Aussie rules in Tour de France thriller

Cadel Evans edged out reigning champion Alberto Contador in an enthralling finish to the fourth stage of the Tour de France.

The 172.5 kilometres route from Lorient all came down to a shootout on the concluding climb up the third category Mur-de-Bretagne, a short, sharp 2km test with a 6.9 per cent gradient.
All the big names had positioned themselves at the front of the peloton going into that finale after a five-man break, which had been away for much of the day, was swept up in the closing stages.
Contador (Astana) made the first move early on the climb but Australian Evans (BMC Racing) and stage favourite Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) were stalking him throughout as it turned into a game of cat-and-mouse until the final few hundred metres.
And it was Evans, superbly marshalled by his BMC team, who proved strongest when it mattered, holding off Contador's desperate late thrust by the narrowest of margins.
It was a second Tour stage win for the Evans, the runner-up in 2007 and 2008, and he also becomes the first Australian in Tour history to lead the mountain classification.
Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) was third while Rigoberto Urán netted an excellent fourth place for Team Sky.
Gilbert had to settle for fifth while Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo) battled superbly for sixth and stays in the leader's yellow jersey, one second ahead of Evans.
Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins dropped six seconds on the day as he finished 11th but moved four places up the overall standings into sixth, just ahead of teammates Geraint Thomas and Edvald Boasson Hagen, with Thomas retaining the young rider's white jersey.
A delighted Evans admitted he hadn't been sure whether he'd won when crossing the line, saying: "It was so close I couldn't see it myself. It was a relatively calm start considering the conditions and then in the final there were really small roads, quite dangerous and really nervous.
"I don't know what happened but I had to change bikes with about 15km to go and today [Tuesday] my hero is Marcus Burghardt. He took me from the back right to the very front and dropped me off right where I needed to be. I just finished off the job there in the last few kilometres.
"I can't believe I had a lead-out into a headwind and beat Philippe Gilbert, it was quite a surprise. My job here is for the overall classification but I will gladly take a stage win today [Tuesday].
"I've worn yellow before, it is a great experience in this sport but I can wait. I'm here for the GC. I'm really just so happy with the guys today [Tuesday]."
The stage had taken place in damp conditions and featured rolling hills as well as the climb to the finish, in many ways akin to a northern European spring classic.
The day's five-man breakaway featuring Jérémy Roy (FDJ), Blel Kadri (AG2R), Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil) and Spanish duo Imanol Erviti (Movistar) and Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel-Euskadi) went clear after just 9km.
Hoogerland led the escapees over the intermediate sprint, with Mark Cavendish taking ninth place as Tyler Farrar - the winner of stage three - led the peloton over the line to claim 10 points in the race for the green jersey which is still held by José Joaquín Rojas.
BMC Racing and Omega Pharma-Lotto, riding for Evans and Gilbert respectively, were leading the way at the front of the peloton for much of the day, with Garmin-Cervelo working for maillot jaune Hushovd, doing a turn in the final 30km.
Evans, like Wiggins earlier in the day, suffered a mechanical problem and had to be paced back to the bunch - but the extra effort wasn't to affect him in the finale.
Contador punched the air in celebration, but the still image of the finish showed it was the Australian who had prevailed.
Leading final positions after Stage 4 (Lorient - Mur-de-Bretagne, 172km): 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 4hrs 11mins 39secs, 2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard at same time, 3 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana at same time, 4 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling at same time, 5 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at same time, 6 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo at same time, 7 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at same time, 8 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi at same time , 9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at same time, 10 Andreas Kloden (Ger) Team RadioShack at same time, 11 Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 0.06secs, 12 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Movistar Team at same time, 13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale at same time, 14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD at 0.08, 15 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana at same time, 16 Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack at same time, 17 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team at same time, 18 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quickstep Cycling Team at same time, 19 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Team Garmin-Cervelo at same time, 20 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack at same time
Selected Others: 22 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo 4hrs 11mins 47secs, 29 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling at same time, 97 Ben Swift (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 1mins 55secs, 150 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at 4.17
General classification after Stage 4: 1 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Team Garmin-Cervelo 13hrs 58mins 25secs, 2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team at 0.01sec, 3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at 0.04, 4 David Millar (Gbr) Team Garmin-Cervelo at 0.08, 5 Andreas Kloden (Ger) Team RadioShack at 0.10, 6 Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Sky Procycling at same tim, 7 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Sky Procycling at 0.12, 8 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling at same time, 9 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek at same time, 10 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Leopard Trek at same time, 11 Tony Martin (Ger) HTC-Highroad at 0.13, 12 Peter Velits (Svk) HTC-Highroad at same time, 13 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) HTC-Highroad at same time, 14 Christopher Horner (USA) Team RadioShack at 0.18, 15 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Team RadioShack at same time, 16 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack at same time, 17 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team at 0.20, 18 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Pro Team Astana at 0.32, 19 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 0.33, 20 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto at 0.39
Selected others: 49 Ben Swift (Gbr) Sky Procycling 14hrs 00min 31secs, 94 Mark Cavendish (Gbr) HTC-Highroad at 4mins 22secs