Tenere la maglia gialla per più di un giorno sembra impossibile in questo avvio di Tour de France. Al termine di una quarta frazione spettacolare il segno del primato ha infatti cambiato ancora una volta padrone: dopo Rohan Dennis, Fabian Cancellara e Chris Froome è venuto il turno di Tony Martin, che ha cancellato il secondo di ritardo in classifica generale grazie a un irresistibile attacco a circa tre chilometri dal traguardo. Il tedesco ha poi retto fino all'arrivo, conquistando così anche la frazione più lunga di questa edizione, la Seraing - Cambrai di 223,5km.
La corsa si è infiammata sull'ultimo tratto di pavé (-12km), quando Vincenzo Nibali ha tentato l'allungo. In seguito anche Chris Froome ha testato la gamba dei suoi avversari, ma lo spunto vincente è stato solo quello di Martin. La tappa era stata lanciata sin dall'inizio da una fuga a quattro che aveva toccato anche i 10' di margine.
Tour de France, la quarta tappa
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