The first full day of this year’s Tour to take place in France, and the last to travel through the Basque country, Tuesday 4th July’s 181.8km stage four is undoubtedly one for the sprinters.
Starting in Dax, the peloton meanders east to Nogaro, taking on just one categorised climb, the category four Cote de Demu and, as was the case on Monday, is likely to be settled by a sprint.
In fact, with the day finishing on a racetrack, the Circuit Paul Armagnac, also known as Circuit de Nogaro, it is inevitable that the likes of Monday’s winner Jasper Philipsen, Fabio Jakobsen, Mark Cavendish and Dylan Groenewegen will be contesting the finish.
After a gruelling opening weekend, Monday and Tuesday have provided some encouragement to the speedsters and they will be looking to make their mark before the race heads into the mountains on Wednesday.
Jasper Philipsen @ Evens
Philipsen got the job done on Monday in Bayonne, making the most of an expert lead-out from Alpecin-Deceuninck, with Mathieu van der Poel dropping him off and his colleague doing the rest to claim his third career Tour stage win.
The Belgian has been the fastest man of the year so far and has looked good in the opening days, proving himself to be the strongest climber of all the sprinters in this year’s Tour.
Cavendish demonstrated decent form in his push for a record 35th Tour victory on Monday and will be backed, but Philipsen has shown a real x-factor this year and his dominant dash on Monday hints that he could back it up 24 hours later.
Wout van Aert @ 10/1
Last year’s green jersey Wout van Aert has shown that he is in amazing form and with this being another day where the general classification riders can almost have the afternoon off, could be let off the leash.
The Belgian is a key lieutenant for Jumbo-Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard but after the Dane failed to fully support his colleague on Sunday and Monday, he may look to make a conciliatory point in backing up Van Aert on Tuesday.
Time may also be of the essence for ‘Wonderwout’, with him ready to leave the Tour at a moment’s notice. His partner is expecting their second child this summer so getting a win on the board early may allow him to relax, knowing that he may have to head off before Paris.
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