Tour de France stage 4 - Live coverage

Welcome to Cyclingnews live text for Stage 4 of the Tour de France.

The riders arrived on French soil yesterday and they will race for the first time there today, beginning the day in Dunkirk and heading 171.5km to Calais.

Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) currently wears the yellow jersey. He came second in all three of the opening three stages of the race in Denmark, and today could be a good stage for him to take his first stage win of the year.

The route is hilly with six category four climbs scattered along the route, and one intermediate sprint.

The climbs are short and punchy, with the final ascent coming just over 10km from the finish line. It's likely to be another day for the sprinters, the last opportunity for the fast men for a while, however with the more difficult terrain to contend with there is an outside chance of a breakaway win. 

Prior to the stage start, the riders and crowds in Dunkirk take part in one's minute's applause for the victims of the mall shooting in Copenhagen on Sunday.

And we're off! The riders roll out of Dunkirk for the départ fictif. Wout van Aert is resplendent in the maillot jaune. Fabio Jakobsen wears green on his behalf, while Tadej Pogačar retains the white jersey as leader of the youth classification.

Magnus Cort Nielsen wears polka dots as leader of the king of the mountains competition following an incredible number of kilometres in the breakaway on stage 2 and 3 on his home soil in Denmark.

The riders will soak up the vibrant atmosphere along the sea front in Dunkirk as they travel for around 15 minutes before the flag drops and the racing begins in earnest.

The peloton are all smiles on a bright, sunny and breezy day in Northern France.

Race director Christian Prudhomme shares a few words with Lotto Soudal's Phillippe Gilbert from the commissaire's car. The veteran Belgian rider celebrates his 40th birthday today.

Just 2km remain until the flag drop - the 'départ réel' where racing can begin. 

Current leader in the mountains competition Magnus Cort confirms in his pre-race interview he'd like some company in the breakaway today, but he doesn't think it's a day for the breakaway to triumph.

EF Education-EasyPost's British rider Owain Doull deals with an early mechanical in the neutralised zone.

Race director Christian Prudhomme appears through the sunroof and raises his flag ready to get the action on Stage 4 of the Tour de France underway.

We're underway here for Stage 4 and the polka dot jersey, Magnus Cort Nielson (EF Education-Easypost) is already away from the front of the bunch, along with a companion - Anthony Perez from Cofidis.

With the peloton already spread across the road it looks as though we may have already established our day's early break. Cort and Perez are going to become very well acquainted today, if no-one else decides to try and escape up the road.

Looks as though Owain Doull actually hurt his finger in a minor crash during the départ fictif. He drops back to the medical car for assistance.

Cort and Perez have already amassed a comfortable gap of 1.50 over the peloton, who seem content with cruise control in this early part of the stage.

A nod, a smile and a thumbs up from Magnus Cort, who looks perfectly happy to be out front once again. He spent a huge proportion of Stage 3 out front alone - over 100km - so he'll be glad of the company today.

The gap moves out to almost 3 minutes. 

The first climb of the day, the Côte de Cassel, comes after around 30km, where we may see Cort and Perez battle it out for the points.

The gap has increased to over four minutes. How much time will the peloton give them before they stabilise the gap?

It's not the first time Cofidis' Anthony Perez has shown interest in the Tour de France King of the Mountains competition. In the early stages of last year's race, he had a great battle with Bora-Hansgrohe's Ide Schelling in the hunt for KOM points. He eventually came 10th in the standings. This is his fifth Tour de France.

With the gap now pushing six minutes, Cort and Perez have built up a head of steam and the peloton have mutually agreed to extend the rest day into today's stage. There's some good-humoured chat as they come up to 20km of racing completed.

Gap to the peloton now stands at 6'20".

150km to go

Despite the change in location, there is certainly a sense of déjà vu about today's stage. The lack of representation from the French continental teams in the breakaway is surprising.

With his advantage over Cort in the GC standings, Anthony Perez is currently the virtual yellow jersey.

Just a couple of kilometres stand between our two breakaway riders and the first climb of the day, the Côte de Cassel, which features a short cobbled sector - a brief hint at what is to come tomorrow on the stage to Arenberg.

145km to go

The peloton have turned the corner, in terms of the time gap. They begin to slowly close it once again, heading back down towards the six minute mark. 

The Côte de Cassel climb is underway for the two breakaway riders, Magnus Cort and Anthony Perez. They traverse the cobbles as the crowds cheer them up the ascent.

Anthony Perez opens up his sprint first but Cort rides past him as they head towards the top of the climb. Both have perhaps underestimated the length of time remaining on the climb but Cort hangs on to grab the single point available, and boost his lead in the KOM classification.

140km to go

The streets of Cassel are lined with fans as the riders continue through the town, catching their breath as they continue to ride uphill. 

