THE RACE LIVE
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There is no change to the top of the general classification after the fourth stage. The top five in Saint-Quentin is:
1. Robbie McEwen (AUS - DVL)
2. Isaac Galvez (ESP - CEI)
3. Oscar Freire (ESP - RAB)
4. Thor Hushovd (NOR - C.A)
5. Tom Boonen (BEL - QSI)

Boonen has failed to claim a stage win again... the yellow jersey was fifth over the line. But he should retain the overall lead in the Tour de France. We await confirmation of the GC standings.

Thor Hushovd’s lead-out man, Julian Dean crashed just before the final turn. He did not bring anyone else down but he did hinder Bennati’s sprint a little. He appeared to pull his foot out of the pedal.

Robbie McEwen has won his 10th Tour de France stage.

The Quickstep team is leading with 1km to go. In the mx are riders from Credit Agricole, Lampre, Rabobank, Davitamon-Lotto...

The sprinters will have their way. The escapees have been caught, but Zabel will not be part of the rush to the line. He has a flat back tires and is now getting a new wheel...

The peloton is breathing down the necks of the two stage leaders. There are less than 2km to go and the latest time check had the escapees 5" ahead....

The chasing duties are now the responsibility of team Milram; but their sprinter Zabel has just punctured!

Lefevre has attacked up front. He has been chased down by Martinez. Coutouly is out of contention now. There are 3km to go.

Martinez, Coutouly and Lefevre are still ahead of the peloton that’s now being led by riders from the Lampre and Liquigas teams... The Italians are inspired but the peloton is still 28" behind with 4km to go.

Martinez, Coutouly and Lefevre are less than 5km from the finish of the fourth stage. They have a lead of about 25" on the peloton which has now caught up with Wiggins and Mengin.

The peloton is now 25" behind the three escapees who are racing along at about 60km/h. Liquigas riders are in charge of the main pack.

Martinez, Coutouly and Lefevre are insisting with their effort at the front of the stage they are now 30" ahead of the peloton. We don’t know if Wiggins and Mengin have been caught yet.

Martinez, Coutouly and Lefevre lead Wiggins and Mengin by 15". The peloton has just passed under the 10km to go banner 38" behind the leading trio.

Martinez, Lefevre and Coutouly are now the three riders at the head of the stage. They have an advantage of 38" on the peloton and 12" over Wiggins and Mengin with 10km to go.

After the recent crash, Iban Mayo and Isaac Galvez are back in the peloton which is now 38" behind the five escapees.

The peloton is now being led by the Credit Agricole team. This group is now 45" behind Wiggins, Martinez, Mengin, Coutouly and Lefevre.

After being caught up in the crash Iban Mayo is immediately back on his bike. He has the support of four team-mates who are now towing him back to the peloton.

There has been another crash. This time it involves riders from the Caisse d’Epargne and Euskaltel teams. We await the names of the riders involved but it appears to be Isaac Galvez... and perhaps Iban Mayo.

At the 15km to go mark, the peloton is 1’05" behind the five escapees who continue to share the workload up front.

There have been plenty of punctures in today’s stage. The latest victim of a flat tire is yesterday’s Most Aggressive Rider, Jose Luis Arrieta. He has already had a wheel change and is back with the peloton.

Davitamon-Lotto is now driving the peloton. The rider at the head of the peloton appears to be Christophe Brandt. His efforts - combined with that of his team-mates and Milram, Quickstep and Milram riders - have reeled in the advantage of the escapees which is now just 1’10".

The peloton has just passed the line for the third intermediate sprint. It was 1’15" behind the five escapees.

The points for the sprint in Bernot were won by:
1. Egoi Martinez (DSC) 6pts/6"
2. Laurent Lefevre (BTL) 4pts/4"
3. Christophe Mengin (FDJ) 2pts/2"

The peloton is 22km from the finish. It is 1’10" behind the five escapees. The squads that are responsible for setting the pace of the chase are: Milram, Credit Agricole, Davitamon-Lotto... but it has been Quickstep-Innergetic that has been at the head of the bunch all day long.

