Christophe Moreau (Ag2r) has won his second stage of this year's Dauphine Libere. Moreau powered away from Sylvester Szmyd (Lampre) and Igor Anton (Euskaltel) in the last three km to win Stage 4, a 197-km run from Hauterives to Mont Ventoux, in 5:51:52. Szmyd finished second at 1:08, and Anton took third at 1:21. Andrei Kaschechkin (Astana) has taken the yellow jersey from teammate Alexander Vinokourov.

The hostilities began early. In the first km, Sylvain Calzati (Ag2r) attacked, and Stephane Auge (Cofidis), Frederik Willems (Liquigas), and Cedric Vasseur (Quick Step) joined him. The gang of four's lead ballooned to 11:35 before the bunch, led by Astana, began to chase.

With 28 km remaining, the break led the bunch by 7:00. Eleven km later, on the Ventoux, Philippe Gilbert (Francaise des Jeux) attacked. Alexander Botcharov (Credit Agricole), Moreau, and Szmyd followed. With 14 km left, Calzati led Moreau and Szmyd, but the gap was 2:40 and falling.

With four km to go, Moreau and Szmyd overtook Calzati. One km later, Moreau surged into the lead. The Ag2r man stayed away for the win.

In the overall, Kashechkin leads Moreau by 0:14 and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) by 0:25. Stage 5 has a finale that might change this state of affairs. The 195-km ride from Nyons to Digne-les-Bains will feature the Category 2 Col du Corobin in the last 20 km. Look for an escape on that climb. Who will be in it? Check in at www.roadcycling.com and find out!