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Jumbo-Visma set up Primoz Roglic to win first summit finish and make huge statement of intent at Tour de France

john macleary
·23 min read
Primoz Roglic 
Primoz Roglic

Primoz Roglic laid down a marker with victory on stage four of the Tour de France as Julian Alaphilippe retained the yellow jersey.

Roglic was seen as favourite for overall victory in this year's Tour before suffering injuries in a crash at the Criterium du Dauphine last month, but appeared untroubled as he sprang forward to take the win at Orcieres-Merlette.

Alaphilippe and Britain's Adam Yates were part of the chasing group who followed Roglic over the line to ensure no change at the top of the standings, in which Alaphilippe leads Yates by four seconds.

The 160.5km stage from Sisteron saw the Tour dip a toe into the Alps unusually early, though the final climb was not one to compare with those to come in the final week of this race.

Instead the steady gradient was taken at high speed as Roglic's Jumbo-Visma team controlled from the front, ensuring attacks were kept to a minimum.

Cofidis' Guillaume Martin tried a move with 500 metres to go, sparking others into life as Roglic showed he had the most left in the tank, leaving defending champion Egan Bernal in his wake as the Colombian came home seventh ahead of Yates in 10th.

While Yates remains second to Alaphilippe, Roglic is now up to third, seven seconds off the lead.

The Slovenian said: "It was quite a hard day actually, quite hot, but the guys did again a really good job, I was all the time in a good position and at the end I could do a good sprint."

Asked if he would rather have the yellow jersey, he added: "I have to accept it, I don't really care. It was a nice day, we stayed safe at the end, we win which is even better and we have to continue like that.

"I'm coming back [from injury]. We see that I am still coming back and now I can race every day feeling even better."
PA

03:57 PM

Roglic reacts to his stage win

“It was quite a fast day, quite hard. But the guys again did a really good job. I was in a good position and at the end I could do a nice sprint so I’m very happy.

“It’s news [not getting the yellow jersey] that I have to accept, I don’t really care. Like I say, a nice day, we stay safe and at the end we win so even better. We have to continue like that.

“I’m still coming back now, I can race every day and I feel a little better. It’s nice to ride a bike again.”

03:40 PM

Roglic wins stage four at the Tour de France!

Primoz Roglic has won the first summit stage at this year's Tour de France. That was a huge statement of intent from the Dutch squad who absolutely bossed it on the final climb of the day after they allowed Deceuninck-Quick Step to do the lion's share of the work throughout the stage on behalf of the maillot jaune.

Guillaume Martin attacked first around 500 metres from the line, but the Cofidis rider was reined back in by the bunch. Miguel Ángel López (Astana) was next to put in a dig, but the Colombian was boxed in next to the barrier. Julian Alaphilippe also had a go, but the maillot jaune missed a pedal stroke after he, too, briefly lost position and with it the chance of second win at this year's race. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) made it a Slovenian one-two after taking runners-up spot, while Martin held on for third.

Alaphilippe will keep hold of his leader's yellow jersey, while Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) retains green. Benoît Cosnefroy (Ag2r-La Mondiale) will wear the polka-dot jersey for another day on Wednesday despite failing to add any further points to his tally in the mountains classification.

03:38 PM

1km to go

Jumbo-Visma have young American climber Sepp Kuss on the front now, riding for his team leader Primoz Roglic. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) is there, as is Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and a phalanx of general classification contenders.

03:37 PM

1.5km to go

Wout van Aert is still riding on the front for Jumbo-Visma, Julian Alaphilippe tightens his shoes — a telltale sign he is preparing to attack. But does he have the legs to win a second stage at this years Tour?

03:36 PM

2km to go

Lots of chatting going on between the Jumbo-Visma footsoldiers. All of the main general classification riders are in the lead group.

03:35 PM

2.5km to go

Julian Alaphilippe is bouncing off the shoulder of Egan Bernal at fifth wheel, perfectly positioned should he wish to launch an attack.

03:34 PM

3km to go

Jumbo-Visma have numbers and appear to be in control, Ineos Grenadiers are tucked in right behind just ahead of the maillot jaune.