The five stage leaders are now 5km away from the site of the third intermediate sprint which is in Bernot (at the 188km mark).

The peloton has just passed under the 25km to go banner with a deficit of 1’20" to the five stage leaders: Wiggins (FDJ), Martinez (DSC), Mengin (FDJ), Coutouly (AGR) and Lefevre (BTL).

The leading quintet continue to cooperate. They are now 1’30" ahead of the peloton and have less than 25km to go.

The peloton has 27km to race. It is currently 1’35" behind Wiggins, Martinez, Mengin, Coutouly and Lefevre.

With the advantage of the five escapees down to 1’45" with 28km to go, we can expect to see the stage leaders start to take their chances and begin attacking each other. That is, after all, how these escape groups traditionally implode.
Credit Agricole has sent a number of riders to the head of the peloton to start assisting Quickstep and the other sprint teams with the pursuiting duties.

For the first time today we can now see some blue and pink jerseys of Daniele Bennati’s Lampre-Fondital team at the front of the peloton.

The peloton is being led by riders from the Quickstep team. Davitamon-Lotto quit their involvement in the chase because, it seems, McEwen recently had a mechanical problem. The winner of stage two is now back in the peloton thanks to some help from his colleagues.

The latest time check has the peloton just 2’10" behind the five escapees.

The peloton continues to be led by riders from the sprint specialists: Quickstep, Milram, Davitamon-Lotto... the main pack is 2’40" behind the five escapees who have 37km to race.

Today’s stage is the first time since the 1990 Tour de France that the yellow jersey is worn by the reigning road race world champion. Back then, the rainbow jersey was on the shoulders of the eventual Tour champion, Greg LeMond.

"Quickstep have been in charge of the peloton all day long and it’s clear that it’s the intention to set things up for Tom Boonen," said the five-time winner of the Tour de France, Bernard Hinault. "The finish is perfect for the world champion who is keen to respond to his critics who have voiced concerns about him not yet winning a stage.
"The finish really suits Tom," concluded Hinault, refering to the slight rise from 800m to go until 300m before the line.

The Spanish Discovery Channel recruit who institaged today’s escape, Egoi Martinez, has won only one race in his five-year career. It was the overall title of the 2003 Tour de L’Avenir when he beat Radoslav Rogina (of Croatia) and Samuel Dumoulin (a Frenchman currently riding the Tour with the AG2R team).

The escapees are less than 50km from the finish of the 4th stage. They are 2’35" ahead of the peloton which is now being led by riders from a variety of sprinters’ teams: Quickstep (for Boonen), Milram (for Zabel), Davitamon-Lotto (for McEwen)...

The five escapees are 2’40" ahead of the peloton that is now in Fontenelle at the 150.5km mark. The only rider of the lead group to have previously won a stage of the Tour is Christophe Mengin. The Frenchman was successful in the 16th stage of the 1997 Tour (in Fribourg).
He was in contention for the sixth stage last year but he crashed heavily in the final kilometer of the stage to Nancy and Lorenzo Bernucci took advantage of the situation when numerous sprinters also fell on the same turn as Mengin. The Italian rider gave Fassa Bortolo its last win in the Tour de France...

The rider who wears the green jersey in the fourth stage is Daniele Bennati. He is just one point shy of Tom Boonen’s lead in the sprinters’ classification but because the Belgian has the yellow jersey, the green is on the shoulders of the Italian. LeTour.fr contacted one of the Lampre team’s directeur sportifs to get his thoughts on the stage and to find out if they celebrated Italy’s victory over Germany in the football World Cup last night.
“Sure we have had a good night yesterday," said Bontempi, "and we really hope that France will beat Portugal tonight so the Italian football team can take its revenge for the loss of the Euro Cup in 2000. But we are at the Tour to think about Daniele Bennati who is a real chance to win a sprint stage and take charge of the points classification. A stage win is Lampre-Fondital’s main objective in this year’s race.
“The champagne may be consumed tonight but for an Italian’s success in cycling not because of any victory in the football.”

