Less than a week in and the mountains arrive with the first Hors Category climb of the race. Not only does this stage introduce the peloton to this Tour's mountains but it is also the longest stage of the race at 224kms.
Early on the riders crest and descend the fourth category Cote de Montserrat, from then on it is virtually a non stop drag up towards the Pyrenees. The peloton's legs get their first real test on the category one Col de Serra-Seca, a climb of over 7.5kms to 1,160 metres, they then climb higher, to 1,249 metres on the Port del Comte before plummeting back down to 560 metres. And then the fun begins.
The Hors Category Arcalis climb is officially listed at being 10.6kms in length, with an average gradient of 7.1%. In reality though the climbing to Arcalis starts with still over 40 km to go until the finish. With so long still to go in the race it is unlikely that any of the main contenders will look to gain time here, rather just content themselves with making sure they don't lose any to their rivals. This stage then could be a pure climber's best shout for a win.
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General Classification after Stage Four
1. Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) 19:29:22
2. Lance Armstrong (Astana) @ 00‘00”
3. Alberto Contador (Astana) @ 00‘19”
Points Classification after Stage Four
1. Mark Cavendish (Columbia - HTC) 106pts
2. Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) 105pts
3. Gerald Ciolek (Milram) 66pts
King of the Mountains Classification after Stage Four
1 Stéphane Auge (Cofidis) 14pts
2. Jussi Veikkanen (Francaise des Jeux) 9pts
3. David Millar (Garmin-Slipstream) 8pts
Yong Riders Classifcation after Stage Four
1. Tony Martin (Columbia HTC) 19:30:14
2. Roman Kreuziger (Liquigas) @ 00‘39”
3. Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas) @ 00’44”
