Going one better than his 6th place finish on stage 3, Mark Cavendish sprinted to 5th on stage 4 from Dax to Nogaro. But it was another opportunity and another strike out for the Manxman, whose chances to take the record-breaking 35th Tour de France stage are slowly beginning to run out.
The day was one of two very polarising halves. After the toughest Tour start in recent memory in the Basque country, the only thing the peloton seemed motivated for on stage 4 was a very easy day. It was more than 100km before a breakaway finally set off for its procession of sponsor-appeasing TV time after the intermediate sprint, despite a halfhearted charge from Wout Van Aert and a few fellow Belgians before.