Four team-mates have helped to tow Floyd Landis back to the peloton after his recent puncture.

The peloton is at the 142km mark with a deficit of 3’00" on the five escapees who joined forces at the 20km mark.

Floyd Landis has just punctured his rear tire. The leader of the Phonak team is getting a new wheel from his team mechanic and will be helped back to the peloton by some of his team-mates.

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Coutouly and Mengin are now 3’15" ahead of the peloton.

The peloton is now being led by Quickstep and Davitamon-Lotto riders. The extra work that’s being done by Wim Vansevenant and his Davitamon-Lotto colleague has helped to drop the advantage of the five escapees to 3’30".

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly have arrived in Sains-du-Nord (135.5km), the site of the 2nd intermediate sprint. The points were won by:
1. Egoi Martinez (DSC) 6pts/6"
2. Christophe Mengin (FDJ) 4pts/4"
3. Laurent Lefevre (BTL) 2pts/2"

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly are at the 131km mark. They have been cooperating well since the 20km mark. They are currently 4’10" ahead of the peloton and will soon contest the second intermediate sprint of the stage.

The peloton is now 4’10" behind the five stage leaders.

Another rider involved in a crash yesterday was Chris Horner (USA - DVL). He thought he’d broken a finger but it turns out that it was, in fact, just dislocated. The team’s doctor’s clicked it back into position and the American is still racing today.

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly are currently 4’05" ahead of the peloton which just reached the 117.5km mark.

The stage leaders have covered 41.8km in the third hour. The average speed for the first three hours is 39.6km/h.

Stuart O’Grady crashed heavily near the end of the third stage. The Australian CSC recruit went to the hospital last night for x-rays. They revealed a hairline fracture of the fourth lumbar vertebrae. He is still in the race, albeit in considerable pain.

After racing the first 113.5km of stage four in Belgium, the five stage leaders are now racing in France again. The next time the race will visit a foreign country is on 13 July... at the 161km when the itinerary takes the peloton into Spain.

Jean-Rene Bernaudeau of the Bouygues Telecom team has just offered his thoughts on today’s stage.
“The plans of the team are being adhered because Pineau has done a good job by adding another few points to his tally in the climbing classification," said the director who won the Tour’s Best Young Rider classification in 1979. "He may be just one point ahead of De la Fuentes; it’s not much but it all counts. I believe it’s possible for Jerome to keep the polka-dot jersey all the way through to the Pyrenees.
“In this stage, we are following our usual policy of being involved in the small escape group. This time it’s Laurent Lefevre’s turn to be part of the move.”

The points and time bonuses in Beaumont (103km) were won by:
1. Egoi Martinez (DSC) 6pts/6"
2. Laurent Lefevre (BTL) 4pts/4"
3. Cedric Coutouly (AGR) 2pts/2"

The five escapees are about to contest the first intermediate sprint of the fourth stage. They are 4’10" ahead of the peloton which is now at the 99.5km mark.

The five escapees are at the 98km mark, 5km before the site of the first intermediate sprint.

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly lead the peloton by 4’30" at the 92km mark.

One of the riders who had been particularly aggressive in the early stages of the 2006 Tour, Unai Etxebarria has been involved in a fall today. He has a big rip on the left side of his knicks and has been hovering around the back of the peloton for the last few kilometers.

The peloton is currently strung out in one long line because of the rapid tempo being set by the Quickstep team’s riders. The advantage of the escapees has dropped from a maximum of 4’55" to 4’40" in the last couple of minutes.

Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly are at the 91km mark with an advantage of 4’55" on the peloton which continues to be led by riders from the Quickstep-Innergetic team.

As the peloton exits the feedzone at the 84km mark, it is 4’45" behind Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly.