03:33 PM

3.5km to go

Wout van Aert takes over on the front for Jumbo-Visma, is Primoz Roglic going to go for it here today?

03:32 PM

4km to go

The answer would appear to be 'non'. Pierre Rolland has sat up.

03:30 PM

Rolland goes!

Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) has attacked off the front, but can the Frenchman roll back the years here today and win his first Tour de France stage since 2012?

03:29 PM

5km to go

Primoz Roglic is watching intently, focused on the wheel of Alaphilippe. Thibaut Pinot bouncing around at around sixth or seventh wheel.

03:28 PM

5.5km to go

Ineos Grenadiers are sending riders up the left-hand side, but Deceuninck-Quick Step  are still on the front. Julian Alaphilippe has just one team-mate — Bob Jungels — to work with.

03:26 PM

6km to go

Deceuninck-Quick Step are leading the way up this climb, the breakaway is done for the day. Egan Bernal is tucked in behind Jumbo-Visma, Adam Yates is watching the wheel of Julian Alaphilippe.

03:24 PM

7km to go

EF Pro Cycling are sat near the front now, down the right-hand side of the road with Colombian national champion Sergio Higuita and compatriot Daniel Martínez sat poised.

03:22 PM

8km to go

Astana have numbers near the front, while British climber Adam Yates who would take the leader's yellow jersey with a stage win here today is hiding away in the third or fourth row of riders.

03:20 PM

9km to go

UAE Team Emirates have inched their way to wards the front of the bunch, are they hoping Tadeg Pogacar can challenge today, or perhaps Davide Formolo? Just a couple of kilometres away from the start of the final climb of the day, this bad boy . . .

climb

03:14 PM

12km to go

Krists Neilands's lead is to below a minute now. Kasper Asgreen is back on the front and he motors along dragging the peloton in his slipstream. Overall leader and Deceuninck-Quick Step team-mate Julian Alaphilippe is riding third wheel, Jumbo-Visma tucked in just behind the Frenchman.

03:09 PM

16km to go

Krists Neilands is tanking it down a descent, holding on for dear life with each twist and turn desperate to hold on and challenge for this stage win here today. But with the peloton chasing, surely he will be caught? 

03:06 PM

18.5km to go — Neilands goes solo . . .

Krists Neilands (Israel Start-Up Nation) has ridden the other two off his wheel, and off he is up the road in pursuit of what would be the biggest win of the former Latvian national champion's career.

03:05 PM

Thumbs up from Benoot

The TV cameras just showed a sheepish looking Tiesj Benoot tapping away. Thankfully the tough young Belgian was able to muster up a smile and a thumbs up for us.

Benoot

03:03 PM

20km to go

Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Direct Énergie) has been dropped by the breakaway, leaving just three riders out in front. Krists Neilands (Israel Start-Up Nation), Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r-La Mondiale) lead the peloton by 1min 30sec.

02:59 PM

23km to go

Tiesj Benoot is about to be caught by the peloton. I think he will just be happy he is able to ride his bike after that scary moment. The reduced breakaway has lost a few more seconds on the chasing bunch. 

02:56 PM

Benoot crashes!

Tiesj Benoot's day is done. The Belgian's rear wheel appeared to lock up on a left-hand bend before he skidded into the roadside barrier. He took a bike change and is back in the saddle, but that will have shaken up the 2018 Strade Bianche winner.

Benoot's bike frame is wrecked as a result of that spill.

frame

 

02:53 PM

27km to go

Mathieu Ladagnous, one of Thibaut Pinot's key helpers, has been forced into taking a bike change. The Groupama-FDJ rider is working his way through the cars trailing the peloton. Breakaway's lead down to below two minutes.

02:51 PM

28km to go

The breakaway's advantage has been slashed to a shade over two minutes. The race is very much on now, but who is going to go for the stage win? 

02:47 PM

Poels is dropped — 31 km to go

The pace is winding up in the peloton which has taken 20 seconds or so into the breakaway, and as a result Wout Poels (Bahrain-McLaren) has been dropped. 

02:43 PM

34km to go

Another  category three climb, another €300 in the prize pot for Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept).

