Iglinskiy impresses while Fuglsang withdraws.

Astana Pro Team rider Maxim Iglinskiy assaulted an elite selection of riders in the final km of Thursday's fourth stage at Paris-Nice, finishing on the podium in second place while teammate Enrico Gasparotto came in fourth, giving an encouraging finish to a day when Jakob Fuglsang was forced to abort due to illness.

Kazakh rider Iglinskiy said the final tactical squabbles of Thursday's 200 km stage finished on a minor downhill with a group of approximately 30 riders.

"We had three in the final, me, Grivko and Gasparotto,” Iglinskiy told the team website. “On the downhill we moved to the front to control any attempts to break away, and Grivko covered the first attack and brought it back. I went to sprint with 350 m to go, because there was a gap and Grivko shouted at me to take it. In the end I was a little bit early and Albasini passed me for the win after sitting on my wheel. My legs felt good all day, and from the start we knew it was going to be a stage for us," Iglinskiy said.

Michael Albasini of Switzerland claimed the stage but Andrei Grivko maintained his second place on overall classification by coming in with the winning group. Astana Pro Team also leads the overall team classification.

What positive effect Iglinskiy's podium had for the team’s confidence was mitigated by the abandonment from Paris-Nice by Danish rider, Jakob Fuglsang, who was unable to defeat his illness.

"I had no appetite and a pain in my stomach today, and when I went to eat and drink I couldn't. I could have finished today, but I would have been unable to help the team, and probably out of the time limit,” he explained after pulling out. “Tomorrow I will go home and I should be able to train again in a few days. My next race is Catalunya and I should be ready to go by then. In the end it is probably better not to go too deep and kill myself here in Paris-Nice," Fuglsang said.