Tour de France 2025 Stage 4 LIVE - Tadej Pogacar denies Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard with barnstorming 100th career win in Rouen

It’s another blustery day in this neck of the French woods – and with the first half of the stage taking place largely on straight, lumpy and exposed roads heading south-west, the spectre of crosswinds and echelons will loom large. This will no doubt make it another tense and stressful day in the saddle for everyone. But without a bunch sprint on the cards, it’s likely that a breakaway will go up the road.

The deliciously named Cote Jacques Anquetil – where the five-time champion used to train in the shadow of his own chateau – kicks off a frantic final third of racing that includes all of the day’s five categorised climbs.

The last of these uphill tests may only be 800m long, but the 10.6% gradient of the Rampe Saint-Hilaire will be the final nail in the coffin of any sprinters who have managed to hold on thus far.

A showdown between the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Thibau Nys is possible on the uphill finish in Rouen.

Yesterday, a sleepy day at the Tour de France was punctuated with several big incidents. Tim Merlier took the spoils in a reduced bunch sprint, while Jasper Philipsen abandoned after a big crash in the green jersey. Merlier had to wait for his victory to be confirmed, with a photo finish required to split him from Jonathan Milan. Meanwhile, Mathieu van der Poel held on to the leader's yellow jersey.

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It’s another day for the puncheurs with a lumpy day in north-west France that culminates with four categorised climbs and an uphill ramp in Rouen. On paper, it’s the kind of stage that suits the man in yellow Mathieu van der Poel to a tee – and don’t Alpecin-Deceuninck need a pick-up after yesterday’s cruel DNF for their man in green, Jasper Philipsen, who crashed out during the messy intermediate sprint in an otherwise tense but uneventful stage to Dunkirk.