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09.09.2007/ Swiss rider Martin Kohler took the fourth stage which
went from Cholet to Contres. The Swiss rider kept a lead of a few meters over the chasing bunch after an escape of 140 kilometers
on the 211 kilometers long stage. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) defended his overall lead.
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| The route of the 2007 Tour de l'Avenir (picture: A.S.O.) |
Despite a crash just before the official start, attacks occur immediately. Several groups of riders tried
to get away without really managing a decent gap over the pack. The peloton therefore makes it bunched at the first intermediate
sprint at Argenton-les-vallées after 33 kilometers, won by Andrey Klyuev (RUS) ahead of yellow jersey Bauke Mollema (NED)
and Martin Kohler (SUI).
After 58 kilometers, the bunch increases its pace under the influence of the Dutch
team. A group of twenty riders including Dutch overall leader Mollema and all his team mates takes off and enjoys a maximum
30” lead. The chasing pack however closes in and the front men are caught after 81 kilometers. A few kilometres later,
Nicolas Hartmann (FRA) and Kohler break away and rapidly increase their lead. On the line of the second intermediate sprint
in Chinon, they have a 3’20 lead over the bunch led by Mollema (sprint result: Hartmann, Kholer, Mollema). Both
men confirm their advantage at the top of the first climb of the day, the Côte de Chinon, where they enjoy a 4’00 lead
over the pack led by Marco Coledan (ITA) and Lars Boom (NED) (mountain classification result: Kohler, Hartmann, Coledan,
Boom).
The gap between the two leaders and the pack increases and reaches a maximum 6’ after 138 kilometers
at Montbazon. The peloton then starts to really chase the front man under the influence of the Dutch riders. The gap therefore
drops down to 4’10 on the line of the third and final intermediate sprint of La-Croix-en-Touraine (won by Hartmann ahead
of Kholer and Mollema in command of the chasing pack.
In the climb up the Côte de Montrichard, the Italian riders
take over the chase working for their polka-dot jersey holder Coledan. At the top, Kohler makes it first in front of Hartmann
while the pack remains 2’40 behind led by Coledan.
In the final part of the race, facing the wind, Hartmann
and Kholer do their best to hang on to their advantage. They ride together to try and maintain the gap but the pack closes
in: 1’45 with 15 kilometers to go, 1’ with 10 kilometers to go, 25’’ with 5 kilometres to go…
Both men however carry on their efforts. With one kilometer to go, they keep a 14” lead. In the final straight, they
can however feel the pack moving closer but insist. With 200m to go, Kohler attacks one last time and Hartmann fails to follow.
Kohler only just manages to cross the finish line triumphantly while Hartmann is caught by the main field. The Swiss rider
wins ahead of Boasson Hagen (NOR), three-time stage winner last year. Hagen will race with the T-Mobile team next season.
Stage winner Martin Kohler said: "When Hartmann attacked I followed him but I thought we were crazy. Actually
I hoped that some riders would join us. Therefore it has been very difficult. In the last kilometres, Hartmann was exhausted
and I had to do all the job myself. Actually I thought we could never make it. Obviously, I have been quite lucky that the
bunch hesitated to speed up in the finish. It was only just."
Results
Stage 4
1 Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team
5.02.45 (41.91 km/h)
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Norwegian National Team
3 Diego Milan (Spa) Spanish National Team
4 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Slovenian National Team
5 Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team
6 Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Danish National Team
7 Lars Boom (Ned) Dutch National Team
8 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Belgian National Team
9 Keven Lacombe (Can) Canadian National Team
10 Dominic Klemme (Ger) German National Team
11 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Dutch National Team
12 Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Alg) Mixed Team
13 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
14 Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) French National Team A
15 Chris Barton (USA) USA National Team
16 Bradley Fairall (Can) Canadian National Team
17 Andrey Klyuev (Rus) Russian National Team
18 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Belgian National Team
19 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
20 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team
21 Mickael Larpe (Fra) French National Team B
22 Ryan Anderson (Can) Canadian National Team
23 Andrius Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
24 Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
25 Sergey Shcherbakov (Rus) Russian National Team
26 Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team
27 Viesturs Luksevics (Lat) Latvian National Team
28 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Norwegian National Team
29 Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Mixed Team
30 Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
31 Alexandr Kilibaev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
32 Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team
33 Nelson Rocha (Por) Portuguese National Team
34 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Dutch National Team
35 Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team
36 Kasper Jebjerg (Den) Danish National Team
37 José Mendes (Por) Portuguese National Team
38 Aleksey Kunshin (Rus) Russian National Team
39 Mathieu Deschenaux (Swi) Swiss National Team
