Paris-Nice stage 4 LIVE – Race leader Juan Ayuso taken out in crash as crosswinds and bad weather cause chaos

And now Vacek is dropped out of it.

Thornely has been dropped out of the front group, leacing just 6 riders in it.

The race is in pieces now. A 7-man front group leads, with other stragglers trying to join them. An Ineos chase trio of Onley, Tarling and Watson are about 30 seconds behind, while the Vauquelin chase group is about 1:30 behind.

The front group could be about to get bigger, as some of those held up in the crash have them back within sight.

In fact, those seven riders are the only ones left in the front group. We didn’t see the crash, but it must have been a big one.

Red Bull continue to lead the front group with what looks like the same five riders all there. Vingegaard is also OK and still in this group, as is Vacek.

Romeo is another rider to have gone down. He’s back on his bike and riding, but his shorts are torn.

Ayuso is back off his bike, and looks set to abandon.

The lead group is much smaller now. There ca’t be much more than 15 riders in it.

Ayuso is back on his bike, but looks in a bad way.

Race leader Ayuso has also gone down!

Vauquelin is getting increasingly desperate. He’s attacked out of the chase group alone.

The terrain goes gradually downhill for a while until the next, and penultimate, hill of the day, the category two Côte de la Croix de la Liberation.

Onley and Tarling have work to do. They’re 20 seconds behind the lead group, and only 30 secods ahead of the Vauquelin chase group.

Behind, the Vauquelin chase group has been to reduced to about 15 riders. They’re reduced their gap a little to the leaders, but it remains at 50 seconds.

Mecanical for Oscar Onley. He’s chasing back to the front group now with teammate Tarling.

Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are doing all the work at the front of the leading group, making use of their strength in numbers. With Vlasov not among them, they’re all in for Daniel Martínez.

Jonas Vingegaard, still safely in the bunch.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The lead group are about to summit the climb.

Lotto’s Joshua Giddings is the latest rider dropped from the front group as they near the summit.

Lenny Martinez is also helping Vauquelin, and they’ve brought the lead group back within 50 seconds.

Vauquelin is taking it upon himself to lead the chase group on the climb. His Paris-Nice hopes could be slipping away unless he can get back into that front group soon.

Meanwhile Ayuso is down to just one Lidl teammate – Mathias Vacek.

That leaves Jacobs’ Groupama-FDJ leader David Gaudu isolated.

Johan Jacobs is the latest rider dropped out of the first group as they continue this climb.

The chasing group are using this climb to try and make inroads. And it’s having some effect with the gap reduced to 1:10.

Some riders are suffering under the pace being set by Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe on this climb. Rune Herregodts of UAE and Jakob Söderqvist of Lidl-Trek have been dropped.

Although many of the riders in this front group are prioritising the GC, there’s a chance for others to go for the KOM points on offer at the top of this climb. The current leader in the classification, Casper Pedersen, is missing from this group, as is the only other man with more than 3 points, Mathis Le Berre.

The leaders begin the climb, with an even bigger gap – they now have 1:40 over the chasers

Just a few kilometres before they begin the Côte de la Croix des Cerisiers. It’s a sustained effort, lasting 6.2km, but averages only 4.1%.

The race will soon change in character, as the terrain becomes more hilly, beginning with the first climb of the day, the category three Côte de la Croix des Cerisiers, about 10km away.

If the gap between the leading and chasing group is smaller by then, GC men like Vauquelin and Martinez might fancy their chances of bridging it by attacking on the favourable uphill. But so long as it remains at a minute, that seems unlikely.

Oscar Onley, who’s safely in the front group, unlike his teammate Kévin Vauquelin. If these two groups don’t come back together, then he will become Ineos’ outright leader for the GC.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This was the thrilling moment right at the start of the day when the peloton first split apart in the weather.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Clément Russo has been dropped out of the front group, leaving his Groupama leader David Gaudu with just one teammate, Johan Jacobs.

The rain is making this an especially grim day of racing for the riders.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The wind has made for a very fast opening to this stage – they’ve only been racing for an hour, yet have already completed 53km.

The teams best represented in the front group, each with at least four riders, are Uno-X Mobility, Movistar, Ineos and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe – although the latter two are missing GC men Vauquelin and Vlasov respectively.

This is all that’s left of the front peloton.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Vlasov’s Red Bull teammate Dani Martínez is in the lead group, however, as well as Brandon McNulty, David Gaudu and Ivan Romeo.

There are about 40 riders in the lead group, containing most of the main GC men. Vauquelin and Martinez are missing, and there is no sign of Vlasov.

The front group, being led here by Juan Ayuso’s Lidl-Trek team.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Oscar Onley is in the front group, here with his teammate Josh Tarling.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso are both in the front group.

Lenny Martinez has also been dropped. He’s in the second group.

The man second place on GC, Kévin Vauquelin, is among those dropped! He’s down in the third group on the road.

Here’s what it looks like on the road – the race is in pieces already.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

No word yet of any of the top GC contenders being caught out, though King of the Mountains Casper Pedersen is in on of the trailing groups.

For now, the gaps between the groups are being measured in seconds, with 10 seconds between the first two, and the others less than 40 seconds back. But those caught out are in danger of being dumped out of contention if this continues.

About 40 riders are in the front peloton, including Juan Ayuso in the yellow jersey.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Conditions are horrible out there, with rain also falling.

There are splits already! The peloton has fractured into four groups.

The wind also appears to be blowing from the south, which, considering that most of the stage is in a eastwards direction, is ample conditions for crosswinds.

It’s a fast start, and the wind is blowing – echelons are very much on the cards today!

Three riders have pulled out of the race overnight – Piet Allegaert, Roel van Sintmaartensdijk, and Eddie Dunbar, who would have hope to have ridden a good GC at this race.

The riders are the start, wrapped up warm.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s a cold one today, with the temperature down to 10 degrees. And, crucially, there’s also a stronger breeze than in previous stages – something that could be a factor during the 100km-or-so of flat roads that opens the stage.

The riders are on the move through the neutralised zone.

Whereas yesterday saw significant time gaps related to how well each contender’s teams went, today will be the first time they take each other on mano y mano on an uphill finish. And though the vital stats (8km at 4.5%) of final climb at Uchon might make it sound modest, that belies just how steep it gets – its maximum gradient is 16%, which is sure to gaps between them with the strongest coming to the fore.