Elia Viviani claimed his first career stage win on the Tour de France after storming a bunch sprint on Tuesday.
Viviani was ideally set up by the Deceuninck-Quick Step leadout train in the finale and made the most of the slight uphill finish in the eastern city of Nancy. He used his considerable power to edge Alexander Kristoff and Caleb Ewan and claim the fourth stage.
The 213.5-kilometer (133-mile) flat route from Reims to Nancy did not pose any major difficulty and was a perfect opportunity for sprinters to get a stage win.
Viviani’s teammate Julian Alaphilippe, the first Frenchman to wear the yellow jersey in five years after his solo victory in Stage 3, kept the overall lead, with no change at the top of the overall standings.
Both men hugged warmly after their team produced a second straight stage win.
Kristoff opened up the sprint in the final stretch but could not hold off Viviani on the left side of the road.
Viviani has now posted stage wins at all three Grand Tours, including four at the Giro and three at the Vuelta.
Alaphilippe enjoyed a day free of pressure, well protected in the main pack by teammates, and then played a role in the final sprint to launch Viviani’s final effort.
Defending champion Geraint Thomas and other main contenders enjoyed a calm day too, just making sure they rode at the front to avoid crashes or splits.
Tour de France 2019 – stage 4 results (Reims – Nancy):
| 1 | Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | 5:09:20 |
| 2 | Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 3 | Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 4 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 5 | Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) | ,, |
| 6 | Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) | ,, |
| 7 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 8 | Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) | ,, |
| 9 | Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 10 | Christophe Laporte (Cofidis) | ,, |
| 11 | Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 12 | André Greipel (Arkea Samsic) | ,, |
| 13 | Niccolò Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) | ,, |
| 14 | Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 15 | Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 16 | Andrea Pasqualon (Wanty-Gobert) | ,, |
| 17 | Rick Zabel (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 18 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) | ,, |
| 19 | Maximiliano Richeze (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | ,, |
| 20 | Guillaume Martin (Wanty-Gobert) | ,, |
Tour de France 2019 – general classification after stage 4:
| 1 | Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | 14:41:39 |
| 2 | Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) | +20” |
| 3 | Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) | +25” |
| 4 | George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) | ,, |
| 5 | Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) | +40” |
| 6 | Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) | ,, |
| 7 | Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) | +45” |
| 8 | Enric Mas (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) | +46” |
| 9 | Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) | +51” |
| 10 | Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 11 | Michael Woods (EF Education First) | ,, |
| 12 | Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) | +52” |
| 13 | Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) | +53” |
| 14 | Tejay Van Garderen (EF Education First) | ,, |
| 15 | Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) | +56” |
| 16 | Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) | +57” |
| 17 | David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) | ,, |
| 18 | Peter Sagan (Bora-hansgrohe) | +01’00” |
| 19 | Nicolas Roche (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 20 | Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott) | +01’01” |