02:38 PM

36km to go

Cofidis Solutions Crédits, who have not won a stage at the Tour de France for 12 years, are shifting up towards the front of the peloton, are are Jumbo-Visma and Trek-Segafredo. It looks like there is plenty of jostling, but Deceuninck-Quick Step are not giving an inch of asphalt.

02:35 PM

38km to go

The leading riders are on the category three Côte de l'Aulagnier which is only 3km long with an average gradient of 6.4%, but apparently it hits ramps of over 10% near the top which may, or may not, bite into the legs of the breakaway riders who have earned their corn here today.

02:30 PM

42km to go

The six-man breakaway is working well together, riding through-and-off, as they hold their advantage over the chasing pack at around 2min 30sec. There are still three categorised climbs for these riders to contest yet. That wind on the final climb I mentioned earlier are apparently of the tail variety and so should the break make it all the way to Orcières-Merlette then the chasers will have their work cut out if they are to close the gap. However, I'm thinking that need more than 3min 30sec to hold off the galloping bunch that will surely charge pretty soon.

02:19 PM

50km to go

A hint of an echelon briefly appeared on the front of the bunch, suggesting that as the riders hit a wide open space the crosswinds are blowing. Apparently there are strong winds on the final climb, too.

02:13 PM

53.8km to go

All back as one on the front. A fair bit of toing-and-froing among this group. Back in the bunch Deceuninck-Quick Step are still on the front protecting the leader's jersey, while tucked in behind are the Jumbo-Visma boys. Much has been made of the Dutch team 'out-Ineosing Inoes' at this year's race by adopting similar strategies to those used by the British squad over the years. By contrast, Egan Bernal and his team-mates have been relatively invisible this year. Only time will tell which strategy is the one that brings home the bacon.

02:10 PM

55km to go

There's been a split in the breakaway, Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept, Nils Politt (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r-La Mondiale) now lead. 

02:02 PM

63.5km to go

Finally just got some pictures from the peloton and it appears that it has all calmed down.

At the other end of the race, Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) has added to his tally in the mountains classification, though the single point he picked up on the Côte de Corps really won't make any impact on the overall standings in the race for the polka-dot jersey.

01:57 PM

65km to go

A few little splits have appeared in the peloton, though not too sure what caused them. Maybe a crash, or perhaps a touch of crosswind?

01:50 PM

70km to go

Nils Politt (Israel Start-Up Nation) has been caught by the five-man group of Tiesj Benoot (Sunweb), Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Direct Énergie), Krists Neilands (Israel Start-Up Nation), Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r-La Mondiale). It's a case of as you were on the front now. That sextet of riders leading by just over three minutes but with four categorised climbs to follow, including the summit finish atop Orcières-Merlette, that will surely change before the day is done.

01:44 PM

Asgreen: 'I love the cobbles, but hate the steep climbs'

I caught up with Kasper Asgreen in January at the Deceuninck-Quick Step training camp where he told me that he 'hates' the steep climbs. Little wonder he has been doing his turn on the descent the riders are currently on. Anyway, he seemed a nice lad and made me chuckle. Here's a quick Q&A we did with the recently crowned Danish national road race champion.

01:38 PM

80km to go

Kasper Asgreen has relieved Deceuninck-Quick Step team-mates Tim Declercq and Rémi Cavagna of their pulling duties on the front of the peloton. The hugely impressive young Dane won Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne earlier this year before lockdown. Nils Politt, meanwhile, continues to push on and the German has increased his lead to 3min 20sec, but that lead is only a handful of seconds over the five-man break.

01:31 PM

87km to go

After taking second atop the Festre climb, Nils Politt has pushed on and put a handful of seconds between himself and the remaining riders from the breakaway. I have no idea why he is doing this, he's not a rider I associate with doing well in the mountains, sure most of you will remember that he finished second at Paris-Roubaix last year.

Back in the peloton, the musettes have been handed out while the domestiques are dishing out lunch to their team leaders. It all looks very relaxed for now. Incidentally, a short while ago Wout Poels (Bahrain-McLaren) appeared to be struggling off the back. The big Dutch diesel is apparently recovering from a crash.

