Stage 4

Today's stage started off fast and hard. It took a solid hour of racing for the break to get established. We had Markel and Ben in the break, which was great because we had 2 of 11 (I think), and Markel could have been yellow if the break went to the line, but unfortunately there was a gc threat or 2 in the break, so we had to chase still. With Ben and Markel just sitting on the break, Gregory and Jens rode like animals to bring the danger to a halt. It was gruppo compacto part way up the final climb, and thanks to the hard tempo set by Gregory and Jens, no one could really attack because everyone was tired. From the top of the final KOM, it was 75km to the finish. Everyone was tired and just yearning for the finish line, so attacking was limited, and we basically rode to the final 15km until the sprinters teams decided to contest the sprint. Again, we just tried to stay out of trouble, and Sagan made it 4 for 4: incredible. Tomorrow's tt will be the first big gc shake up, so then we'll see how this race will begin to shake out. Stay tuned for the excitement.