The rider who led the peloton over the line in Valkenburg to claim second in stage three was Michael Rogers. The triple world time trial champion was contacted by LeTour.fr last night to get his thoughts on the stage.
"Finally, I’ve found some real motivation," said the rider who is from Australia’s capital, Canberra. "It’s been an interesting start to the Tour and Matthias (Kessler) has been a real inspiration. The guy has so much energy and I was very pleased that he could win a stage.
"For me to get second was the icing on the cake after a really difficult, hot stage.
"It was really chaotic with a lot of crashes and punctures in the final 50km. I was right next to ’Stuey’ (O’Grady) when he slammed into a pole and I can’t believe he was able to finish the stage. That was just one of numerous accidents... riders were just dropping all over the place. One of the problems is that a lot of the spectators now have digital cameras and they’re all leaning out on the road to get a shot. They don’t realize how fast we’re riding and before we know it, we are upon them."
Asked about his plans for the rest of the Tour, he said, "Now, I want to take it easy until Rennes and give it everything in the time trial. It’s about time I did something at the Tour...!"

The stage leaders covered 39.7km in the second hour. The average speed for the first two hours is 38.9km/h.

The bunch continues to be led by Boonen’s colleagues. They are currently 4’35" behind Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly at the 73km mark.

Today is the first time in the history of the Tour that two reigning world champions have been in first and second position in general classification.
Tom Boonen (QSI) swapped his rainbow jersey for the yellow one of overall leader of the Tour. While his former team-mate and world time trial champion Michael Rogers (TMO) believes he may also get some time in yellow after the time trial in Rennes.
The Belgian leads the Australian by just one second.

The Quickstep team is in charge of the peloton. The yellow jersey’s team-mates are keeping the escape within reach. Right now Martinez, Wiggins, Lefevre, Mengin and Coutouly have a lead of 4’35" at the 69km mark.

We contacted Eusebio Unzue of the Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears team to get some information about Alejandro Valverde who crashed out of his second Tour yesterday.
"Alejandro had a bad night because of the pain caused by his crash," Unzue told LeTour.fr. "He took a flight from Brussels to Valencia and will be examined by doctors again this afternoon in Murcia. We’ll then decide if he requires an operation.
"The fracture (of his right collarbone) seems to be a clean one which is relatively free of any complications. And so it’s possible that he will make a rapid recovery and hopefully he’ll still be able to participate in the Vuelta a Espana.
"Our team is going well. They are professionals and are used to problems of this nature. I’m confident in the experience of Pereiro and Karpets; we’ll see in the first climbs of the Pyrenees what can be done at the end of the Tour."

The Belgian rider on the Francaise des Jeux’s team roster, Philippe Gilbert, turns 24 today. He received a gift from members of his fan club at the start of the stage in Huy.

One of the riders who abandoned during the third stage was Erik Dekker (NED - RAB). He crashed at the same time as Fred Rodriguez (USA - DVL) and both could not continue the Tour.
Dekker was operated on last night in a hospital in the Netherlands. He required a general anaesthetic so that surgeons could remove gravel that was imbedded in his face. The rider who began his pro career after finishing second in the Barcelona Olympics road race (behind Fabio Casartelli) also chipped several of his teeth.
He hit a pothole but never saw it beforehand and had not time to react; that’s why he landed on his face. He is expected to spend a few more days in hospital...

The points at the top of the second climb in stage four, the Cote de Falaen (57.5km), were won by:
1. Laurent Lefevre (BTL) 3pts
2. Egoi Martinez (DSC) 2pts
3. Cedric Coutouly (AGR) 1pt
Jerome Pineau will still wear the polka-dot jersey in stage five as there are now more climbs in today’s stage.

The peloton is at the 55km mark and is 4’35" behind the five escapees who joined forces at the head of the peloton at the 20km mark.

The five escapees are 4’25" ahead of the Quickstep-led peloton. The fugitives are about to contest the second climb of the stage, the 1.4km long Cote de Falaen (at the 57.5km mark).

