Tour de France: 4 days on the fringe, Martin finally takes lead

Tony Martin is finally in yellow! The German time trial specialist, who has been second overall since day 1, is getting closer every day. He lost the Yellow Jersey to Chris Froome by just six hundredths of a second on stage 3. On stage 4, the longest stage this year, Martin and his Etixx-Quick Step squad made sure he got the Yellow Jersey on his shoulders.

With cobblestones a part of this tour, the excitement did not drop. A 4-man break started right from the get go. They maintained their lead through most of the stage, before finally being caught after leading for nearly 181 kms. The leading riders kept to the front of the group when they hit each cobble section. Each man always had a team mate around him. 35 kms to go, Thibaut Pinot who finished 3rd last year suffered mechanical issues as he fell back and lost a lot of time.

For the final few sections of the race, a group of 35 consisting of the main General Classification favourites and some of the top sprinters were powering forward as the rest of the cyclists fell back. Martin suffered a puncture, but some quick thinking from his team mate Matteo Trentin saved the day, who lent his bike to the German. Julien Vermote and Michal Golas both paced Martin back to the leading group. In the final 3.5kms Martin decided to take matters into his own hands. His teammates had all worked hard to keep him in contention and the Time Trial Champion powered ahead. There was no reaction, with the General Classification favourites and their teams not reacting. Only when it was too late did Peter Sagan and John Degenkolb start to try and organize a chase but it was too late. Tony Martin won his second mass stage at the Tour and will be in the Maillot Juane tomorrow. Froome would not be concerned, as Martin is not a threat in the long run. He maintained pace with the other favourites and has not lost time to them which is essential in this first week.

It must have been pretty amazing to win, even more to do so on someone else’s bike. “Matteo [Trentin] was next to me, and he said straight to me that I should take it,” Martin said. “The only problem is that his seat is two centimetres higher, and his brakes are opposite to mine. I was not just focused on my legs, I was also focused on the brakes.” “Now all the pressure from the last days comes off, I’m super happy. I’m super thankful to the team; they supported me day by day. They gave 100 percent for me. Now I try to give it back.” The win ended a fabulous day for the Belgian outfit, who will hope to keep Martin in Yellow till atleast the first rest day.

The first 4 stages of the Tour De France have seen 4 different wearers of the Yellow Jersey. The biggest winner? Well, you really cannot say anyone but Martin and his team. Everyone played their role today. Mark Renshaw ensured Cavendish got a good point finish at the intermediate sprint. Cavendish, Vermote, Golas, Kwiatkowski all paced Martin. Martin himself capped it off with an amazing dash in the final 3.5kms, as if he was riding his own mini time trial, against the cyclists and not the clock.

The biggest loser of this stage is Thibaut Pinot. The Frenchman who finished 3rd last year, suffered a mechanical fault with 35kms to go. He got delayed by another couple of minutes and now sits six and a half minutes behind Martin in the Overall standings. It hasn’t been the best start for the Frenchman but he can try to make it up in the mountains.

After Stage 5, The General Classification stands as

The Points Classification stands as

Stage 5 is a pure flat stage and more than likely, Martin will try to power his team to lead out Cavendish for a stage win as he looks to protect his lead.