01:24 PM

Pacher opens mountains account

Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) rolled off the front of the breakaway unchallenged as the Frenchman opened his accounted in the mountains classification. The 28-year-old who is making his Tour de France debut picked up two points and earned €300 in prize money for his troubles.

After winning the intermediate sprint earlier, Nils Politt took a solitary point in the mountains with second on the summit.

01:13 PM

95km to go

Primoz Roglic spoke earlier to Eurosport about today's stage, though the Jumbo-Visma rider really didn't give too much away, he rarely does. Interestingly, though, Roglic pretty much dismissed the threat from every team other than Ineos Grenadiers. But would he be launching an attack on this final climb today? 

"Maybe, we'll have to see".

Primoz Roglic - GETTY IMAGES

 The breakaway leads by 3min 6sec.

01:02 PM

Up, up and away . . .

Just under 100km to go into today's stage and the riders are now onto the first categorised climb of the day, the Col du Festre

12:54 PM

Intermediate sprint details

As promised, here are the full intermediate sprint details . . .

And the overall standings in the race for green . . .

12:49 PM

Bennett lead peloton over the line

In what was a fiercely fought intermediate sprint, Irish national champion Sam Bennett took the honours from the bunch to add nine points to his tally. Peter Sagan contested the sprint, but the seven-time winner of the green jersey was a little off the pace and could only manage sixth form the pack. As a result, Bennett has gone level with Sagan on 83 points. Full details to follow very shortly.

Peter Sagan - GETTY IMAGES

12:44 PM

Politt picks up €1,500

Nils Politt (Israel Start-Up Nation) takes the honors at the intermediate sprint that will give the big German 20 points along with €1,500 towards his prize pot. Peloton to follow in 3mins.

12:35 PM

115km to go

Thankfully, today's stage has got off to a much quicker start than yesterday. The leading riders covered 43.7km in the opening hour of racing and the six-man group has 2min 59sec on the peloton.

12:17 PM

125km to go

The stage leaders are around 16km from the intermediate sprint in Veynes. Their advantage in the peloton may have dropped to below four minutes, but they will not be getting caught just yet meaning that the leading rider from the pack can add nine points to his tally in the race for the green jersey. Just two points separate current holder Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) while Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) is a further three points back. Assuming a sprinter doesn't win today's stage — a sprinter will not win today's stage — then it is only mathematically possible for one of that trio to be dressed in green on Wednesday.

12:09 PM

132km to go

The break has increased its lead on the bunch to 4mins, and it's that man Tim Declercq who is, once again, pulling hard on the front for Deceuninck-Quick Step.

12:02 PM

Alaphilippe: 'Today will be no walk in the park'

Speaking to FranceTélévisions this morning, race leader Julian Alaphilippe admitted that he sees Adam Yates as a huge rival for today's stage, but said whoever wins on the first summit finish of the race will have to work hard for the win.

“It’s a nice stage today and another day for me to enjoy wearing the yellow jersey," he said. "The finale won’t be a walk in the park but I’ll give everything to retain the yellow jersey. Some favourites for the GC would be happy if I’d stay in the lead for longer but others like Adam Yates who is only four seconds down would love to take over from me. Anyway, the end of the Tour is still a long way away…”

11:52 AM

145km to go

It will surprise few to hear that Deceuninck-Quick Step, the team of race leader Julian Alaphilippe, are riding on the front of the peloton which now trails that six-man breakaway by 3min 30sec.

11:42 AM

Breaking away . . .

And straight from the flag, a six-man group attacked off the front before the peloton went into self-imposed lockdown. A number of riders attempted to bridge over, but they were blocked by the general classification teams who decided to fan themselves across the width of the road in order to stem the flow of riders trickling of the front and into the day's breakaway.

The six-man breakaway of Tiesj Benoot (Sunweb), Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Direct Énergie), Krists Neilands (Israel Start-Up Nation), Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept), Nils Politt (Israel Start-Up Nation) and Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r-La Mondiale) has gained over two minutes on the peloton after just 7km of racing.

11:34 AM

And they're off!

The race is on!

11:34 AM

Who does today's stage suit best?

