Belgian Jasper Philipsen won a second consecutive Tour de France stage, taking stage four after at least three crashes in the last two miles.
Philipsen edged Australian Caleb Ewan and German Phil Balhaus in a bunch sprint, a day after Balhaus was second and Ewan was third in the first bunch sprint of this year’s Tour.
Mark Cavendish, bidding to break his tie with Eddy Merck for the Tour de France career stage wins record of 34, was fifth.
TOUR DE FRANCE: Standings | Broadcast Schedule | Stage by Stage
The top five in the overall standings, led by Brit Adam Yates in the yellow jersey, went unchanged.
Philipsen took over the green jersey as top sprinter from Frenchman Victory Lafay. He was led out to victory the last two days by Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, a world champion in cyclo-cross, junior world champion in road cycling and world medalist in mountain bike.
The last 1.9 miles were held on France’s first purpose-built motor racing venue, the Circuit Paul Armagnac. Among those who crashed on it included Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen, the top sprinter at the 2021 Vuelta a Espana.
The Tour continues Wednesday with stage five, live on Peacock and USA Network.
It’s the first of eight mountain stages, this one in the Pyrenees with three summits in the second half of the day followed by a flat run-in to the finish.
The next flat stage for sprinters is Friday.
Chaotic, crash-marred finish at the Tour de France.#TDF2023 📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/UJApzbdI2J
— NBC Sports Cycling (@NBCSCycling) July 4, 2023