Results 4 Jours de Dunkerque 2026 Stage 4 - Birthday glory for Natnael Tesfatsion as Laurence Pithie survives Cassel finale

Natnael Tesfatsion celebrated his 27th birthday with victory on Stage 4 of the 2026 4 Jours de Dunkerque, attacking from the front group in the final few hundred metres to win in Cassel.

The Movistar Team rider timed his move perfectly after a selective finale had broken the race apart. Stan Dewulf finished second for Decathlon CMA CGM Team on the same time, while Kim Heiduk took third for the Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team at seven seconds.

Sam Maisonobe followed at 13 seconds, with Liam Slock, Lewis Askey and race leader Laurence Pithie all finishing at 16 seconds.

Pithie had been under pressure in the closing kilometres, but the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider limited his losses and defended his overall lead ahead of the final stage.

A five-rider breakaway formed early on Stage 4, with Fabien Doubey of TotalEnergies, Wessel Mouris of Unibet Rose Rockets, Baptiste Gillet and Victor Papon of Nice Metropole Cote d'Azur, and Morne Van Niekerk of St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 moving clear.

The move built its advantage to around the four-minute mark, with Doubey and Mouris moving into the virtual GC picture through the intermediate sprints. Doubey took bonus seconds at Oost-Cappel, Oudezeele and Sainte-Marie-Cappel, while Mouris was second through all three sprints.

Papon again made the mountains classification his focus after his Stage 2 victory. He took repeated maximum points over Rue de Tambour and Rue d'Aire, and by the time the race entered its final third, he had done enough to secure the KOM classification provided he reached the finish.

The peloton began to stretch out through the repeated climbs, with NSN Cycling Team, EF Education - EasyPost, Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, Uno-X Mobility and Tudor Pro Cycling Team all appearing in the chase at different points. Roland Thalmann was involved in a crash, while Valentin Madouas attacked from the bunch with around 80km remaining.

The original break began to come apart as the pressure increased. Gillet and Van Niekerk were caught, while Doubey, Mouris and Papon were eventually brought back after a series of accelerations behind.

Kim Heiduk and Stan Dewulf had bridged across from the peloton with Oscar Chamberlain, before Heiduk took maximum points over the final passage of Rue de Tambour ahead of Dewulf and Antoine L'Hote. By that point, the race had been reduced to a far more selective front end, with the peloton close behind.

The attacks kept coming into the final 20km. Lewis Askey accelerated before being caught, then Liam Slock, Robbe Dhondt and Sam Maisonobe went clear. Heiduk and Dewulf responded from behind, while Tesfatsion later crossed across from the peloton after Alexys Brunel had also attacked.

With just over 10km remaining, Heiduk, Dewulf, Slock, Tesfatsion, Dhondt and Maisonobe led the race by 20 seconds. Slock was a danger on the road, while Pithie chased behind in the group of favourites, where Antoine L'Hote was working.

Pithie was still pulling in the peloton inside the final 5km, trying to keep the gap under control as the front group pushed towards Cassel. The leaders held firm, however, and the stage came down to a fight from the reduced move.

Maisonobe and Dhondt lost contact in the final kilometre after Heiduk accelerated at the front. Askey also launched from behind, but Tesfatsion made the decisive move inside the final few hundred metres and powered clear to take the stage win.

Dewulf finished second on the same time, with Heiduk third at seven seconds. Maisonobe was fourth at 13 seconds, while Slock, Askey and Pithie followed at 16 seconds, leaving Pithie still in control of the general classification before the final stage.