Evans Beats Contador to Win Tour de France Stage Four

Cadel Evans of BMC made a strong attack on the final climb of Stage Four of the 2011 Tour de France, crossing the line a foot ahead of three-time defending champion Alberto Contador.

Evans started the stage only one second out of first; he tried hard to take yellow, but Garmin-Cervelo’s Thor Hushovd, normally a sprinter, used his power to hang onto the leaders and retain the race lead.

Contador, considered the favorite and the best climber in cycling, made an attack, got caught, and made a strong final charge, but was a few seconds too late.

“I’m here for the overall classification,” Evans told letour.com. “I’m just very happy to get through today without too many problems and be in front. To try for the stage win—and get it—is already fantastic, and now we’ll look towards tomorrow and beyond.

“It was thanks to my team that I could do what I did in the final there. That was the first objective and if I could do something in the stage was extra. To win a stage here in the first week is a real bonus and I owe it all to my team.”

Hilltop Finish

Stage Three, 172.5 km from Lorient to Mûr-de-Bretagne was a hilly with a pair of categorized climbs, but only the final few kilometers mattered—the steady uphill slope ending in the 2.2-km climb up the Mur de Bretagne. The average incline was a significant enough seven percent, but that was average—the base of the climb was a leg-beating ten-percent grade.

Most experts opined that the yellow jersey would change hands in Stage Four—the final climb was too long for a sprinter like Thor Hushovd, and with the top two dozen riders within ten seconds of the leader, it was expected that the final few kilometers would see a series of attacks.

Tuesday was the first rainy, miserable day of the 2011 Tour, with rain, cold, and high winds at the beginning of the course and intermittent drizzle throughout the stage. Happily for the riders, the weather lifted for the final climb.

The day started with the obligatory breakaway, though it took nine kilometers to get away this time. Five riders—Jeremy Roy (FDJ), Blel Kadri (Ag2r), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) and Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi)—insisted on an attack which was to last until the 3.7 km from the finish.

Garmin-Cervelo’s Dave Zabriskie and Omega Pharma-Lotto’s André Greipel led the final kilometers of the chase at speeds of up to 50 mph, Zabriskie defending his teammate’s yellow jersey and Greipel setting up Philippe Gilbert, who was picked for the stage win on the day, his birthday.

Farrar Wins the Mid-Race Sprint

The intermediate sprint offered an interesting development: Tyler Farrar won ahead of José Rojas and Borut Bozic Gilbert, with Mark Cavendish finishing fourth. HTC-Highroad set up a good leadout for Cavendish, but Farrar squeezed between two riders and blasted past Cavendish; the HTC sprinter seemed to refuse the challenge and cede the sprint to others.

Perhaps Cavendish decided not to spend his energy competing for points, preferring to save his legs for an overall win in Stage Five.

Since Cavendish and Thor Hushovd were both stripped of their sprint points after their coming-together in Stage Three, the HTC rider is ninth in points. Perhaps he decided stage wins were more worth contesting than the green jersey competition.

Whatever the case, Farrar moved into fifth place in the points, with Cavendish dropping to twelfth.

Stage Five should end in a bunch sprint. Although the final kilometer is slightly uphill, this could be another chance for Farrar to face Cavendish head-to-head.

Next: Evans vs. Contador