Belgian Wout Van Aert celebrated his latest Tour de France trick by flapping arms as he crossed the line, claiming: “The Yellow Jersey gives you wings.”
After a mountain stage triumph on Mount Ventoux, a time trial and denying Mark Cavendish sprint immortality on the Champs Elysees, all-rounder Van Aert added a stunning solo breakaway to his repertoire by winning stage four on the Tour de France. He had been second in all three stages on the Grand Depart in Denmark, but a kick for home six miles out on the horseshoe-shaped ride from Dunkirk to Calais left a fractured peloton in Van Aert's wake.
Embarrassed compatriot Jasper Philipsen emerged from the pack to win a bunch sprint for second, celebrating animatedly until the penny dropped that Van Aert had already cruised home hundreds of yards up the road. Van Aert had lamented it was "not funny any more" after being pipped by Fabio Jakobsen and Dylan Groenewegen in back-to-back sprint finishes over the weekend – but he made no mistake this time.
After the 106.5-mile ride with the White Cliffs of Dover beckoning in the distance, he said: "I didn't want to take the risk again. These stages most likely end with a sprint in a bigger group, so it's one of the most difficult things to do to go it alone. I could only do it with the help of my team-mates.
"They did half the work and it was up to me to finish it off."
Van Aert extended his lead in the Yellow Jersey to 25 seconds, with defending champion Tadej Pogacar third, 32sec down, and Britain's Adam Yates (eighth) 48sec back.
Van Aert is not considered a threat to win the fabled maillot jaune in the long haul, 2018 winner Geraint Thomas (50 seconds down in 12th) was unmoved – especially with a potentially chaotic day over 11 miles of cobbles ahead on stage five.
The Welsh wonder said: "I think you can read too much into it. It was really only a one or two-minute blast and that doesn't necessarily win you the Tour. But that type of effort at least shows we're going all right."
Following Monday's transfer from Denmark, the stage began with riders taking part in a tribute to victims of Sunday's mass shooting at a shopping mall in Copenhagen, in which three people were killed.