The gap drops under five minutes as the peloton approach the climb. 

Team Total Energies and QuickStep AlphaVinyl lead the peloton over the climb in Cassel.

The gap settles once again at around 4'45".

Steven Krijswijk (Team Jumbo_Vimsa) is caught out by the increase in pace in the peloton, and chases back on at the back of the bunch.

135km to go

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl have decided enough is enough and put their foot on the gas at the front of the bunch.

It's caught a number of riders by surprise, and groups of riders who've dropped off the pace fight to get back on.

The gap to the leaders is down to 4'00".

While the panic at the front of the bunch seems to have abated, the result is a second group on the road who have been distanced from the main peloton.

130km to go

The gap drops below 3'30" as the second group try to make it back on. It looks as though crosswinds are slightly bothersome, something to keep an eye on as the day progresses. There is still some distance to ride before the route changes direction and begins to head west.

Race leader Wout van Aert visits the team car and shares some discussion as he exchanges his bidons. 

Still riders all over the road as the second group all try to ride back onto the main peloton.

Anthony Perez and Magnus Cort continue to ride as a duo in the day's break. They have a lead of 4'03" over the bunch.

The bunch are finally back together, and some choose this as an opportune moment for a comfort break as the tension eases once more.

125km to go

Peace is restored to the peloton. Many riders catch up and shoot the breeze, plenty of smiles and laughter, and a chance to rehydrate. There are still five cat 4 climbs left on the stage, but the next one doesn't appear for another 25km or so.

It's still a mystery as to why QuickStep decided to stress the bunch and push the pace for a short time, as now the gap to the break stretches out to over 5 minutes once more. 

With more crosswinds to come and an intermediate sprint due in just over 10km, there's every chance things could change quickly.

120km to go

The pace is stately in the bunch, with the gap stretching out to 5'49".

Jens Dekker makes an interesting point on Twitter regarding the selection of wildcard teams this year.

115km to go

The two breakaway riders soak up the adulation of the crowd as they ride through Wisques. Gap is out at 6'30".

110km to go

The break continue to amass time over the pack. They now have over 7 minutes on the peloton, as they head towards the intermediate sprint.

105km to go

The intermediate sprint in Lumbres is contested half-heartedly by the peloton. Fabio Jakobsen picked up the most points from the bunch, followed by Wout van Aert and finally Caleb Ewan in third.

With the intermediate sprint out of the way, we can begin to look toward the remainder of the categorised climbs. They are all short, some punchier than others, and with four in quick succession, there is a chance we might see the race animate. 

The first, Côte de Remilly-Wirquin, is up shortly for the breakaway.

And we're onto climb number two of the day, the category 4 Côte de Remilly-Wirquin. Cort and Perez head into it - will we see another sprint for the points?

100km to go

This time the breakaway pair don't fight for the points. Cort is first over the top of the climb. He and Perez shake hands and continue on their way, still with almost 7 minutes over the rest of the bunch.

We have just under 100km to go on today's stage. 

The breakaway has 6'54" gap over the peloton.

The peloton begins the 1.1km climb of Côte de Remilly-Wirquin.

95km to go

The peloton have no trouble with the climb. There is 25km to the next categorised climb, however, the landscape becomes a great deal bumpier from here on in, with plenty of uncategorised bumps along the way.

Maillot jaune Wout van Aert is off the back, pacing back onto the bunch. Nothing looks to be wrong.

The peloton have really switched off, allowing the gap to go out to 7'37".

Van Aert certainly seems to have spent a lot of time going back to his team car today - five visits, apparently. It's unclear as to whether there is any cause for concern for the Jumbo-Visma man, but it's starting to feel a bit ominous.

90km to go

As a reminder, we are now into undulating landscape in northern France on this Stage 4 of the Tour de France - the first on French soil. Four more category four climbs remain, before a largely flat 10km run-in to the finish. We expected a sprint before the stage, but with potential crosswinds and a breakaway who still have a 7 minute gap on the bunch, it's hard to predict how this one will turn out.

85km to go

Wout van Aert pictured earlier in the bunch. Question marks surround his condition after he's been pictured visiting his team car several times. 

Magnus Cort and Anthony Perez have been out front for the whole day today. They still enjoy a lead of over 6 minutes, although it looks as if the peloton have finally decided to go to work.

No problem for Wout van Aert, apparently - he has just been discussing tactics with the team car.

80km to go

The gap is starting to fall as the peloton decide to peg the break back. It currently stands at 5'33".

Birthday boy Phillippe Gilbert has a mechanical and stops for a wheel change.

The crosswinds have picked up and tension is beginning to rise.

The pace has increased and there are some nerves as the wind picks up. The gap to the break is tumbling, going under 5 minutes for the first time in a while. 

