Results Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes stage 4 - Quinn Simmons takes win as luxury breakaway just holds off Van Aert-led peloton

Stage 4 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes was a battle between the peloton and the breakaway for victory. In the end the previous succeeded, with Lidl-Trek's Quinn Simmons taking the stage win from a sprint from a large group in front, with only 4 seconds separating the groups.

The day had a profile that suited the breakaway well, and so the speed from the start was very fast. A few teams kept a tight leash on who would be allowed out front or not, however the peloton couldn't control it when the race reached its hardest phase. On the 7.7-kilometer long Côte de Chougoirand a group began going up the road with quality up front.

12 riders were present out front, with a second half of the stage that was very fast. Quinn Simmons, Finn Fisher-Black, Andreas Kron, Pablo Castrillo, Raúl García Pierna, Lars Crap, Jordan Jegat, Mattéo Vercher, Jan Castellon, Marco Frigo, Samuel Watson and George Bennett.

The group held a high pace throughout the entire stage and held off the peloton despite the furious chase from several teams behind. Bahrain - Victorious, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, Cofidis and Tudor shared the working duties behind; with Jayco absent despite the presence of Michael Matthews.

INEOS' lack of work for Dorian Godon was also justified by Watson's presence out front, but a crash from the British champion derailed the team's plans. Bennett dropped out from the break, and throughout the rest of the stage the chase continued, but without results.

The gap into the last kilometer was still of around 10 seconds, and with Castrillo sacrificing his chances in the final kilometer, it allowed the group to resists and sprint for the win.

In this, it was Quinn Simmons that sprinted to victory, beating Finn Fisher-Black and Mattéo Vercher to the line. Behind, Wout Van Aert sprinted to first in the peloton, capping off a better day but one where Visma did not have the result.