LE PUY DU FOU, France -- Italian sprint specialist Nicola Minali sneaked a photo-finish victory in the fourth stage of the Tour de France as another crash, this time involving a spectator, marred the cycling classic on Wednesday.

Banesto's Spanish rider Vicente Garcia-Acosta, in his first Tour, followed Swiss veteran Tony Rominger, victim of a mass pile-up on Tuesday, out of the race after a crash and was taken to hospital in Nantes.

Garcia-Acosta and Italian Fabiano Fontanelli, who was later able to continue the race, both crashed into a woman spectator on the edge of the road around the 56-mile mark. The woman, who suffered a serious head injury, was also taken to hospital.

A Banesto team official said: "It's a big loss as he is a useful rider on all terrains."

MINALI, WHO WON A STAGE IN Portsmouth, England, in the 1994 Tour, edged out Frenchman Frederic Moncassin with Germany's Erik Zabel third after the 140-mile leg from Plumelec, covered in five hours, 46 minutes, 42 seconds.

Zabel's placing, worth a deduction of eight seconds, cut back the overall lead of Italian Mario Cipollini to four seconds.

Cipollini and Zabel, wearing the points leader's green jersey, fought throughout the stage for the time deductions at the three intermediate sprints with the German taking two seconds more than the Italian.

In the final charge, Cipollini finished fourth and out of the fight for a share of 30 seconds in deductions. But he still holds the overall leader's yellow jersey he has worn since winning the first stage on Sunday.

A disappointed Moncassin said: "I was strong in the sprint but it was Minali who took it in the end. Yesterday it was Zabel and before that Cipollini. I'm really disappointed."

MONCASSIN, FRANCE'S BEST HOPE of a stage victory in the flat early stages of the Tour, has edged ever closer without a victory.

"I've come fourth, third, second today. I've taken all the sprint placings and I've only got one left, the best," said Moncassin, winner of the first stage in 1996, as he described his finishes in the past three stages.

"I was really fine in this sprint, good in my legs. It was a finish that suited me well.

"I'd like to win in Bordeaux (in Saturday's seventh stage)," he added, recalling his second victory in the 19th stage in 1996.

THE STAGE STARTED AT AN EASY pace, averaging 20 mph, and after the crash at about the 56-mile mark, Rominger's Cofidis teammate Philippe Gaumont made a solo break that propelled him to a remarkable lead of 11 minutes, 20 seconds with about 60 miles to go. That was virtually the time by which he trailed Cipollini.

But the peloton recovered the pace of the previous stages and with 30 miles to go, Gaumont held a mere 3:50 lead before being reined in and disappearing into the anonymity of the huge peloton.

With Cipollini holding the slimmest of leads, Thursday's fifth stage over 163 miles to Chatre should feature a sprinters' battle for his yellow jersey.

The riders will reach the finish line along the Champs Elysees in Paris on July 27.

Overall leaders

Stage 4 results

Stages of the Tour de France

Rominger to undergo collarbone surgery in Switzerland

Cipollini has shorts for every occasion

Tour de France teams