Marcel Kittel secured third win at this year's Tour de France on Tuesday

The Giant-Shimano rider, who was the victor of stage one and three, timed his ride to perfection to fend off the challenge of a host of riders in a thrilling bunch finish.

Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was second - much to his frustration as he punched his handlebars when he was pipped on the line - and Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) burst from a long way back to clinch third, while Vincenzo Nibali retains his lead in the general classification and the yellow jersey.

However, the 163.5-kilometre stage from Le Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille Metropole was also noteworthy for a series of crashes including defending champions Chris Froome (Sky) and Peter Sagan (Cannondale), the latter recovering to finish fourth.