Cancellara still in yellow

Italian Alessandro Petacchi, riding for the Lampre team, produced a perfectly timed sprint to claim victory in the 153km fourth stage of the Tour de France from Cambrai to Reims yesterday. It was Petacchi's second stage win after the sprinter, making...

Italian Alessandro Petacchi, riding for the Lampre team, produced a perfectly timed sprint to claim victory in the 153km fourth stage of the Tour de France from Cambrai to Reims yesterday.

It was Petacchi's second stage win after the sprinter, making his first appearance on the Tour in more than five years, won in Brussels on Sunday.

Switzerland's Fabian Cancellara retained the race leader's yellow jersey.

In a large bunched sprint, Petacchi finished the stage ahead of New Zealander Julian Dean, Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen and Australian Robbie McEwen.

Briton Mark Cavendish, winner of six stages in last year's Tour, came in 12th on a smooth stage that would have come as welcome relief to the riders after three days of tough cycling over cobblestones and at-times slick conditions that saw a number of crashes.

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