Gaviria pips Sagan to grab second stage win

COLOMBIA’S Fernando Gaviria won for the second time in four stages at the Tour de France yesterday, while Olympic champion Greg van Avermaet kept the leader’s yellow jersey. Gaviria won Stage 4 after edging Peter Sagan in a sprint finish to the flat 195-kilometre leg from La Baule to Sarzeau that started and finished on the Atlantic coast. The 23-year-old Gaviria had already won Stage 1 — when he also edged Sagan — on his Tour debut for his QuickStep team. Defending champion Chris Froome of Sky, who remained 55 seconds back due to his fall in Stage 1, finished safely in the pack with leader Van Avermaet. Quick-Step hunted down the breakaway to set up Gaviria, who powered his way down the final metres of the four-kilometre finish — the longest straightaway to conclude a leg on this Tour. Gaviria surged across the line just inches ahead of the hard-charging Sagan, who was trying to add to his Stage 2 win, with Andre Greipel third.