TOUR DE FRANCE : Jalabert Tumbles, Falls Back to 8th

Ivan Gotti took advantage of a fall by overall leader Laurent Jalabert on Wednesday to take a one-second lead in the Tour de France.

Gotti, an Italian with no major victories, gained the leader’s yellow jersey after the fourth stage over Gewiss teammate Bjarne Riis.

Jalabert fell with a small group of riders about 1 1/2 miles from the finish of the 100-mile stage from Alencon to Le Havre.

He was uninjured but lost about 50 seconds to the leaders, which was enough to drop him to 148th on the day. He fell to eighth overall, 40 seconds behind Gotti.

Outside of Jalabert, the standings remain relatively unchanged. Miguel Indurain, seeking his fifth consecutive victory, was 10th and Tony Rominger, his top challenger, was 16th.

Italy’s Mario Cipollini won the fourth stage with a final sprint. He also won the second stage.

Jalabert is no stranger to falls in the Tour de France. Last year he fell in the first stage and was hospitalized with severe facial injuries. This year, the toll was not as high.

“I fell but the only thing broken was the bike,” Jalabert said. “I took a knock on the knee, but that’s not serious.”

At Le Harve, the tour crossed the new Normandie Bridge, which is more than 1.3 miles long and includes a substantial climb on the first half.

Today’s stage is the longest of the Tour, 162 miles from Fecamp to Dunkerque.