William Routley did the impossible in today's fourth stage of the Tour of California when the Canadian from the continental Optum team denied all the top sprinters the win in today's fourth stage of the race, the final opportunity for the pure sprinters. The Canadian made it into a 6-rider breakaway and when the sprint teams Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Giant-Shimano failed completely in their chase, he easily beat his escape companions in the final sprint.

With just two opportunities for the pure sprinters and a fabulous line-up of fast finishers that included Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Peter Sagan (Cannondale), John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and Matthews Goss (Orica-GreenEDGE), all was set for a big bunch sprint in today's mostly flat fourth stage of the Tour of California. And nothing suggested that it would be any different when 6 riders took off and were never allowed more than a 4-minute advantage.

William Routley, Kevin De Mesmaeker (Novo Nordisk), Matt Cooke (Jamis), Gregory Daniel (Bissell) and the UnitedHealthCare duo of Jonathan Clarke and Chris Jones, however, proved to be much harder to catch than your usual breakaway. Helped by a strong tailwind on the scenic Highway 1, the six riders worked excellently together throughout the entire day and did what most thought would completely unthinkable when they held off the combined efforts of the sprint teams.

In the end, it was Routley who became the first continental rider for several years to win a stage in the race when he produced an impressive sprint to easily hold off his five companions when the 6 riders arrived at the finish. Countering a long sprint from De Mesmaeker, he took a very comfortable victory ahead of Daniel and the Novo Nordisk rider.

1.19 later Mark Cavendish did what most had expected from him when he beat Sagan and Goss in the final dash to the line but this time there was no stage victory on offer. In fact, his seventh place could not even defend his lead in the points classification which was taken by Routley

Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Cannondale and Giant-Shimano had combined forces all day to keep the gap stable but by the time, they dropped the hammer, the gap never really came down. In a desperate attempt to turn things around, they sacrificed most of the lead-out train in the hectic finale, with strong men like Tom Boonen, Matteo Trentin and Niki Terpstra all giving in their all in the chase. BMC and Trek also lend a hand but the tailwind and high speed made it impossible to catch the break in time and when Cavendish crossed the line it was 1.19 too late.

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) was unconcerned by all the drama and got an easy day in the saddle to extned his 24-second overall lead over Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) by four seconds as a split occured in the finale. He faces a tougher ask tomorrow when a mostly flat stage comes to an exciting conclusion when the riders go up the San Marcos Pass in the finale. From the top, only 26.6km remain and even though the stage is unlikely to make a difference on GC, it should provide some drama as Sagan will try to get rid of the likes of Cavendish and Degenkolb before the line.

A scenic stage

After yesterday's queen stage it was back into flatter terrain for the fourth stage of the race which took the riders over 165.1km from Monterey to Cambria. Most of the stage took place along the scenic Highway 1 and so offered mostly flat and slightly rolling terrain. Three smaller categorized climbs were spread throughout the course but with the final one coming 40km from the line, a bunch sprint was expected.

It was another very hot day in sunny California but the riders were pleased to realize that the temperatures were slightly more bearable on the coastal route. All riders that finished yesterday's stage took the start and they saw their neutralized zone being slightly extended due to a car accident.

A fast start

When the race finally started properly, the attacks flew thick and fast for several kilometres as a lot of riders wanted to make it into the early break. While the peloton sped along with speeds of more than 50km/h, none of the early attackers managed to get clear.

The elastic finally snapped after 22km of racing when Jonathan Clarke (UnitedHealthCare), Chris Jones (UnitedHealthCare), Kevin De Maesmaeker (Novo Nordisk), KOM leader Will Routley (Optum), Matt Cooke (Jamis) and Gregory Daniel (Bissell) took off. The peloton took a short breather, allowing the gap to reach 3.50 at the 32km mark.

The gap is stable

They wouldn't get more than a 4-minute advantage though as the sprint teams hit the front and for a long time they kept the gap stable between 3.30 and 4.00. Meanwhile, Jones was first across the line in the intermediate sprint as he beat Routley and De Mesmaeker in an uncontested battle for the points and time bonuses.

On the day's first climb, it was no surprise to see Routley take maximum points to extend his lead in the KOM classification as he led Jones, Clarke and De Mesmaeker across the line. At this point the gap was still very stable as it was held at 3.45.

A relaxed atmosphere

With 87km to go, the gap was still 3.45 and the sprint teams seemed to have everything under control. In the peloton, it was Martin Velits (OPQS), Chad Haga (Giant) and Ian Boswell (Sky) that swapped turns on the front and nothing suggested that they would fail in their chase.

With 68km to go, Cannondale decided to lend a hand to the chase as they put Cameron Wurf on the front while Danny Pate took over from Boswell. They brought the gap down to 2.45 but then again stepped off the gas and 50km from the line, the gap was back up to 3.30.

More points for Routley

At this point Nathan Earle had taken over from Pate and the four chasers were still not in any hurry. They took it easy over the final two climbs of the day while up ahead Routley made sure to score maximum points to further solidify his lead in the KOM competition.

After the top of the final climb, the escapees took a fast descent onto the completely flat road to the finish and the peloton failed to get any closer in this section. With 30km to go, the advantage was still 3.25 and it suddenly seemed that a surprise could be in store.

Omega Pharma-Quick Step react

With 22km to go, Omega Pharma-Quick Step realized the danger and so put Guillaume Van Keirsbulck on the front. Carlos Verona also joined the chasers but 20km from the line, the gap was still 3 minutes.

That was when Omega Pharma-Quick Step decided to go all in and sacrificed Boonen, Terpstra and Trentin who should all have played a role in the lead-out. Giant-Shimano put Thomas Damuseau on the front while Trek asked Markel Irizar to also join the pace-setting.

BMC lend a hand

Cannondale had already given up and Sky had stopped working but the three other teams gave it their all in a quest to turn things around. With 16km to go, BMC also reacted, putting Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet and Martin Kohler on the front but it was all too late.

12.5km from the finish the gap was still 2 minutes and the front group wasn't disturbed by the fact that De Mesmaeker started to skip turns. The five remaining riders continued to work excellently together, with occasional assistance from the Novo Nordisk rider.

Clarke makes the first attack

With 5km to go, only Omega Pharma-Quick Step still believed in their chances and were the only ones to do the work while the escapees could start to play it tactically. UnitedHealthCare tried to use their numerical advantage when Clarke attacked 3km from the line but Routley quickly shut it down.

2.5km from the line Clarke tried again but this time it was a reinvigorated De Mesmaeker who closed it down. From there Clarke just set a hard tempo all the way to the final 300m, trying to set up Jones for a sprint win.

Routley takes the win

De Mesmaeker tried to do a long sprint but Routley was quick to react and he easily passed the Belgian. Daniel came fast at the end but it was all too late, with Routley crossing the line to take the biggest win of his career.

1.19 later Cavendish beat Sagan in the sprint for 7th after having been given the perfect lead-out by Mark Renshaw but there was no smile on the Brit's face. He even lost his lead in the points competition.