"It’s my first Tour and my first win," said the jubilant Saugrain. "We’re a lot smaller than the other teams on the Tour, but since we found out that we were going to ride, everybody’s worked so hard. Today’s win represents the fruit of three years of hard work."
While Saugrain joyfully celebrated his unexpected success, GAN’s Stephane Heulot, recently fourth overall in prestigious Tour warm-up, the Dauphine Libere, and part of the same day long break of five men, picked up enough time to take the yellow jersey from the shoulders of teammate Frederic Moncassin. "I joined the break only so that the team would have someone there if needed," explained Heulot. "At the finish, I was thinking more of the jersey than of the stage win, although I wanted to win that, too. From now on, I hope to stay in yellow for a few days, providing I’m going as well as I was at the Dauphine. But I don’t have any illusions."
Four and a half minutes after Aubervilliers’ Tour dreams came true, the main field, led by Mapei/GB and Rabobank, arrived under the final kilometer kite, with the Dutch team’s Slava Ekimov once again using his track skills in an attempt to solo clear of the bunch.
But GAN was working hard to lead Moncassin from yellow to the green points jersey, and as Ekimov was swept up, the Frenchman led from Mario Cipollini, Erik Zabel and points jersey incumbent Jan Svorada of Panaria. The Czech sprinter, fully aware that Moncassin had green on his mind, began a huge effort to draw level. In doing so, he lifted his front wheel off the ground and, without touching any other riders, crashed to the road. Immediately behind him, Festina’s Laurent Brochard and Mauro Bettin of Refin were also brought down, while Telekom’s Bjarne Riis narrowly averted disaster by sliding against the barriers.
All safely finished the stage at the back of the main field, but a frustrated Svorada is sure to feel the deep cuts and severe bruising to his right side for several days to come.
On a day when warm sunshine finally came to the Tour, the race turned eastwards on its winding route towards this weekend’s Alpine stages. When five riders — Heulot, Saugrain, Rabobank’s Danny Nelissen, MG’s breakaway specialist Rolf Jaermann, and former Giro d’Italia King of the Mountains Mariano Piccoli of Brescialat — jumped clear with a little under 200 km of open road ahead of them, few took the break seriously.
Finally and spectacularly, with the break’s lead at a whopping 17:20, the big guns of the Tour burst into life on the vast plateaux of the Marne region. But even the combined efforts of ONCE and Banesto, as both Spanish "super-teams" made a rare collaboration, came too late to reel in the escapees.
Now Miguel Indurain, the Frenchman’s former team leader when he was with Banesto, may regret allowing Heulot his head. A strong time trialist and accomplished climber, the rejuvenated yellow jersey wearer could be the surprise package of this year’s race.
Stage four
1. Cyril Saugrain (Fr), Aubervilliers 232 km in 5:43:50
2. Danny Nelissen (Hol), Rabobank
3. Rolf Jaermann (Switz), MG/Technogym
4. Stephane Heulot (Fr), GAN
5. Mariano Piccoli (It), Brescialat all s.t.
6. Claudio Camin (It), Brescialat (and rest of peloton) 4:33
Abandons: Carmelo Miranda, (Sp) Banesto; Stefano Zanini (It), Gewiss; Carlo Finco (It), MG/Technogym
Overall g.c.
1. Stephane Heulot (Fr), GAN 22:53:55
2. Mariano Piccoli (It), Brescialat at 0:22
3. Cyril Saugrain (Fr), Aubervilliers 0:34
4. Rolf Jaermann (Switz), MG/Technogym s.t.
5. Danny Nelissen (Hol), Rabobank 1:35
6. Frederic Moncassin (Fr), GAN 3:54
7. Alex Zulle (Switz), ONCE 4:05
8. Evgeni Berzin (Rus), Gewiss 4:08
9. Abraham Olano (Sp), Mapei/GB 4:12
10. Bjarne Riis (Den), Telekom 4:16
Points: Frederic Moncassin (Fr), GAN
Mountains: Danny Nelissen (Hol), Rabobank