Stage 4 - Orléans - Océan

As the cloudless skies remain, the temperatures continue to increase. Today's lunchtime miles - when it's really hot - were along a busy, shadeless départmentale road, and no-one had any fun there. But the rest of the 39 miles were beautiful and picturesque; for example:





Another scorcher is on the menu for tomorrow. Because of the heat, wonky hip and sheer laziness, I made it to the marathon point in 4hrs 45 min, and finished in about 7hrs 30. But this is no longer a race - finishing positions are already decided - it's about surviving two more long, hot stages and then jogging joyfully into St Nazaire on Friday morning.

Location:Lève de l'Authion,Sainte-Gemmes-sur-Loire,France