Greipel gets it right on stage 4 of Eneco Tour

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André Greipel and his Lotto Belisol teammates finally got to celebrate victory at the Eneco Tour after the German national champion used his superior finishing speed to win stage four in Vlijmen after an excellent lead out in the twisting final kilometre.

On Wednesday Greipel was left to rue what could have been after four riders, including his teammate Jurgen Roelandts, escaped with a kilometre to go. This time Roelandts and several other teammates provided an excellent lead out, protecting Greipel until the final corners lined out the sprinters.

Boom went early in the sprint in search of a win in his hometown, or at least a placing and the time bonus that would give him the overall lead. However, Greipel had the power to pass him and win with ease, celebrating with his arms in the air and strengthening his lead in the red points jersey competition.

Giacomo Nizzolo (Radioshack-Leopard) finished second, with Lars Boom (Belkin) holding on to third and so gain enough bonus seconds to take the white race leader's jersey. Boom now leads Greipel by one second, with previous leader Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) slipping to third at three seconds.

Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) continued his solid comeback by taking fourth in the sprint, with Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) sixth.

A crash with six kilometres to go split the peloton, with Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) and Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) both finishing in a second group several minutes down.

Wiggins will be hoping to turn his race around with victory in Friday's 13.2km stage from Sittard to Geleen in the Netherlands. For Boom, the winner of the 2012 Eneco Tour, it will be a chance to extend his overall race lead.

How it happened

The 169km stage was characterized by a four-rider breakaway, with the sprinters' teams happy to let the riders from minor teams go clear before gradually reeling them in. The stage started in the rain, making for a nervous day in the saddle.

Pieter Jacobs (Topsport Vlaanderen), Greece's Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Staf Scheirlinckx (Accent Jobs-Wanty) and Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil-DCM) jumped away after just a few kilometres formed the break, and the peloton let them go. Their gap grew quickly on the road to Vlijmen, reaching 3:40 after just seven kilometres. The gap peaked at 5:30 after 70km and some steady chasing from the peloton and especially from the sprinters' teams.

Wiggins was forced to do a big effort mid-stage after a split in the peloton but things came back together as the race headed to Vlijmen for the two twisting finishing laps.

Scheirlinckx was the first rider to sit up in the final part of the stage, tired after more than 120km up front. Then the breakaway became just two with 15km to go when Ligthart suffered a front puncture. Because the gap to the peloton was down to just 35 seconds, the team cars and the neutral service had been pulled out from the behind the riders and so he could only ride on slowly before being passed by the peloton. He eventually got a wheel but his day of glory ended early.

A crash with six kilometres raised the tension and left some riders with some road rash and pain, including Astana's Jacopo Guarnieri. The peloton also split but soon came back together and Lotto Belisol, Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Belkin fought to lead out the sprint.

The three tight corners in the final two kilometres made it difficult for one lead out team. Fortunately nobody crashed on the corners and suddenly the finishing straight opened up. Boom went early and got a huge cheer from his home crowd but Greipel mercilessly surged passed him and celebrated his first victory since taking stage six to Montpellier at the Tour de France. After the disappointment of defeat, the gentile German Gorilla was smiling again.

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