PARIS (AP) — Samuel Dumoulin of France led a sprint finish to win the fourth stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe in northwest France, and top-ranked Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez retained the overall lead on Thursday.
Dumoulin, who rides for Cofidis, finished the 112-mile jaunt from Angers to Pre-en-Pail in 4 hours, 50 minutes, 42 seconds. He outpaced countryman Julien Simon and Xavier Florencio of Spain, while 24 other riders had the same time.
Sanchez, of the Caisse d’Epargne team, has the overall lead by 8 seconds over Tiago Machado of Portugal. He’s also 13 seconds ahead of Simon.
The course Thursday favored breakaway riders, and several took their chances before finally getting overtaken by the fast-moving pack within the last half a mile.
The final stage Friday is a 106-mile trek from Abbaye l’Epau to Sille-le-Guillaume.
