It promised to be a day to shake up the GC, and while time gaps are still small, stage 4 revealed a lot about who is in good shape for a shot at the overall title.
The final climb saw riders like Voeckler, Rui Costa and Chavanel suffer and while Nibali looked strong, he failed to make the race winning move. Wilco Kelderman missed the move but did manage a late charge to take 3rd on the stage.
The winning move was made by the impressive Geraint Thomas and Tom Jelte Slagter, who created a gap on the final climb and worked well together to the finish line where the Dutchman out-sprinted the Welshman for the stage win.
Thomas will take consolation from the fact it is he, and not Slagter who moves into the overall race lead.
Source image: www.slipstreamsports.com
Paris-Nice 2014 Results 4th stage
1. Tom Jelte Slagter (The Netherlands)
2. Geraint Thomas (gbr) s.t.
3. Wilco Kelderman (Netherlands) +0.05
4. Michael Matthews (Australia) s.t.
5. Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) s.t.
6. Arthur Vichot (France) s.t.
7. Peter Velits (Slovakia) s.t.
8. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spain) s.t.
9. Cyril Gautier (France) s.t.
10.Samuel Dumoulin (France) s.t.
GC after 4th stage
1 Geraint Thomas (gbr)
2. John Degenkolb (Germany) + 0.03
3. Tom Jelte Slagter (The Netherlands) + 0.04
4. José Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spain) + 0.08
5. Samuel Dumoulin (France) + 0.12
6. Wilco Kelderman (The Netherlands) + 0.15
7. Carlos Alberto Betancur (Colombia) + 0.17
8. Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) +0.19
9. Cyril Gautir (France) s.t.
10.Arnold Jeannesson (France) s.t.
Paris-Nice 2014: The stage
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