Cort and Perez begin the third climb of the day, the Côte de Nielles-les-Blequin.

75km to go

Trek-Segafredo take over at the front of the peloton and push the pace up the climb. 

Gap - 4'12".

The riders have covered 100km of ground today.

Trek-Segafredo, Alpecin-Fenix and Lotto Sooudal work at the front of the bunch, trying to increase the pace and drop the pure sprinters.

Mechanical trouble for Aleksandr Vlasov, who has to wait for a bike change. Mads Pederson too has problems, he is chasing back on as his own team work on the front.

70km to go

Mads Pedersen lucky not to get into difficulty as his own team car almost swerves into him. 

The climbs come in quick succession - Magnus Cort once again picks up the single KOM point on the Côte de Harlettes as the peloton close in.

Gap is 2'42".

With 65km to go, the leading pair still hold an advantage of 2'23" over the bunch. 

65km to go

The peloton flies through the French countryside as they take on a descent ahead of an uncategorised climb. 

Gap - 2'08".

The French crowds have been out in force on the first French stage of this year's Tour de France.

60km to go

The same three teams continue to work at the front of the bunch - Trek-Segafredo, Lotto Soudal and Alpecin-Fenix. The gap has dropped below 2 minutes.

Mechanical issue for Bahrain-Victorious' Kamil Gradek - he needs a wheel change.

55km to go

With 50km left of the race, the gap has stabilised slightly but there's no suggestion that the peloton aren't in complete control. The day's penultimate climb is approaching.

50km to go

Cort and Perez have been at the front of the race for 120km. Their gap is currently 1'29" over the peloton as they head onto the Côte du Ventus. It's 1.1km of ascent at 4.8%, so not a huge challenge.

The GC teams come to the front as they enter the climb, with Jumbo Visma leading the charge.

The gap drops down to just over a minute, and there is one last climb to contend with for those who would hope to sprint at the end of the day. Expect fireworks on the final climb as teams with hopes for the stage try to drop the pure sprinters while others try to keep their GC leaders safe.

Magnus Cort decides he's had enough for the day and drops back, leaving Anthony Perez alone at the front. 

Cort has won 5 out of the 6 climbs, adding 5 points to his KOM tally. He will wear polka dots once again tomorrow, on Stage 5.

45km to go

Anthony Perez seems determined to attack the rest of the stage. He continues to work and pushes the gap back to over 1'20" as Magnus Cort is swept up by the peloton.

By crossing the first 8 summits of the Tour de France first, Magnus Cort breaks a record set by Federico Bahamontes in 1958. 

The Dane has notched up 400km in the break across three road stages so far this year at the Tour.

40km to go

The gap holds steady as Anthony Perez puts in a shift, now the solo breakaway rider. 

At the other end of the race, Magnus Cort drops out the back of the peloton following a big day up front.

There's been a coming together at the back of the bunch as the road narrowed going into a commune - everyone seems OK.

35km to go

The riders are heading north, back to the North Sea coast. Shortly they will arrive at the the Côte d'Opale and tackle the final climb of the day, the Cap Blanc-Nez. The white cliffs are reminiscent of the Dover cliffs on the other side of the English channel.

Jumbo Visma and Team BikeExchange-Jayco lead the way through the twisting, turning streets of Marquise and there are some cross words exchanged as the tension builds.

The teams are blocked across the road with the gap to the race leader Anthony Perez down to 1'05". There is a very real sense of tension among the bunch.

30km to go

Lotto Soudal, Team DSM, Jumbo-Visma and BikeExchange are the teams most visible, colour blocking at the front of the pack.

If nothing else, Anthony Perez has guaranteed that he will be voted most combative rider of the day, and wear the red combativity dossard for tomorrow's stage. He's shown the Cofidis jersey proudly and prominently, in an area of the country that's not far from the home of the team, in Lille.

Perez maintains his gap of just over 1'00 with the coast and the final climb of the day, the Cap Blanc-Nez, just over 10km away.

Anthony Perez lead drops below a minute for the first time.

25km to go

Perez' time is surely almost up. The gap has fallen to 33'.

20km to go

Perez keeps his gap at just over 30" with around 5km to go until the final climb of the day. We could see real fireworks here, as teams look to gain an advantage going into the final 10km of the race. 

It's unlikely to be enough to distance the pure sprinters, with 10km of flat following on after, but it could cause some drama for any rider who isn't paying close attention.

The teams are lined up ready for the climb. With 15km to go, Anthony Perez continues to work alone at the front, and has 31" on the bunch.

15km to go

Stunning views as the coast is finally in sight and the riders head towards Calais. It's almost time for the final climb where we could see action and possibly splits in the bunch.