Today’s five escapees are currently 4’10" ahead of the peloton. Here is a reminder of the riders involved and their standings in the Tour’s general classification after three stages:
Egoi Martinez (ESP - DSC) 22nd - at 28"
Laurent Lefevre (FRA - BTL) 64th - at 52"
Christophe Mengin (FRA - FDJ) 136th - at 6’33"
Cedric Coutouly (FRA - AGR) 140th - at 7’29"
Bradley Wiggins (GBR - COF) 152nd - at 9’54"

The directeur sportif for the Quickstep team, Wilfried Peeters offered his thoughts on the squad’s plans for stage four when contacted by LeTour.fr. “It’s true that Tom really wanted to wear the yellow jersey in this year’s Tour," said Peeters who will celebrate his 42nd birthday next week. "It’s really special because we are in Belgium. But our first priority is to win stages and chase the green jersey. Now we have to work with the other sprinters’ teams and try and set up a bunch sprint at the finish. If that happens, then Tom stands a good chance of winning the stage.
“This will be the best way for him to defend the yellow jersey.
“With regard to Filippo Pozatto, he had a bad day yesterday. He simply had no power in his legs and that’s why he finished last in the stage. He feels better today. The same thing goes for Matteo Tosatto who crashed in stage two.
“I heard that the finish this afternoon has a climb in the last kilometre and this suits Tom well…”

The peloton is now 3’50" behind the five escapees. The pace of the chase is being set by riders from Tom Boonen’s Quickstep-Innergetic team.

Martinez (DSC), Wiggins (COF), Mengin (FDJ), Lefevre (BTL) covered 38.1km in the first hour of racing in stage four.

With the peloton at the 37km mark, the five escapees have an advantage of 3’10".

The last time check had Martinez (DSC), Wiggins (COF), Mengin (FDJ), Lefevre (BTL) 2’50" ahead of the peloton. The move was instigated by Martinez at the 18.5km mark. He was soon joined by the four others.
The Spanish Discovery rider in the move is the best-placed on GC at the start of the stage.

Martinez (DSC), Wiggins (COF), Mengin (FDJ), Lefevre (BTL) and Coutouly are now 2’10" ahead of the peloton which has just passed the 26km mark.

The peloton appears to be happy with the combination of riders who are involved in today’s first successful escape. Martinez and his posse are now 1’30" ahead and there are a number of riders in the bunch who are answering the call of nature. Expect the next time check to be significantly larger because of the toilet stops.

Egoi Martinez of the Discovery Channel team is the virtual leader of the Tour de France. He is one of five riders who are currently 50" ahead of the peloton which is now at the 22km mark.
Martinez began the fourth stage in 22nd place, 28" behind Boonen.

Martinez (DSC), Wiggins (COF), Mengin (FDJ), Lefevre (BTL) and Coutouly (AGR) are now 30" ahead of the peloton. This time check was taken at the 21km mark.

Martinez leads four chasers by 7" and the peloton 15". We are waiting on confirmation of the riders involved in the counter attack.

Martinez leads a group of four including the first rider to start the prologue, Coutouly (AGR) by 9". The peloton is at 15".

Egoi Martinez (DSC) has attacked the peloton at the 18.5km mark.

After the brief attack that started at the 15.5km mark, the peloton is all together again after 18km of racing.

The first significant attack of the fourth stage has come from David Lopez (EUS), Samuel Dumoulin (A2R), Vila Errandonea (LAM), Xabier Zandio (CEI)and Carlos Da Cruz (FDJ). They were also joined by the rider in the yellow jersey Tom Boonen (QSI).

David De la Fuente did escape the peloton for a brief period after the first climb. Right now, however, the peloton is all together at the 15km mark.

The points for the category-three Cote de Peu d’Eau (13.0km) were won by:
1. Jerome Pineau (BTL) 4pts
2. David De la Fuente (SDV) 3pts
3. Fabian Wegmann (GST) 2pts
4. Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) 1pt

Jerome Pineau is clad in the polka-dot jersey for stage four. The French Bouygues Telecom rider leads the climbing classification by three points (ahead of David De la Fuente, SDV). This is the reason by Pineau’s team is currently setting the pace for the peloton which is now near the top of the first climb.

