38 | :12 |
Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 12:40:51 | :25 |
Tony Gallopin | Lotto-Soudal | 12:41:04 | :38 |
Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 12:41:05 | :39 |
Greg Van Avermaet | BMC | 12:41:06 | :40 |
Rigoberto Uran Uran | Etixx-Quick Step | 12:41:12 | :46 |
Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxo | 12:41:14 | :48 |
Geraint Thomas | Sky | 12:41:41 | 1:15 |
Zdenek Stybar | Etixx-Quick Step | 12:41:42 | 1:16 |
General Classification favorites
Overall rank | Name | Team | Time | Gap |
2. | Christopher Froome | Sky | 12:40:38 | :12 |
3. | Tejay Van Garderen | BMC | 12:40:51 | :25 |
8. | Alberto Contador | Tinkoff-Saxo | 12:41:14 | :48 |
13. | Vincenzo Nibali | Astana | 12:42:16 | 1:50 |
17. | Nairo Quintana | Movistar | 12:42:34 | 2:08 |
Points (green jersey) standings
Name | Team | Points |
Andre Greipel | Lotto-Soudal | 84 |
Peter Sagan | Tinkoff-Saxo | 78 |
John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | 60 |
Tony Martin | Etixx-Quick Step | 55 |
Mark Cavendish | Etixx-Quick Step | 53 |