Team Astana was truly powered by SRAM Red today and rode to victory in Stage 4 of the 2009 Tour De France, a testing team time trial in Montpellier, which Astana won in 46′29″.

Despite the best efforts of Lance Armstrong, who rode an exceptional race today in the team time test, an event not held at the Tour since 2005, Maillot Jaune Fabian Cancellara of SRAM Red powered Saxo Bank kept the Maillot Jaune as race officials said Cancellara would keep the race lead by twenty-two-hundreths of a second. Saxo Bank finished 3rd on the stage, 40″ behind Astana. Armstrong and his US Postal & Discovery Channel have won the last three team time trials at Le Tour in 2003, 2004 & 2005, so today is Armstrong’s 4th Tour TTT win his 24th stage win overall at Le Tour.

Tuesday’s Stage 4 TTT was blessed with at the 92nd Tour De France dawned with sunny skies and a strong west wind blowing in from the Mediterranean at 30km/hr. Montpellier is an attractive French provincial city of 250,000 and is the capital of the the Hérault department and Languedoc-Roussillon region. Originally called Monspessulanus, from Mont Pelé (bald hill) , Montpellier is situated on the River Lez. One of the few cities founded in France without Roman origins, Montpellier came to prominence in the 10th century as a trading center, with trading links across the Mediterranean world and a rich Jewish cultural life and traditions of tolerance of its Muslims, Jews, Cathars and Protestants. Today it is a university city with high-tech and a thriving wine industry and considered one of the most desirable cities in France to live in.

Stage 4’s Team Time Trial was run on an undulating technical, course over 39km that started and finished in Montpellier. It was a sinuous course that headed due west into the strong headwinds on small roads among the vineyards of Hérault, then headed north across some small climbs before eventually heading back west into the center of Montpellier to finish next to the local soccer stadium. Astana started last and powered through the second and third time checks in the lead and powered home for the win. Post race, Armstrong tweeted “Well, what can I say? The team was simply awesome today. Consistent, fluid, mistake-free. We love this event (TTT) and are stoked to win. I thought the course was tough but proved to be 2x. Ouch. Popo and Klodi were on fire. And they might need to repair the pavement on the sections where Alberto was pulling. All in all, great day.
Headline for us – important to gain time on our rivals which we did. More wind tomorrow…”

Tour De France / Stage 4 Results
1. Astana: 46′29″
3. Saxo Bank @ 40″
3. Milram @ 2′49″
4. Agritubel @ 4′18″

Tour De France / General Classification after Stage 4
1. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team Saxo Bank 10h38′07″
2. Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana @ same time
3. Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana @ :19″
4. Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana @ :23″
5. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana @ :31″