The 4th stage of the Tour de France presented the danger of cobblestones during 7 secors along the 223.5 kilometers from Cambrai to Seraing, a total of 13.3 kilometers of pavé. The first sector, an appetizer of cobblestones, was tackled after 123 km of racing and the rest came in quick succession in the final 55km.

Rui Costa,was involved in the crash in stage 3 and faced a challenging day, given the strong bruises sustained in the accident. The Portuguese champion still fought all the way to Seraing with determination, knowing he could count on experts like Filippo Pozzato and gauging his effort well both in the first half of the race and in the cobbled sections.

During the passages of the cobbles, there was a selection but Costa long stayed with the best due to strong support from Nelson Oliveira. The compatriot helped him get into a good position for the final sector.

"In this kind of stage, you use a lot of energy to start the cobbled sections in good position. Because of Oliveira I managed to start the last sector well," said Rui Costa. "But then there was an acceleration in the front. I tried to keep up, but suffered from the pain and the fatigue accumulated in yesterday's stage. I exited the cobbles with a few meters of lost grand but the pace of the leading group rose so I had to give my best to the finish.

"I knew it would not be easy to face a complicated stage like today after the problems I had yesterday, but I tried to handle it in the best way and see what the result would be."

Rui Costa finished the stage in 38th place, 51 seconds behind winner Tony Martin. In the overall standings, the Portuguese of Lampre-MERIDA occupies the 25th position at 4.10 from Tony Martin.

Pozzato was not satisfied: "I wanted to help Rui all the way  but it was not a good day. The knee that I hit yesterday, did not hurt, but I did not have the right feelings to express myself in the way I wanted."