Lorena Wiebes wins Tour de France Femmes stage four as Marianne Vos retains yellow jersey
Wiebes (Team SD Worx) launched her move around 250m from the line and proved untouchable, sealing another emphatic stage triumph.
Fellow Dutch rider Marianne Vos took second place, with Ireland's Lara Gillespie finishing third.
The largely flat 130.7km stage from Saumur to Poitiers saw the peloton remain tightly packed until the closing stretch before a showdown among the sprinters.
Wiebes timed her effort perfectly, leaving her rivals unable to respond before it was too late.
She also triumphed in a chaotic sprint in stage three and now sits second overall, trailing Vos, who retains the yellow jersey.
"Very nice, I'm happy it worked out again," Wiebes said.
"That went well, but it was quite chaotic. I had to start the sprint early again because I was afraid of being boxed in."
Vos (Visma–Lease a Bike) had tried to edge past Wiebes in the final metres.
"Nice to get close, but Lorena was very fast," Vos said.
"It's nice [to still be in the yellow jersey], we knew it would be chaotic … the whole stage was pretty tough, so thanks to the team."
Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance–Soudal) is the best-placed Australian in 19th position on the overall standings, 51 seconds adrift of Vos.
Reuters
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