Stage 4 will honor Luxemburger champions of the Tour de France from François Faber to Andy Schleck, the latter having the privilege to attend the start only 200 metres away from his home in Mondorf-les-Bains. It’s a flattish race in the east of France with a finish in Vittel. The thermal station is famous for producing the official water of the Tour de France. It also made history for hosting the Grand Départ of the 55th edition in 1968 under the tagline “Le Tour de la santé” (the Tour of the health) one year after the tragic death of Tom Simpson on the Mont Ventoux. This time around, it looks like a stage dedicated to sprinters but the last visit to Vittel saw the solo victory of Nicki Sorensen in 2009. But it was stage 12 and the sprinters were already tired. Now on stage 4 they are still fresh. Marcel Kittel who wears the green jersey is hungry for more, so is French champion Arnaud Démare who was the runner up in Liège and finished sixth atop the climb of the Religieuses in Longwy yesterday. The enfant du pays is a sprinter as well! Nacer Bouhanni hails from Epinal in the Vosges province that Vittel is also part of. He’s yet to win his first ever stage at the Tour de France.
This looks like another day for a bunch sprint. The first rest day looming up before the first true mountain stage on the La Planche des Belles Filles. Kittel , Cavendish, Gripel, Bouhanni …
Meipata at 27kms to go
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Ameshikwa.
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Saa hii Peleton inafanya 48 kms per hr
Hi drama at the last 500 meters, two crashes, Sagan ame elbow jamaa akamuacha kwa barrier, pia boy wangu Cavendish landed on the tarmac. Lakini like I predicted this morning Arnuld Demare took the stage
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Boy wetu Froome ako 3rd overall 12 seconds behind the leader with Sagan in 2nd position.
The tour never dissapoints
Sagan goes to Dimension Data team bus
The two-time world champion who appeared to nudge Mark Cavendish whose Tour de France is now probably over, has gone to the British sprinters’ team bus. Presumably to check up on his well being.
Sagan just spoke to TV and said he has apologised to Cavendish, saying ‘nobody likes to crash’. By the way, John Degenkolb also went down.
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