A treacherous traffic circle less than three kilometres from today’s finish in Liege caused a massive pile-up including many general classification riders such as American Chris Horner. X-rays confirmed that the Astana rider suffered a fractured wrist.
As the majority of the peloton lay on the rain soaked roads, six men were able to squeeze through the chicane to battle it out for the stage win. Only two teams were represented, three riders from both Columbia-HTC and Quickstep who entered the circle first, preparing the lead out for their sprinters.
Quickstep sprinters Alan Davis and Tom Boonen were both involved in the crash, leaving Columbia-HTC rider, Andre Greipel, to seize the victory as he sprinted past Quickstep lead-out man, Wouter Weylandt.
Since the crash happened within the three kilometre banner, the time awarded to the winner was also given to the riders that went down, meaning, race leader Fabian Cancellara, will start the fifth stage in his golden jersey.
Tomorrow the peloton will enjoy a rest day as they travel from Liege to Tarragona, Spain as the race heats up heading towards the mountains in stage seven.