Jasper Philipsen won a second consecutive stage of the Tour de France in a sprint on Tuesday, which was marred by high-speed falls.
UAE Team Emirates rider Adam Yates retained the overall leader's yellow jersey, six seconds ahead of his teammate Tadej Pogacar.
Alpecin rider Philipsen finished at a speed over 67kph and took the overall lead in the sprint points battle after pipping Caleb Ewan and Phil Bauhaus.
British veteran Mark Cavendish came fifth as he continued to face frustration in his quest for a 35th Tour de France win to break the all-time record he shares with Eddy Merckx.
With just over 1.5 kilometres to go, European champion Fabio Jakobsen hit the deck on a right-hand bend, with his Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl team mate Julian Alaphilippe saying the riders were caught by surprise by the turns.
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Uno-X Pro Cycling Team rider Soren Waerenskjold crashes during the sprint finish on Stage 4 of the Tour de France, on July 4, 2023. AFP -
French rider Axel Zingle, of team Cofidis, crashes during the sprint finish. EPA -
Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Jasper Philipsen beats Lotto Dstny's Caleb Ewan to the line. EPA -
Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen after crashing. AP -
UAE Team Emirates rider Adam Yates on the podium after retaining the yellow jersey. Reuters -
Belgium's Jasper Philipsen beats Australian rider Caleb Ewan to the line. EPA -
Alpecin–Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen celebrates after winning Stage 4. Reuters -
The peloton during Stage 4. Reuters -
UAE Team Emirates' Adam Yates in the yellow jersey during Stage 4. Reuters -
British rider Adam Yates of UAE Team Emirates in the yellow jersey. EPA
More riders crashed inside the final kilometre, but nothing could derail Philipsen.
Tour medics confirmed two riders broke collar bones.
"It was really an easy stage, I think everybody wanted to save their legs for the Pyrenees tomorrow and the day after but the final kilometres entering the circuit there were some crashes so I hope everybody is OK and safe," said Philipsen.
"It was a hectic final with the turns in the end. I lost my team but in the final straight I found Mathieu van der Poel and he did an amazing pull to get me to victory. My legs were cramping and Caleb was coming close."
Speaking to Eurosport, Cavendish said: "Carnage, it was. Every team would have had a plan for that final and I bet you there weren't any that went right, except maybe Jumbo-Visma getting their guys into the narrow roads.
"I was waiting. At one point I thought 350 metres, maybe I should hit now, limit my losses. It's the Tour. I was waiting for them to go and they didn't go, they all got the jump so I was just trying to get the best position I could."
The Tour's first major mountain stage awaits the peloton on Wednesday with around 30km of climbing at an average gradient of over 7 percent.
