Kittel takes fourth stage at Tour de France

German cyclist Marcel Kittel won Tuesday's Stage 4 of the 2016 Tour de France by millimetres, while Slovakian Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) remained in the overall lead here.

After a sprint finish, Kittel (Etixx-Quick Step) crossed the line mere millimetres ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) following the longest stage in the 2016 Tour, a 237.5 kilometee (147.5 mile) run between Saumur and Limoges, reports Efe.

Kittel, 28, ended the day with a time of 5.28.30 hour and an average speed of 43.2 kilometres per hour (27 miles per hour).

Coming in third was Slovakian Sagan who remains the overall leader and will retain the yellow jersey heading into Wednesday's Stage 5.

In the overall rankings, Sagan finished 12 seconds ahead of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-Quick Step) and 14 seconds ahead of Spain's Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team).

British cyclist Chris Froome (Team Sky) was ranked fifth overall, 18 seconds behind Sagan.

Stage 4 was the second consecutive stage to require a photo finish, after Monday's Stage 3, was narrowly won by British cyclist Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).

Cavendish missed out on setting a career record of 29 stage wins as he came in eighth place.

Wednesday's Stage 5 of the Tour consists of a 216 km (134 mile) run between Limoges and Le Lorian with moderate climbs and downhills as the cyclists start to enter the Massif Central.

--IANS

pur/dg