John Degenkolb (HTC) has won Stage 4 of the Dauphine Libere. The German wunderkind took a bunch sprint to win the rolling, 173.5-km run from La Motte-Servolex to Macon in 4:15:41. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) finished second, and Juan Jose Haedo (Saxo Bank) took third. Bradley Wiggins (Sky) remains the overall leader.

Because this stage follows a time trial and precedes a mountain stage, a no-hope breakaway was certain to be attempted. And so it was, with Jeremy Roy (Francaise des Jeux) and Adriano Malori (Lampre) doing the honors. The pair escaped at four km, and their advantage maxed out at about four minutes before Sky pegged it.

With 50 km left, Garmin took over at the front, and the bunch began to whittle away the break's lead. With 20 km remaining, the fugitives' lead was down to two minutes. Eighteen km later, Roy and Malori were caught.

Sky and Garmin led the field into the last km. Hagen came around Julian Dean (Garmin), but Degenkolb came around the Norwegian in the last 100 m to win.

In the overall, Wiggins leads Cadel Evans (BMC) by 1:11 and Janez Brajkovic (RadioShack) by 1:21. Stage 5 will be the start of the Dauphine Libere's decisive phase. The 210-km ride from Villars-les-Dombes to Les Gets will feature three Category 2 climbs, including the finishing ascent. Will the overall lead change? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!