Richie Porte takes stage, Michal Kwiatkowski regains Paris-Nice lead

Croix-de-Chaubouret: Sky rider Richie Porte of Australia won the 204km fourth stage of the Paris-Nice "Race to the Sun" on Thursday, edging out Welsh team-mate Geraint Thomas on the run-in at Croix-de-Chaubouret.

World champion Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland regained the overall leader`s yellow jersey he relinquished only 24 hours earlier to Australian`s Michael Matthews.

Porte, the winner in 2013, and Thomas broke away over the final kilometre of the uphill finish and crossed the line, at an altitude of 1,201 metres, a full eight seconds clear of Kwiatkowski and Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang.

In the overall standings, Kwiatkowski leads Porte by just a second with Thomas also breathing down his neck, just two seconds further back.

On Friday, the fifth stage takes the riders on a 192.5km ride from Saint-Etienne to Rasteau, on a day when there are few hill climbs to negotiate.