40 Anthony Roux (Fra) French National Team A
41 Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team
42 Sondre Sortveit (Nor) Norwegian National Team
43 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team
44 Marco Coledan (Ita) Italian National Team
45 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Russian National Team
46 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Belgian National Team
47 Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
48 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) French National Team A
49 Alexandr Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
50 Adrian Honkisz (Pol) Polish National Team
51 Tom Leezer (Ned) Dutch National Team
52 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Dutch National Team
53 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team
54 Normunds Lasis (Lat) Latvian National Team
55 Peter Salon (USA) USA National Team
56 Rui Costa (Por) Portuguese National Team
57 Joze Senekovic (Slo) Slovenian National Team
58 Javier Aramendia (Spa) Spanish National Team
59 Yoann Offredo (Fra) French National Team B
60 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Mixed Team
61 Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team
62 Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team
63 Thomas Kvist (Den) Danish National Team
64 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
65 Christian Meier (Can) Canadian National Team
66 Paul Voss (Ger) German National Team
67 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Italian National Team
68 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA National Team
69 Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team
70 Simon Spilak (Slo) Slovenian National Team
71 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
72 Andre Steensen (Den) Danish National Team
73 Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
74 Volodymyr Landyrev (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
75 Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
76 Dmytro Novosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
77 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Italian National Team
78 Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team
79 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Slovenian National Team
80 Christer Rake (Nor) Norwegian National Team
81 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Belgian National Team
82 Craig Lewis (USA) USA National Team
83 Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team
84 Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
85 Peter Stetina (USA) USA National Team
86 Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team
87 Jose Herrada (Spa) Spanish National Team
88 Oscar Sanchez (Col) Mixed Team
89 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team
90 Eric Boily (Can) Canadian National Team
91 Florian Morizot (Fra) French National Team B
92 Frederik Wilmann (Nor) Norwegian National Team
93 David Veilleux (Can) Canadian National Team
94 Sébastien Fournet Fayard (Fra) French National Team B
95 Michael Randin (Swi) Swiss National Team
96 Oleh Opryshko (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
97 Ildar Zakirov (Rus) Russian National Team
98 Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team
99 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Spanish National Team
100 Andreas Frisch (Den) Danish National Team
101 Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team
102 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Swiss National Team
103 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Dutch National Team
104 Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Norwegian National Team
105 Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) French National Team A
106 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Spanish National Team
107 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team A
108 Fabio Taborre (Ita) Italian National Team
109 Adriano Malori (Ita) Italian National Team
110 Thomas Brigaud (Fra) French National Team B
111 Claudio Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team
112 Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Portuguese National Team
113 Thomas Peterson (USA) USA National Team
114 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team
115 Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team B
116 Grega Bole (Slo) Slovenian National Team
117 Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team
0.24
118 Dries Van Der Ginst (Bel) Belgian National Team
0.37
119 Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Belgian National Team
General Classification after stage 4
1 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Dutch National Team
15.54.31
2 Tom Leezer (Ned) Dutch National Team
0.06
3 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Belgian National Team
0.07
4 Andre Steensen (Den) Danish National Team
0.13
5 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) French National Team A
0.17
6 Tony Martin (Ger) German National Team
7 Laurent Beuret (Swi) Swiss National Team
0.22
8 Christian Meier (Can) Canadian National Team
9 Craig Lewis (USA) USA National Team
10 Frederik Wilmann (Nor) Norwegian National Team
11 Michael Randin (Swi) Swiss National Team
12 Simon Spilak (Slo) Slovenian National Team
0.27
13 Thomas Kvist (Den) Danish National Team
0.30
14 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Spanish National Team
15 Yoann Offredo (Fra) French National Team B
0.35
16 Andreas Frisch (Den) Danish National Team
1.21
17 Sergey Shcherbakov (Rus) Russian National Team
1.37
18 Florian Morizot (Fra) French National Team B
3.55
19 Aleksey Kunshin (Rus) Russian National Team
5.50
