Crocodile Trophy 2017: Stage 4 Results

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Leandre Bouchard (BH SR Suntour KMC) added to his stage wins (Image credit: Regina Stanger/Crocodile Trophy)

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Erik Dekker pushes through the creek (Image credit: Regina Stanger/Crocodile Trophy)

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Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team) (Image credit: Regina Stanger/Crocodile Trophy)

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Ondrej Slezak riding through the rain (Image credit: Regina Stanger/Crocodile Trophy)

In wet conditions, it was Leandre Bouchard (BH SR Suntour KMC) enjoying his third win from four stages at the Crocodile Trophy. Canadian Andrew L'Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) was second again as the elite men's field was trimmed to five with the abandon of Anton Sintsov (JBG-2 Team).

At the half-way mark of the race, Bouchard leads L'Esperance by 1:32 minutes with Okamoto a distant third at over an hour and a half on GC. Haley Smith continues as the sole elite women in the race and is fifth in the overall standings.

"Doing it full-gas all the time would be tough. I just want to keep it safe, that helped a little bit to stay fresh and of course the mileage in my legs and the training over the years," a cautious Bouchard said ahead of the longest stage in the race, 125 km from Skybutry to Skybury.

Full Results

Elite men
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Leandre Bouchard (Can) BH SR Suntour KMC	4:51:08
2	Andrew L'Esperance (Can) Forward Racing-Norco	0:00:02
3	Hiroyuki Okamoto (Aus) Inpulse	0:15:50
4	Ben May (Aus) Bicycle Riders/Specialized/Infinit Nutrition	0:21:23
5	Mike Blewitt (Aus) Subaru-Marathonmtb.com	1:24:20
DNF	Anton Sintsov (Rus) JBG-2 Team

Elite Women
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Haley Smith (Can) Norco Factory Team	5:30:51

Elite men general classification after stage 4
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Leandre Bouchard (Can) BH SR Suntour KMC	24:29:51
2	Andrew L'Esperance (Can) Forward Racing-Norco	0:01:32
3	Hiroyuki Okamoto (Aus) Inpulse	1:36:52
4	Ben May (Aus) Bicycle Riders/Specialized/Infinit Nutrition	1:53:03
5	Mike Blewitt (Aus) Subaru-Marathonmtb.com	3:19:13