One of the shortest stages of the tour, 153,5 km from Cambrai to Reims was made for the sprinters and as expected delivered a sprint finish with Petacchi victorious though challenged by Australian Robbie McEwen who finished fourth.
The early break-away group was caught shortly before the finish and the teams placed their sprinters up front. Australian HTC Columbia rider Mark Renshaw brought teammate Mark Cavendish forward however he couldn’t hold the pace and the finish was taken by Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Team Lampre) followed by New Zealander Julian Dean (Team Garmin Transitions), Norwegian Edvald Boasson (Team Sky) and Australian Robbie McEwen (Team Katusha).
The overall standings remaining largely unchanged wth Fabian Cancellara (Team Saxobank) retaining the yellow jersey and Cadel Evans (Team BMC Racing) in third.
Stage 5 takes the riders 187,5 km from ?pernay to Montargis, typically another stage for the sprinters however possible for a break-away group to take advantage.
