It was a day of headwinds, with an escape from Yulia Ilinykh that nearly made it, and then one of those endings with a premature celebration….  you have to watch and look at the photos – and here are 2 great descriptions of the stage from Tiffany Cromwell on CyclingTips, and Chloe Hosking on Cyclingnews.  Here’s Jens’ race report on Podium Café, and the videos & links I like below.

The full hour tv highlights – the finish starts winding up around the 46-minute mark

And the race highlights:

Here’s Lucinda’s blog about it!  And she and Vos talk about the finish here:

I asked Amanda Spratt, Vale Scandolara and first-time Giro rider Audrey Cordon about how the race is going at the half-way point – read them here.

Results from Stage 4

1.   Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabo-Liv, 3:04:11, + 10″ bonifications
2.   Shelley Olds (USA) Alé-Cipollini, s.t. + 6″ bonis
3.   Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabo-Liv, s.t., + 4″ bonis
4.   Emma Johansson (Swe) ORICA-AIS, s.t.
5.   Jolien d’Hoore (Bel) Lotto-Belisol, s.t.
6.   Marta Tagliaferro (Ita) Alé-Cipollini, s.t.
7.   Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Hitec Products, s.t.
8.   Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Rabo-Liv, s.t.
9.   Simona Frapporti (Ita) Astana-BePink, s.t.
10. Barbara Guarischi (Ita) Alé-Cipollini, s.t.

General Classification after Stage 4

1.   Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank-Liv, 9:04:01
2.   Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Fra) Rabobank-Liv, + 00:31
3.   Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Hitec Products, + 00:39
4.   Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Rabo-Liv, + 01:51
5.   Emma Johansson (Swe) ORICA-AIS, + 02:00
6.   Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans, s.t.
7.   Claudia Häusler (Ger) Liv-Shimano, + 02:03
8.   Anna van der Breggen (Ned) Rabobank-Liv, + 02:04
9.   Ashleigh Moolman (RSA) Hitec Products, + 02:08
10. Audrey Cordon (Fra) Hitec Products, + 02:34

Photos from Velofocus – and check out Wei Yuet Wong’s gorgeous photos on his tumblr.

and here’s the video from Wiggle Honda