The French weather bureau has reported that the temperature at the start of stage four was 27 degrees Celsius in the air and a hot 37 degrees at road level. The sun is shining Huy and there’s no wind for the moment although the conditions are likely to change by the time the peloton crossed the French border and leaves Belgium. It’s quite windy in Saint-Quentin; and clouds can be seen for the first time since the Tour began on Saturday.

The Cote de Peu d’Eau is a 2.9km ascent with an average gradient of 4.9 per cent.

The bunch is still all together but we can expect to see some attacks launched soon. The peloton is near the site of the first climb, the Cote de Peu d’Eau (at the 13km mark).

There are three intermediate sprints in stage four. Each carry points for the green jersey and time bonuses for the first three riders across the line. These primes are in Beaumont (at the 103km mark), Sains-du-Nord (135.5km) and Bernot (188.0km).
The overall leader of the Tour de France, Tom Boonen (QSI) is also in charge of the points classification. He has 67 points, one more than Daniele Bennati (LAM) and two more than stage two winner Robbie McEwen (DVL).
Bennati will wear the green jersey today.

Correction: a previous flash stated that Erik Dekker (RAB) fractured a collarbone in a crash in stage three. This is incorrect. The Dutch rider suffered facial injuries - including several broken teeth - and that was the cause for his retirement from the 2006 Tour.

The peloton is still all together after four kilometres of racing. There have been no early attacks in stage four.

This morning the sport’s governing body, the UCI subjected 54 riders from six teams to blood controls. The squads involved were Saunier Duval-Prodir, Credit Agricole, Francaise des Jeux, Discovery Channel, Cofidis and Agritubel. No abnormalities were found and all riders were clear to start the stage.

The 207.0km stage from Huy to Saint-Quentin officially began at 12.21pm. There are 172 riders at the start meaning that, despite numerous victims of bad crashes in stage three, there were no overnight withdrawals.
Stuart O’Grady (CSC) is one rider who had to visit the hospital for x-rays after slamming into a lightpost near the end of the stage to Valkenburg but he’s still in the peloton for the moment.

After the rollercoaster ride through the Belgian Ardennes and the Dutch province of Limburg yesterday, the profile of today’s stage is a stark contrast. There are just two categorized climbs and both come in the first quarter of the stage. They ascents are: the Cote de Peu d’Eau (category-3 at 13km) & the Cote de Falaen (category-4, 57.5km).

The official start of stage four is due any minute now. The peloton is currently rolling along in the neutral zone. The expected start time is 12.20pm.

There were numerous crashes in the third stage of the 2006 Tour. Three riders failed to reach the finish in Valkenburg. They included two former stage winners and a pivotal team-mate for the winner of stage two.
Alejandro Valverde (ESP - CEI) was caught up in a fall with about 20km to go. The Spaniard was one of the favourites for the title this year and appeared to have the form required to live up to his high expectations. Alas, his Tour ended in an ambulance because of a fractured collarbone.
Erik Dekker (NED - RAB) also fractured his collarbone when he was caught up in a fall believed to be caused by a rider hitting a pothole before the third climb of stage three.
Also caught in the crash that claimed Dekker was Fred Rodriguez (USA - DVL). The American was the last man to lead team-mate Robbie McEwen to the line on the day the Australian won his stage in Esch-sur-Alzette.

The 207.0km fourth stage of the 93rd Tour de France is schedule to begin at 12.15pm. There is a 2.6km neutral zone before the peloton will arrive at the site of the official start.
It is significantly cooler than yesterday’s stage to the Netherlands when the temperature at the finish in Valkenburg was a scorching 45 degrees Celsius. There were showers overnight in Saint-Quentin, the site of today’s finish.
Live coverage of the stage from Huy, Belgium to Saint-Quentin will begin shortly.