Jersey holders as of stage four
Yellow Jersey for overall lead: Fabian Cancellara, Team Saxo Bank, overall ranking one.
Despite finishing first in only the prologue, Fabian Cancellara has worn the yellow jersey four out of five days so far, losing it temporarily to Sylvain Chavanel in the second stage. Fabian Cancellara, 29, is the world's best time trialist and among the best one day classic cyclists.
“Yesterday was really hectic and while I won’t say I was surprised, to get the yellow back is amazing. Today, I was happy. My team was happy and I think many other teams were pleased. We needed something like this after tough, hard, nervous, and stressful opening stages. We’ve spent a lot of energy and we need to recover a bit because soon we’ll get to the Alps and that’s when another sort of music will play.”
Green Jersey for most points: Thor Hushovd, Cervelo Test Team, overall ranking seven.
Norwegian Tour de France contender Thor Hushovd won the green jersey in the third stage and held on to it despite Alessandro Petacchi’s win in the fourth. This came after his frustration over the Cancellara-induced strike in the second stage.
Hushovd, the current Norwegian road race champion, specializes in sprinting and time trialing, and is consider by British contender Mark Cavendish, who has been called the best sprinter in the world and who rarely admits a weakness, as one of his biggest rivals.
“Today I had everything,” said Hushovd after his third stage victory. “This is a first step for the green jersey. I know that for now, I’m glad I did what I did, and I still have the means to defend the jersey for long. My team is very strong, and I feel very fast, so I think I can still win other stages."
Polka dot Jersey for best climber: Jerome Pineau, Team Quick Step, overall ranking 83.
The king of the mountain jersey was first awarded in the second stage to France's Jérôme Pineau. Pineau has remained in the climbing lead in each of the following stages and will continue to wear the polka dot jersey in stage five.
“I’m thrilled,” said teammate Pineau. “Sylvain and I had a great race. If I captured the polka dot jersey Chavanel also gets some credit, since not only did he win the stage, he helped me on all the mountain grand prix. In the Giro d’Italia we won two stages, one of them I won and I worn the red jersey for a few days; here at the Tour de France history is repeating itself, actually, we’re doing even better and let’s hope it stays that way.”
White Jersey for best young rider: Geraint Thomas, Team Sky, overall ranking two.
The Team Sky member is holding the Young Riders Classification after finishing fifth in the Prologue and second place in the third stage. He finished ahead of team leader Bradley Wiggins in Saturday's prologue and in the third stage, where he was out-sprinted by Thor Hushovd after a difficult day on the cobblestones.
"The white jersey's a nice bonus, and I'm going to enjoy that tomorrow, but I'm here for Brad," said Thomas. "We have had a few spills, but confidence and morale in the team has been good, so hopefully we can keep that going."
Stage win: Alessandro Petacchi, overall ranking 126
Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi took a surprising first place in the fourth stage. His win in the first stage won him the green jersey, which he lost to Thor Hushovd in the third stage, who remains in the points lead despite the Italian’s victory today.
“Now, with two wins, I could very well go home and consider that my job is finished. Two wins on the Tour de France is already exceptional. Besides, after the first, I was talking with Oscar Freire and he told me that I could already taste my Tour, that everything else is a bonus. But I do not quite see things this way. I’m here to win stages, and I’ll keep trying to do just that.
Combative award: Dimitri Champion, overall ranking 156
At the one kilometer mark, last year’s French champion, Dimitri Champion, sped ahead of the peloton and fought for an escape. He was joined by four others, but the sprint teams kept the fugitives within sight.
“We knew pretty quickly that it would be very difficult to follow through. So we essentially decided to work on the move but also to preserve our energy for the coming days. It would not have been practical for give us 100 per cent. So we rode tempo and then, in the last 30 kilometers, we accelerated figuring that something could always happen—a fall or some other event that disrupts the proceedings.”
Team Classification: Saxo Bank
Cancellara’s team Saxo Bank is the overall lead, finishing 11th in the fourth stage but maintaining its lead thanks to the first place win in stage three and the impressive individual performances, included yellow jersey holder Cancellara’s victory in the prologue.
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