Paris -

Colombian Fernando Gaviria secured his second victory in four stages of the Tour de France yesterday, while Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet retained the yellow jersey of the leader.

Gaviria won the fourth stage by beating world champion Peter Sagan in a final sprint of the flat stage of 195 kilometers between La Baule and Sarzeau, on the Atlantic coast.

Gaviria, 23, had won the first stage, also surpassing Sagan, in his Tour debut for his Quick-Step team.

"It was a very difficult sprint, but we managed to win," said Gaviria. I had to spend all my energy because it was a demanding finish. We are happy to have won it because the team deserved it.

Defending champion Chris Froome, who started the day 55 seconds behind after a fall, finished with the peloton alongside leader Van Avermaet.

Gaviria crossed the finish line with centimeters of advantage over Sagan, winner of the second stage, and André Greipel, in a close third place.

Gaviria "is faster than me," said Sagan. "We'll see. Maybe I'll wait for a mistake. And maybe we'll see what happens in the climbs. Each stage is different, each sprint is different."

The cyclists enjoyed a sunny afternoon in northwestern Brittany until a pile-up occurred near the front of the peloton with five kilometers to go and several riders fell. The accident delayed last year's runner-up Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) and Katusha's leader, Ilnur Zakarin.

Van Avermaet, the Olympic road champion in 2016, took the overall lead. Colombian Nairo Quintana, from Movistar, who won two stages last year, is not doing well. He is 59th overall after 4 stages. (D)

5th stage
The fifth stage of the Tour today is 204.5 kilometers of hilly terrain from Lorient to Quimper. The Tour lasts three weeks and ends on July 29th in Paris.