Nacer Bouhanni made a fantastic performance to take his first grand tour stage win in today's fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia when he came back from a late puncture to take a narrow sprint victory. The Frenchman avoided the many crashes in the finale and said that there was no reason to have any fear in such conditions.

Nacer Bouhanni has come close to a grand tour stage victory many times but today he opened his account in the dramatic fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia. And when he finally crossed the line first, it was done in a very memorable fashion.

With 14km to go, Bouhanni seemed to be out of the running when a puncture and subsequent bike change set him significantly back. With the radios not working, it took some time for his teammates to realize the disaster and he chased a long time on his own before Laurent Pichon and later Arnaud Courteille dropped back to help him.

He didn't rejoin the peloton before they crossed the line to start the final lap of the 8km circuit and only 3km remained when he was finally back near the front. It seemed to all have been in vain though when a crash brought down most of the peloton and 6 riders escaped on their own.

However, Bouhanni still had a marvellous Johan Le Bon at his side and the young Frenchman brought his captain back in contention just before the final turn. He was greatly positioned on Luka Mezgec's wheel but when the Slovenian dropped his chain, he could see Tom Veelers ride away from him.

For the umpteenth time, Bouhanni made a great comeback when he did a long sprint to pass the fat Dutchman just before the line. Completely exhausted, he fell to the ground before thanking his teammates.

"I suffered a front wheel puncture and a broken rear wheel," he said. "It was very difficult. We were going really fast but I had nothing to lose. I had the luck to have a great team that brought me back to the pack.

"I had to stand at the side of the road waiting for help, and then change bikes. My team-mate Laurent Pichon waited for me, but it still took us took an entire circuit to catch up, and we rejoined the group only on the last circuit. As a team it took everything we had.

"I slipped a couple of times and on the finishin straight, I gave it everything I had left. Again, I won thanks to my teammates, without them it was impossible. I had a great Johan Le Bon who closed the last 50m gap in the last kilometre. Without him I would not have won.

“In the closing kilometres, there was a crash on a right-hand bend. I managed to avoid it by swerving left. Coming out of the final curve, I had maybe 20 metres to make up on the rider ahead of me, and I just gave it everything.”

Bouhanni is infamously known for his risking racing style and so it was only fitting that he won one of the most treacherous stages of the race.

"I calculated the risks. I saw so many riders crash that I had to stay focused. I was not afraid because fear doesn't help you avoid the danger. Rain is part of bike racing. And I won. I have waited for this victory.

“I have the points jersey now, and I think to win the points competition in a Grand Tour is a great thing. I’ll defend it to the best of my abilities, and try to win more sprints.

"Many teams want to hire me, but nothing is finalized. Much is said about me, I let people talk, I do not care about the pundits. The most important thing for me is the Giro."

"We enjoyed it, it's a great team win," sports director Martial Gayant said. "Nacer suffered a puncture, it was solved and the entire team was in his service. Wverything that had been prepared for the final kilometres fell apart, but then, what happened was magical. 

"There was a great team spirit. It was beautiful to see. During the stage, no one got distracted by those who wanted to stop the race. We were focused regardless of what was happening in the bunch. There are more stages ahead but we will enjoy that Nacer has acted like a warrior who never gives up."