Third place on the 4th stage of the tour
Bauhaus defies fall festival with Philipsen victory
Before the first endurance test in the Pyrenees, the sprinters can shine again at the Tour de France. However, the finale of the fourth stage was overshadowed by three falls. The German Phil Bauhaus is back at the front, but has to leave victory to others.
Phil Bauhaus raced around the Nogaro motorsport course at high speed in a wild fall spectacle, but at the finish line he had to admit defeat again despite his great performance. The 28-year-old from the Bahrain Victorious team has once again missed the longed-for first day's victory in the Tour de France. 24 hours after his surprising second place, Bauhaus ended up in third place with Belgian Jasper Philipsen's next victory in the mass sprint of the fourth stage.
The Australian Caleb Ewan completed the podium after a long stretch that was tough but ultimately very exciting. The Dutch co-favorite Fabio Jakobsen fell shortly before the finish and was unable to take part in the final. Afterwards, other drivers fell violently. “It was a very easy stage, everyone wanted to take it easy for the Pyrenees. There were a few crashes, I hope everyone is OK. It was very hectic. I had cramps at the end,” said Philipsen.
The finale took place over the last 2.3 kilometers on the winding Circuit Paul Armagnac motorsport track. Sprint star Mark Cavendish once again failed to become the sole record stage winner in fifth place on his farewell tour; he continues to share the record with Belgium legend Eddy Merckx.
The peloton rolls quietly through beautiful landscapes
The top favorites around defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar had a quiet afternoon the day before the first mountain stage – Pogacar's teammate Adam Yates easily defended the overall leader's yellow jersey.
The second flat stage of the tour had previously started in the immediate vicinity of the bullfighting arena in the health resort of Dax. We had to overcome 181.8 kilometers without any major challenges. The 174 remaining riders rolled east through the rugby-crazy southwest of the Grande Nation.
Things were much less brutal on the wheels than when playing with the egg. There were no falls, battles for position, or even serious attempts to escape for a long time. Like the day before, most of the peloton put their feet up and meandered leisurely through the French countryside. The most important cycling race in the world degenerated into a coffee ride – with a view to the upcoming Pyrenees stages, no one wanted to exhaust themselves.
Two outliers create some tension
Thanks to the only sprint classification of the day at the cycling pilgrimage site Notre-Dame des Cyclistes, at least a little spice came into the race with 88 kilometers to go. Monday's stage winner Philipsen kept the upper hand and sprinted to 20 points in the fight for the green jersey. Bauhaus, who had complained about his missed opportunity the evening before and had aggressively stated that he wanted to chase a stage win, held back.
The longing wish for an escape group that would bring speed to the tired affair was fulfilled a little later. The French Benoit Cosnefroy and Anthony Delaplace took pity and forced the sprinter teams to form up. Things only really got interesting for the spectators in the last 20 kilometers, when the leading group was caught up again and the finale began.
The coming days promise spectacle right from the start. After the battle between the top favorites Pogacar and Vingegaard broke out for the first time on the opening weekend, the next exchange of blows is likely to take place in the Pyrenees. On Wednesday, the first climb of the highest category awaits the riders with the Col de Soudet, the next day they go over the legendary Col d'Aspin and Col du Tourmalet to the first mountain finish in Cauterets-Cambasque.
