While a hailstorm had significantly disrupted the progress of the team time trial scheduled for Tuesday around Auxerre, thus doing the business of the UAE Team Emirates and Brandon McNulty, propelled into leader on the evening of this 3rd stage, the weather turned out to be much milder this Wednesday between Chalon-sur-Saône and Mont Brouilly (183 km).
If this fourth day leading towards the heights of Beaujolais was particularly awaited for a first real explanation between the big favorites of Paris-Nice, it finally turned to the advantage of the Colombian Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), solo winner at Mont Brouilly, while making the happiness of the Australian Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla), second in the stage at 13 seconds and new leader of the event. The two men had managed to isolate themselves at the front of the race in the Col du Fût, 24 kilometers from the finish.
Gaudu at six minutes
Behind the two big beneficiaries of the day, Remco Evenepoel was able to limit the damage by finishing 4th in the stage to find himself thirty seconds behind Plapp overall after having scrounged six seconds during the day during the intermediate sprint at Régnié-Durette.
For David Gaudu, second last year, things got complicated on this 4th stage. Victim of a fall on the climb of the Col du Fût, the leader of the Groupama-FDJ team finished more than six minutes behind the winner of the day and sees his chances of shining this year in the 82nd edition of Paris- Nice, where he took second place in 2023.