Tour de France : Spanish Cyclist Holds Off Pack to Win Fourth Stage

Pello Ruiz-Cabestany of Spain finished just ahead of a charging pack Monday to win the 152-mile fourth stage of the Tour de France by two seconds.

Ruiz-Cabestany completed the flat stage from Lievin in 6 hours 57 minutes 5 seconds.

Two riders were injured during the stage. Dutch national champion Jos Lammertink crashed near the end of the stage and suffered a fractured skull. Colombian Fabio Parra, who won a stage in the Alps last year, dropped out with a knee injury 40 kilometers (24.9 miles) from the finish.

Lammertink was making a bid to catch the Spaniards when he fell. A Tour medical team was on the scene within minutes to treat Lammertink, who was bleeding heavily from the head and face. He was taken to a hospital in the Normandy city of Evreux for treatment and was held overnight for observation.

Belgian Eric Vanderaerden led the pack in a final sprint to finish second. Mathieu Hermans of the Netherlands was third.

France’s Dominique Gaigne of the Systeme-U team, who started the day in third place, earned time on a bonus sprint to take the overall lead from teammate Thierry Marie, who dropped to second.

The rest of Cyril Guimards Systeme-U team retained the top six places in the standings, with Charles Mottet in third place at nine seconds back and two-time Tour winner Laurent Fignon fourth, 13 seconds off the lead.

Fignon’s principal rivals, five-time champion Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond of the United States, both of La Vie Claire team, remained at nearly two minutes behind.

The 195 riders left from an original group of 210 are to run the 77.4-mile fifth stage Tuesday to Villers-Sur-Mer in northwestern France.