Difficult one to call today. Will it be a stage for the breakaway, a cheeky late attack from a puncheur or will the general classification contenders want to lay down an early marker?

I think either of the first two options are entirely possible, but can't really see Jumbo-Visma or Ineos Grenadiers wanting to take the maillot jaune, the leader's yellow jersey, just yet.

Ordinarily, I would have gone for breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt who would be given the freedom to roam after his Lotto-Soudal team-mate Caleb Ewan took the sprint stage on Monday, but word is the bearded Belgian has back pains so he may be waiting for that to ease up before he launches himself up the road later in the race. One rider similar to De Gendt is Alessandro de Marchi (CCC), so he may fancy his chances, likewise a rider such as Tiesj Benoot (Sunweb) or arren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic) who has lost a few minutes on general classification could give it a go. I could probably list 10 or 15 more riders here should a breakaway go off and stick all the way.

However, if a breakaway does not win the stage I could see Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) battling with Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) for the stage. If the latter wins today he would wrest the leader's jersey off the shoulders of the Frenchman, and I just can't see Alaphilippe  allowing that to happen without putting up a fight.

Sergio Higuita (EF Pro Cycling) has been looking good so don't be surprised if the Colombian has a go.

Unlike the last two stages when I was very confident in my predictions, I'll be honest and admit I really don't have a clue today. That's part of the fun though, isn't it? 

11:15 AM

So, what's on the menu today?

Though just 157km in length, today's spiky little run from Sisteron to Orcières-Merlette should give us the opportunity to take a closer look at the climbers and give us the chance to work out who has come to the Tour de France with their best legs and who has not. 

With no fewer than five categorised climbs —Col du Festre, Côte de Corps, Côte de l'Aulagnier, Côte de Saint-Léger-les-Mélèzes and Orcières-Merlette — including the first summit finish at this year's race we should see some aggressive racing for points in the mountains classification, but not until the intermediate sprint has been contested in Veynes, 109.4km from the finish line.

Here's what is on offer in the points and mountains competitions . . .

Here's a stage profile . . . 

Tour de France 2020, stage four race profile — Tour de France 2020 route: How to watch live TV coverage and follow the race stages

 . . . and a closer look at the key details of those categorised climbs . . .

10:50 AM

As it stands . . .

Those familiar with the race, or stage racing in general, will realise that there are a number of jerseys on offer at the race, here's a very quick explainer for anybody that is new to the sport . . .

 And here are the current leaders in the respective competitions . . .

And here's a closer look at the individual classifications . . .

10:40 AM

Morning

So here we are, back on the road for another day of bicycle racing that we are going to call stage four at the 107th edition of the Tour de France. Before we have a brief look at the stage and consider who may win this afternoon, let's have a quick recap of what happened on Monday. First up, here's our correspondent Tom Cary's verdict:

Monday’s stage was a far, far easier day in the saddle for the general classification contenders — France's Jérôme Cousin was allowed to spend 110km off the front alone before he was swept up with 16km to go, setting the scene for a bunch sprint into Sisteron which was won brilliantly by Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal), the Australian timing his sprint perfectly into a strong headwind to squeeze past Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and snatch victory from Irishman Sam Bennett (Deceuninck-Quick Step) — the general classification teams will be wary with Thursday another summit finish, this time in the Massif Central, before the race hits the Pyrenees this weekend.

Meanwhile, our colleagues at The Cycling Podcast published their third episode on Monday night. While we are waiting for the stage top get under way, I'd suggest you tune in . . .

The third stage of the Tour de France was expected to end in a sprint, and so it proved, but in this episode of our race coverage from France find out why the finish was like the race to find the quickest queue at the supermarket checkout.

After leaving Nice, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and François Thomazeau recorded the podcast in the centre of Sisteron. The crowds may be smaller but one thing is for sure, the Tour is still the Tour.

We recap an incredible finish by Australia’s Caleb Ewan and discuss the dynamics of the sprint. Is this the Dr Beeching Tour, confirming the death of the lead-out train?

We also look ahead to Tuesday’s first summit finish and ask whether the emergence of Jumbo-Visma as a credible threat to Ineos has got Dave Brailsford rattled.