Andre Greipel proved again why he commands a place among the big beasts of the sprinting jungle.
The Gorilla had his sizeable arms thrust aloft long before crossing the finish line in Vlimjen today, having been steered into an almost perfect position by team-mate, Jurgen Roelandts.
With a host of fast men vanquished, including the returning Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and the Argos-Shimano duo of Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb, Greipel wasted little time in radioing his thanks back to the team car.
If there was a rider more satisfied with his day’s work than the German national champion, it can only have been Lars Boom (Belkin).
The defending champion has manoeuvred himself into the race lead with the second of two third place finishes.
With a time trial, and two Classics-style stages ahead, the race is far from won, but the Dutchman will surely fancy his chances of finishing the race in the red and white of race leader.
Enjoy this gallery of the action from the 169.6km fourth stage from Essen to Vlijmen from Stefano Sirotti.
