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01 September 2020At an altitude of 1,825 meters, the first major uphill arrival of the 2020 Tour de France, one of the favorites to the final success shines, Primoz Roglic, who conquers the fourth stage (Sisteron-Orcières Merlette of 160.5 kilometers) at the end of a sumptuous long sprint where he puts the other suitors in line.
The Slovenian - his third career victory in the French race - precedes his compatriot Tadej Pogacar, the Frenchman Guillaume Martin and the Colombian Nairo Quintana.
But the leader Alaphilippe is there, fifth, responsive and always in the yellow jersey with a 4 ”advantage over Adam Yates and 7” over Roglic.
Italians in shadow: the best is Damiano Caruso, 23rd.
Five gpm - ascents that are not impossible but certainly challenging - characterize the fourth stage of the Grand Boucle.
The usual day break starts after a few rides.
There are six runners who immediately greet the company: Pacher, Vuillermoz, Burgaudeau, Politt, Neilands and Benoot, with the latter who at 26km from the finish misses his trajectory when cornering (and downhill) and crashes into a guard rail, finishing then in the meadow.
Spectacular accident (destroyed bicycle with a blown saddle) but fortunately without damage for the Belgian of the Sunweb, who, even if delayed, manages to restart.
The stoic platoon, however, crumbles: Politt and Burgaudeau give way, Vuillermoz and Pacher also break away, the last to give up is the Latvian Neilands who resists up to -7km, where the tough final climb begins (average gradient 6.7%).
From there the real stage starts, with the group that is slowly getting thinner and with Roglic putting the turbo in the last 300 meters, sweeping away any doubts about his condition.
Tomorrow is the Gap-Privas (183 kilometers), a double-faced fraction with some accessible roughness and a flat epilogue, terrain suitable for sprinters: another sprint is likely.