13km to go - 24" the gap. 

Jumbo-Visma protect the yellow jersey of Wout van Aert. 

Ineos lead into the short descent that leads into the final climb. The gap is diminishing rapidly, it stands at just 10 seconds.

The catch is made. Anthony Perez has rode bravely all day, but his solo break is over. Jumbo-Visma and Ineos pull hard into the climb.

Jumbo-Visma tear up the climb causing splits in the bunch. Only Ineos are able to stay with them.

This is huge from Jumbo-Visma - with Roglic and van Aert both at the front and spits behind, it could even cause time gaps in the GC contest.

Wout van Aert powers up the climb in the lead. 

He looks behind him. He's dropped everyone including Roglič. Adam Yates stays with him for Ineos.

The climb was short, sharp, and punchy - as Wout van Aert goes clear at the front, Dylan Groenewegen loses the wheel at the back.

10km to go

The bunch have absolutely exploded following that huge burst of power from Jumbo-Visma. 

Van Aert is 10 seconds clear at the front of the race.

7km remaining. Wout van Aert is determined not to let another stage win slip through his grasp  - he has built up a 22" lead now.

It's going to take some time to work out where everyone is but one thing is clear: Wout van Aert wants this stage win, and he's stretching out his lead - 26" to the next group.

5km to go

3.6km to go - van Aert maintains his lead as the rest of the bunch pull hard to try and make a dent in the deficit.

Lotto Soudal drive the pace as the sprinters teams work to close the gap - they are not letting van Aert add to his lead. 

QuickStep-AlphaVinyl now take up the charge. The gap is 18 seconds but with only 1.2km remaining, van Aert is looking good for the win.

The effort is clear to see on van Aert's face as he drives into Calais in the maillot jaune. He is 600m from victory.

Van Aert closes in on victory in Calais.

Wout van Aert wins Stage 4 of the Tour de France.

Jasper Philipsen wins the sprint for second place.

Wout van Aert celebrates with his team, as he wins his first stage of the 2022 Tour in the yellow jersey. 

Jasper Philipsen had a moment of thinking he'd won the stage, before Christophe Laporte pointed to Wout van Aert. A tough moment for the rider from Alpecin.

Van Aert defends his yellow jersey and extends his lead in green in a real display of power at today's finish

"I didn't want to take the risk anymore," Wout van Aert said about avoiding a bunch sprint finish.

"We were in a perfect position thanks to Nathan and Stevie. Tiesj took over and in the wheel it was already super hard. The goal was to go full to the top and see what happened.

"By going full I also put the others in a good position so they didn't have to ride. Then it was just 10km of all out suffering."

Adam Yates on Jumbo-Visma...

"They did the same thing at Paris-Nice and we had a suspicion they might do it, and they did the same thing, sprinting full gas from the bottom to the top. I just about ran out of legs just over the top but there was only one other guy there that was better than me, so not much more I could do.

"We went into the climb in a good position thanks to the guys, and I did my best to hold on for as long as possible.

When asked about tomorrow's cobbled stage, Yates added, "No, I'm not looking forward to it."

So, as a result of his solo attack into Calais Wout van Aert extends his lead over Yves Lampaert in second on GC to 25 seconds.

He leads the points classification with 170 points over Fabio Jakobsen in second on 109.

Magnus Cort's ride today led to him breaking a very old record as he was the first rider to crest the first eight climbs of the Tour in first place.

Wout van Aert celebrates as he wins stage 4 of the Tour de France in Calais.

Check out our stage 4 report here, with a full report, results, and gallery

As well as extending his lead in the yellow jersey fight, Van Aert also leads the green jersey points standings.

Magnus Cort is still in polka dots after another day in the breakaway

Tadej Pogačar remains in white, too, with no change among the jersey holders after stage 4.

Check out the latest updated GC standings at the Tour de France here.

Take a look back at the final kilometre of stage 4 here...

Pogačar admits mistake after Jumbo-Visma light up Tour de France stage to Calais

Two-time Tour leader cautious before stage across the Paris-Roubaix cobbles

Sprinters foiled by Wout van Aert on stage 4 of the Tour de France

Jakobsen continues green jersey fight as Philipsen accidentally celebrates second place

Wout van Aert takes flight to end series of near misses at Tour de France

'The yellow jersey gave me wings' says Belgian after stage 4

No 'Paris-Nice 2.0' as Yates marks Jumbo-Visma's Tour de France attack

British rider in fine form but not looking forward to cobbles on stage 5

We'll have more coming in from our reporters on the ground at the Tour de France, including reaction from Mathieu van der Poel and Peter Sagan, plus a preview of tomorrow's cobbled stage 5.

That's all for our live coverage today, though. See you on Wednesday for more!