The route from Abbeville to Rouen, running down along the coast of Haute-Normandie, is another relatively flat route, but it is also one of the longest stages of the 2012 Tour de France. Slightly more than 214 kilometers, but after 214 kilometers, every meter matters. The sprinters and lead-out riders have slowly moved up in the standings through the flat stages while the mountain climbers and wounded have dropped back below the Point d’Appui.

With those thoughts in mind, I have to think someone like Thomas Voeckler — who dropped back in the standings after getting caught in a crash on Stage 3 but is now on the mend — might move up enough to claim the Point d’Appui during Stage 4. That is, of course, depending on whether anyone else abandons the race.

Kanstantsin Sivtsov of Sky Procycling and Jose Joaquin Rojas of Movistar abandoned on Stage 3, leaving an even 196 riders vying for the Point d’Appui. No abandons tomorrow, and we may stay in Les Cuspides through the American Independence Day.