{"id":20840,"date":"2013-07-02T11:15:41","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T09:15:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/facts-about-the-fourth-tour-de-france-stage\/"},"modified":"2013-07-02T11:15:41","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T09:15:41","slug":"facts-about-the-fourth-tour-de-france-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/facts-about-the-fourth-tour-de-france-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"Facts about the fourth Tour de France stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t \"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The peloton rides along the coast in Corsica during the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday. Photo: Pascal Pochard \/ EPA<\/p>\n

As the Tour de France<\/a> enters its fourth stage today, here are some things to know:<\/p>\n

1. TTT\u2026 For Tuesday: After three sunbaked days in lovely Corsica, the Tour heads to mainland France for the first expected shakeout among the race contenders in Tuesday\u2019s fourth stage.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a team time trial: The 22 squads set off one at a time in whirring formation in a race against the clock over a mostly flat 25 kilometers in the Mediterranean coastal city of Nice.<\/p>\n

Look for Sky, led by pre-race favorite Chris Froome<\/a> of Britain, plus U.S. squad Garmin-Sharp and Spain\u2019s Movistar to be among the favorites to win the stage.<\/p>\n

2. Bakelants basks in yellow again: Belgium\u2019s Jan Bakelants kept the yellow jersey after Monday\u2019s jaunt along jagged, winding coastline over azure Mediterranean waters off western Corsica in Stage 3.<\/p>\n

He kept the leader\u2019s shirt he captured a day earlier by clinging to the main pack that crossed just behind Australian stage winner Simon Gerrans<\/a>, who won a photo-finish sprint ahead of Peter Sagan.<\/p>\n

But the Slovak captured the green jersey given to the race\u2019s best overall sprinter \u2013 a prize he took home last year.<\/p>\n

3. A mere second: The Belgian bioscience engineering graduate might need to come up with some luck and skillful cycling if he plans to stay in yellow.<\/p>\n

Bakelants acknowledged his RadioShack team has not really trained for the team time trial, and his overall lead is only one second\u2026 over 71 other riders.<\/p>\n

So pretty much any rider among them whose team beats RadioShack\u2019s time could bump him off the lead. Perhaps tipping off his resignation, he said: \u201cIt\u2019ll be hard to keep the jersey, but I\u2019ve already had it two days, and that\u2019s special. It\u2019s extraordinary to have worn it.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. Ciao, Corsica: Some competitors expressed relief to leave Corsica, where mishaps, crashes and nervous racing marked the debut of the Tour on the French island where Napoleon was born in the 18th century.<\/p>\n

Cadel Evans<\/a> of Australia, the 2011 Tour winner, said he felt relieved to have emerged unscathed from several crashes in the first stages, and Tuesday \u201cstarts a new chapter of the race.\u201d Luxembourg rider Andy Schleck, who won in 2010, said he was \u201chappy that we\u2019re heading to the real France.\u201d<\/p>\n

5. Corsican colour: Corsican fans got their first colourful taste of the Tour de France, and they didn\u2019t disappoint. They added to the roadside creativity that often welcomes the riders as they speed by, even if it\u2019s really aimed at TV cameras because the competitors are too preoccupied to enjoy the scenery.<\/p>\n

One fan defied the heat and dressed in a full Napoleon outfit, saluting from the roadside. One man hoisted the Corsican flag \u2013 bearing in black the face of a bandanna-wearing man \u2013 as he rode on horseback alongside the pack. One banner read \u201cFreedom for Patriots\u201d \u2013 in a clear allusion to the low-grade, mostly nonviolent rebellion against France\u2019s control of the island.<\/p>\n

But Tour director Christian Prudhomme hailed the Tour\u2019s debut on Corsica, saying the three stages offered \u201ca very nice race in absolutely sumptuous country\u201d on the so-called Isle of Beauty. \u2013 Associated Press<\/a><\/p>\n

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