Frenchman Stephane Auge of Cofidis won the Four Days of Dunkirk as Norwegian sprint ace Thor Hushovd claimed the final stage.

Auge, who won stage one on Tuesday, claims his first big stage race victory.

Hushovd beat out stage three winner Kenny De Haes and stage two victor Gert Steegmans in the mass sprint finale after the final 128.4-km circuit around Dunkirk.

Belgium's De Haes of the Topsport Vlaanderen team can console himself after winning the best young rider's prize.

STAGE FIVE

Cyril Dessel, of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, won the 179.4km fifth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk between Calais and Cap Blanc-Nez.

Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France, who won Tuesday's first stage, retained the leader's pink jersey and looks set fair to win the race following Sunday's sixth and final stage, a 128.4km stretch around Dunkirk.

Frenchman Dessel clocked 4hr 23minutes 48 seconds to finish ahead of Gerald Ciolek of Germany and France's Samuel Dumoulin during this relatively short but tense stage.

France's Clement Lhotellerie had a poor day, however, after falling off the pace in the penultimate ascent of Cap Blanc-Nez to lose his best climber's jersey to Italy's Leonardo Scarselli.

By the fifth lap, 11 riders had broken away but Bouygues Telecom led the chase and by the seventh circuit the peloton had regrouped. Though several attacks were then attempted all came to nothing.

STAGE FOUR:

Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo pipped Allan Davis and Jose Joaquin Gil Rojas to claim a stage four victory in the Four Days of Dunkirk.

The Bouygues Telecom rider, who won the race in 2005, held off Australia's Davis and Spain's Joaquin Gil in the finale to claim his second Dunkirk stage victory in two years.

After a five-man escape group was reeled in late in the race, seven riders took off on the final Cap Blanc Nez climb before Fedrigo launched his sprint just one kilometre from the finish line in Calais.

"This morning, at the briefing, we decided to break it up in the finale if possible, so I tried my luck," the 29-year-old Fedrigo said of the 193-km stage which started in Wasquehal.

"After passing the last bump and roundabout, 800 metres from the line, I was a little behind, so I got back on and it paid off. It's a good victory."

Another Frenchman, Stephane Auge, retained the overall leader's jersey for Cofidis heading into Saturday's queen stage.

STAGE THREE:

Belgian Kenny De Haes of the Topsport team claimed victory in the third stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk after upsetting Norwegian sprint ace Thor Hushovd at the line.

Frenchman Stephane Auge, of Cofidis, retained the race leader's jersey after the 193-km stage between Le Cateau-Cambresis and Saint-Quentin.

Cofidis, and the Skil team of the race's best climber Clement Lhotellerie, were forced to work throughout most of Thursday's stage to protect their respective jerseys.

An early three-man breakaway went off after just 12-km, but their lead was allowed to hit a maximum of just four minutes and 45 seconds, at the 75-km mark, before the peloton upped the pace decisively.

They were caught with 11-km to race, and in the final bunch sprint De Haes surged ahead of his rivals after Gert Steegmans, the much-fancied Belgian winner of Wednesday's sprint, failed to produce the required speed.

Hushovd, of Credit Agricole, finished second with former under-23 world champion Gerald Ciolek, of High Road, in third.

The Four Days of Dunkirk is a six-day race which culminates with Sunday's 128-km race around Dunkirk.

STAGE TWO:

Belgium's Gert Steegmans of the Quick Step team won a sprint finish in the second stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk in Cateau-Cambresis.

France's Stephane Auge of the Cofidis team retained the leader's pink jersey after the 192km stretch from Henin-Beaumont.

Steegmans, who averaged an impressive 40.2km/h, crossed the line just ahead of Australia's Marc Renshaw and Jean-Patrick Nazon of France.

As in the first stage, it was France's Anthony Roux who attacked early on and he was soon joined by Britain's Ian Stannard and Florian Vachon, also of France, though their escape was hampered at the 95km mark when their path was blocked at a crossing and they had to stop cycling for about two minutes.

After more than 170km of breakaway, Stannard and Roux were swallowed up by the main group in the final kilometre.

Steegmans, often the one who sets up Tom Boonen for the sprint, this time took the initiative and left little chance to Renshaw and Nazon.

Thursday's third stage, the longest of the competition, is a 193km run from Cateau-Cambresis to Saint Quentin.

STAGE ONE:

Stéphane Augé of Cofidis won the opening stage of the 54th edition of the Four Days of Dunkirk in Roost Warendin.

The French veteran escaped with Clément Lhotellerie (Skil-Shimano) inside the opening hour of the 179.4km trek from Dunkerque before beating out his young rival in the final sprint.

33-year-old Augé claimed the pink jersey with Lhotellerie, after crossing first on all four small climbs during the stage, taking the yellow jersey as best climber.

Sebastian Siedler led the peloton over the line, 2:36 behind, in the race with features 12 ProTour teams.

The six-stage race concludes on Sunday in Dunkirk after a loop of more than 1.000 kilometers.

Eurosport / AFP