20 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Swiss National Team
5.56
21 Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Latvian National Team
6.10
22 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Dutch National Team
6.12
23 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Italian National Team
6.33
24 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Russian National Team
6.43
25 Rafaa Chtioui (Tun) Mixed Team
6.49
26 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Norwegian National Team
6.51
27 Andrius Buividas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
6.52
28 Dennis Van Winden (Ned) Dutch National Team
6.54
29 José Mendes (Por) Portuguese National Team
30 Maciej Paterski (Pol) Polish National Team
6.55
31 Dominic Klemme (Ger) German National Team
6.57
32 Pawel Wachnik (Pol) Polish National Team
33 Haijun Ma (Chn) Mixed Team
34 Oleg Chuzhda (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
35 Alexandr Kilibaev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
36 Nelson Rocha (Por) Portuguese National Team
37 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Belgian National Team
38 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
39 Javier Aramendia (Spa) Spanish National Team
40 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) French National Team A
41 Vitor Rodrigues (Por) Portuguese National Team
42 Nikolas Maes (Bel) Belgian National Team
7.00
43 Martin Kohler (Swi) Swiss National Team
7.03
44 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
7.05
45 Nicolas Hartmann (Fra) French National Team A
7.08
46 Peter Stetina (USA) USA National Team
47 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) USA National Team
48 Stian Sommerseth (Nor) Norwegian National Team
49 Gasper Svab (Slo) Slovenian National Team
50 Diego Milan (Spa) Spanish National Team
7.09
51 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Dutch National Team
52 Jose Herrada (Spa) Spanish National Team
53 Simon Geschke (Ger) German National Team
54 Sondre Sortveit (Nor) Norwegian National Team
7.14
55 Rui Costa (Por) Portuguese National Team
56 Dalivier Ospina (Col) Mixed Team
57 Jakob Bering (Den) Danish National Team
7.16
58 Adrian Honkisz (Pol) Polish National Team
7.18
59 Lars Boom (Ned) Dutch National Team
7.19
60 Thomas Peterson (USA) USA National Team
7.20
61 Ryan Anderson (Can) Canadian National Team
7.21
62 Bradley Fairall (Can) Canadian National Team
7.25
63 Abdelkader Belmokhtar (Alg) Mixed Team
7.26
64 Fabio Taborre (Ita) Italian National Team
7.27
65 Dmytro Novosad (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
7.29
66 Mathias Belka (Ger) German National Team
7.30
67 Herberts Pudans (Lat) Latvian National Team
68 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Norwegian National Team
7.36
69 Andrey Klyuev (Rus) Russian National Team
7.37
70 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Italian National Team
71 Ildar Zakirov (Rus) Russian National Team
72 Jean-Charles Senac (Fra) French National Team A
73 Sébastien Fournet Fayard (Fra) French National Team B
7.39
74 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
7.42
75 Pawel Cieslik (Pol) Polish National Team
7.43
76 Mickael Larpe (Fra) French National Team B
7.50
77 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Swiss National Team
7.54
78 Marius Kukta (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
7.55
79 Marcos Garcia (Spa) Spanish National Team
80 Dries Van Der Ginst (Bel) Belgian National Team
7.56
81 Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Bel) Belgian National Team
8.06
82 Berik Kupeshov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
8.09
83 Christer Rake (Nor) Norwegian National Team
8.18
84 Normunds Lasis (Lat) Latvian National Team
8.38
85 Nazar Jumabekov (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
8.52
86 Jonas Jörgensen (Den) Danish National Team
8.54
87 Volodymyr Landyrev (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
9.10
88 Marco Coledan (Ita) Italian National Team
9.19
89 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Mixed Team
9.21
90 Lukasz Modzelewski (Pol) Polish National Team
9.53
91 Anthony Roux (Fra) French National Team A
10.02
92 Adriano Malori (Ita) Italian National Team
10.27
93 Paul Voss (Ger) German National Team
10.28
94 Stijn Neirynck (Bel) Belgian National Team
10.50
95 David Veilleux (Can) Canadian National Team
10.58
96 Cyril Bessy (Fra) French National Team B
11.02
97 Kasper Jebjerg (Den) Danish National Team
12.06
98 Mathieu Deschenaux (Swi) Swiss National Team
12.10
99 Andriy Suralyov (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
12.21
100 Oscar Sanchez (Col) Mixed Team
12.32
101 Viesturs Luksevics (Lat) Latvian National Team
13.38
102 Grega Bole (Slo) Slovenian National Team
13.49
103 Oleh Opryshko (Ukr) Ukrainian National Team
14.02
104 Thomas Brigaud (Fra) French National Team B
14.10
105 Tomasz Krupinski (Pol) Polish National Team
14.20
106 Chris Barton (USA) USA National Team
14.27
107 Keven Lacombe (Can) Canadian National Team
14.32
108 Stefan Schafer (Ger) German National Team
15.15
109 Kristofers Racenajs (Lat) Latvian National Team
16.10
110 Blaz Jarc (Slo) Slovenian National Team
16.55
111 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Slovenian National Team
19.27
112 Claudio Apolo (Por) Portuguese National Team
20.17
113 Martins Trautmanis (Lat) Latvian National Team
22.26
114 Alexandr Shushemoin (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
115 Peter Salon (USA) USA National Team
22.50
116 Joze Senekovic (Slo) Slovenian National Team
23.12
117 Gediminas Kaupas (Ltu) Lithuanian National Team
26.13
118 Yevgeniy Nepomnyachshiy (Kaz) Kazakh National Team
45.38
119 Eric Boily (Can) Canadian National Team
1.03.49
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