A chronological recap of stage four which saw the peloton race from Villers-Cotterets to Joigny.

193km - The start has been given on stage four of the Tour de France.

192km - The skies are dark and grey again today, though brighter periods are forecast later on. It's also a little warmer than yesterday. Current temperature is 21 degrees.

186km - The peloton is still together 7 kilometres into the stage. No attacks as of yet.

173km - No breakaways so far as the pack approaches the first climb of the day, the Veuilly-la-Poterie (Km 23.5, 4th cat.).

170km - The Cofidis team is keen to help Stéphane Augé preserve his polkadot jersey, they are towing him up the climb, though two of Monday's escapees beat him there. Aliaksandr Kuschinski takes the three points, followed by David Millar (two points) and Stephane Auge (one point).

168km - That little flurry of activity sees David Millar move to within two points of Auge in the mountain classification.

167km - A group of four riders tries an attack, though after just a couple of seconds they are swallowed back up by the peloton.

162km - Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues Télécom) now tries his luck with an escape attempt.

159km - Five riders have now escaped! Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Matthieu Sprick (Bouygues), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) and Christian Knees (Milram) have a 30 second lead on the pack.

156km - Liquigas' Kjell Carlstrom is floating in between the breakaway and the field.

154km - Carlström has been swallowed back up by the peloton, only for another rider to attack. This time it's Barloworld's Paolo Longo Borghini.

152km - The average speed over the first hour of racing is 40.7 km/h.

150km - The peloton seem to have given up trying to reel in the lead quintet, who have now extended their lead to 2'30".

148km - The leaders are now three minutes clear of the pack, who are now being led by Caisse d'Epargne.

141km - The leaders' advantage grows to 3'30" as they approach Hondevilliers.

131km - Cofidis' Sylvain Chavanel passes the summit of the côte de Doucy first and takes the three points. Juan Antonio Flecha is next (two points) followed by Gorka Verdugo (one point).

130km - A fall toward the back of the peloton!! Remy Di Gregorio (Française des Jeux) and Nicolas Portal (Caisse d'Epargne) hit the tarmac, though they both seem okay to continue.

127km - That fall has caused the peloton to split into three groups, the first of which is being led by the Liquigas, CSC and Gerolsteiner teams, who have upped the tempo.

123km - Juan Antonio Flecha and Sylvain Chavanel fight it out for the sprint, and it's the Spaniard who takes it. He picks up the six points and six bonus seconds ahad of Chavanel, with Sprick taking third.

120km - The peloton is back together now and the breakaway has seen its lead whittled down to 1'45".

119km - Xabier Zandio abandons! His race is over. That's a blow for the Caisse d'Epargne team of Alejandro Valverde.

117km - Though the majority of the peloton are back together, a few riders are still off the back, including Matthieu Ladagnous and Rémy Di Gregorio.

115km - The average speed over the second hour of racing is 40.7 km/h.

109km - The leaders are extending their advantage again. It's back up to 3'15".

95km - The gap has now stabilised at around the 3'20" mark, with things having settled down in the peloton.

94km - Things have brightened up a little since the beginning of the stage. The sun is blocked out by clouds, though there are patches of blue sky about. No rain, thank goodness.

93km - Remy Di Gregorio, who went down in a fall earlier on, has called the Tour medical car. He's still suffering from some cuts and grazes that need treating.

80km - The gap continues to increase very gradually. 3'45" is the latest split as the peloton enters the feeding zone.

78km - The escapees are approaching the second intermediate sprint of the stage at Soligny-les-Etangs. Of the group, Sylvain Chavanel is best-placed in the general classification (23rd, 56 seconds behind Cancellara), followed by Sprick (53rd, at 1'08"), Verdugo (77th, at 1'14"), Flecha (98th, at 1'18") and Knees (102nd, at 1'20").

70km - Flecha takes the 6 points and 6 bonus seconds at the second intermediate sprint of the day in Soligny-les-Etangs (Km 122.5) ahead of Chavanel (4 pts, 4 secs) and Knees (2pts, 2 secs).

58km - Bouygues' Stef Clement has stopped bythe side of the road. He has a problem with his derailleur, and it letting one of his mechanics have a look at the bike.

50km - The sprinters teams have started the pursuit in the peloton. There's still a long way to go, but they're taking absolutely no chances. 1'55" now the gap.

49km - Chavanel is first to the top of the Cote de Galbaux, followed by Knees and Flecha in second and third respectively.

48km - Matteo Tossato and Staf Scheirlinkx have both taken a tumble. Scheirlinkx has rolled up to the medical car for some treatment, though should be fine to continue.

46km - Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel) has suffered a puncture in the peloton! He'll have to work hard to get back with the other four.

44km - Knees is first up the fourth-category Cote de Bel-Air, ahead of Sprick and Chavanel. All of which means that Stephane Auge will keep hold of the polkadot jersey today.

40km - It's a very up and down 40 kilometres into the finish. The CSC and Quickstep teams are doing the majority of the work on the front of the peloton. The gap is still hovering around the 1'50" mark.

32km - Thanks to the time bonuses picked up throughout the day, Juan Antonio Flecha has managed to reduce his arrears on the yellow jersey of Fabian Cancellara to 1'00", while Sylvain Chavanel is now just 44" back.

23km - The gap has come down to just one minute now. These five are almost certain to be caught barring any huge surprises.

22km - Christian Knees (Milram) tries an attack, but is rapidly reeled back in.

19km - Big Marzio Bruseghin is hauling the peloton along. His time-trialling ability makes him an excellent man for helping hunt down breakaways.

17km - 1'00" still the gap. It looks like this will be one for the sprinters. The long, straight finish should be ideal for Tom Boonen.

16km - Bouygues' Anthony Geslin goes down toward the back of the peloton, though is straight back up and on his bike.

15km - Remy Di Greorio has fallen off the back. He is still suffering from that fall, and has blood down his leg. He used up a huge amount of energy just getting back to the peloton after the fall.

12km - Gorgeous scenery here in the Vallée de l'Yonne. Not that the riders have much time to take in the views. 32 seconds is the latest split.

10km - The pack have the lead five in their sights now as they pass under the 10km banner.

9km - Matthieu Sprick has attacked with nine kilometres to go. Flecha goes with him, as does Knees. Verdugo and Chavanel think better of it.

7km - Flecha and Knees give eachother a mutual pat on the back as they are overtaken by the field.

5km - A big Liquigas train has moved to the fore on the left hand side of the field.

3.5km - Four Barloworld riders are there for Robbie Hunter, there;s a good presence from T-Mobile too. Could Mark Cavendish make an impact?

3km - Milram are conspicuous in their absence at the front.

1.7km - German champion Fabian Wegmann hits the front now. He's working for big Robert Forster.

1km - The Quickstep train hits the front!!

0.5km - Hushovd and Dean to the fore now, Boonen and McEwen are nowhere to be seen!!

0km - Hushovd goes for the line....and he has it!!! Julian Dean gave him the perfect lead out. Robbie Hunter was just millimetres behind.

Eurosport