Branch in 18th position after stage four

The 33-year-old had blistering start to the race after bagging his maiden stage win on day two of the competition, which saw him move to sixth overall. But on Tuesday, during the stage three race, the 'Kalahari Ferrari' suffered a crash, which saw him losing ground in the overall rankings. 

He damaged his shoulder in crash while losing over an hour on the terrain. He however recovered well to finish 20th. In attempt to cover time lost in stage three, Branch produced a solid performance on Wednesday over the 672km distance, which is one the longest stage runs in a time of 04:25:46, and finished just a minute and six seconds after stage winner Sam Sunderland of Great Britain.