Australian cyclist Simon Gerrans has crashed in the fourth stage of the Paris-Nice race after a teammate fell taking a bend too quickly, bringing Gerrans down with him.

Gerrans looked dazed but got back up and continued.

However, it kept him back from the leaders, a day after he came a close second to controversial Spaniard Alejandro Valverde.

Belgian rider Gianni Meersman timed his attack perfectly to win Wednesday’s stage, and Bradley Wiggins kept the overall lead despite Valverde’s late attack on the final climb.

Meersman was in sixth place as the final sprint was launched about 150 metres from the finish. But he chose an outside line to just edge out Grega Bole of Slovenia at the line, with Dutch cyclist Lieuwe Westra finishing third.

Wiggins retained his 6-second lead over American veteran Levi Leipheimer, with Tejay Van Garderen of the United States 11 seconds back in third. Valverde failed to make up any time on Wiggins, remaining 20 seconds back and dropping a place to seventh with Westra moving above him.

Five riders forged ahead after 18 kilometres on the undulating 178-kilometre stage, which featured two category 2 climbs and consecutive category 3 ascents up Cote d’Aubert le Cres and the short but steep Cote de Bourran up to Rodez.

Spanish rider Luis Angel Mate Mardones, Bart De Clercq of Belgium – a stage winner at last year’s Giro d’Italia – Australian cyclist Leigh Howard and French pair Pierrick Fedrigo and Jean-Christophe Peraud opened up an early lead of five minutes on the main pack.

But the five-man breakaway’s lead was trimmed to 1:30 with 40 kilometres left, and less than a minute heading into the last two climbs.