Mads Pedersen wins Tour de France stage four from breakaway as Torstein Traeen takes overall lead
Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory from a breakaway on stage four of the Tour de France, while Torstein Traeen claimed the yellow jersey as Tadej Pogacar relinquished the lead on a sweltering day in southern France.
Pedersen wins from breakaway
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) won the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, sprinting to victory from a 34-rider breakaway that dominated the 181.9 km route from Carcassonne to Foix. The former world champion crossed the line ahead of teammate Quinn Simmons, giving Lidl-Trek a one-two finish, while Spain's Raul Garcia Pierna (Movistar) took third. It was Pedersen's third Tour stage win and his first victory in 300 days. The win also moved him into the green points jersey, taking it from defending champion Tadej Pogacar.
- 34 riders break clear around 25 km into the stage.
- Biniam Girmay wins the intermediate sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen.
- Attacks reduce the lead group to 10 riders; Lidl-Trek controls the moves.
- Pedersen wins the sprint ahead of Simmons and Garcia Pierna; peloton finishes 13 minutes later.
The breakaway formed early and built a gap of over 13 minutes by the finish. On the category-two Col de Montsegur, the group was reduced to ten riders, with Lidl-Trek using numerical advantage to control attacks. Mathias Vacek set a fierce pace under the flamme rouge, and after Kevin Vauquelin's late attack, Pedersen launched a powerful sprint to secure the win.
Traeen takes yellow jersey
Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Mobility) finished eighth on the stage and became the new overall leader, 28 seconds ahead of American Sean Quinn. The 30-year-old Norwegian, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer three years ago and made a full recovery, is only the third Norwegian to wear the Tour's yellow jersey, after Thor Hushovd and Alexander Kristoff.
There isn't that much to say right now. Right now I'm a bit tired. It is, of course, a bit of a boyhood dream coming true. A good day at work, as one would say.
Pogacar, who had taken the lead on Monday, finished with the peloton nearly 13 minutes behind and dropped to fourth overall, 7 minutes 53 seconds back. He remains level on time with rival Jonas Vingegaard in fifth. Mathias Vacek moved to third at 3:50 and now leads the young rider classification.
- Torstein Traeen
- 0 seconds
- Sean Quinn
- 28 seconds
- Mathias Vacek
- 230 seconds
- Tadej Pogacar
- 473 seconds
- Jonas Vingegaard
- 473 seconds
Sweltering heat and UCI measures
Temperatures in southern France climbed to 40°C, with riders using ice packs and consuming large quantities of water. The UCI made an exceptional ruling to allow full feed bags in designated zones, rather than just bottles, to help teams distribute multiple bottles at once.
Riding in this heat is dangerous if you don't keep your body temperature low. It's a logistical nightmare. As a team we really try hard to bring the riders as much water and ice as possible. Sometimes, when the valley is long — 10 to 15 kilometres — three guys go back to the car to get bottles and ice so you can keep cooling down.
GC shakeup and stage 5 preview
The new general classification sees Traeen lead Quinn by 28 seconds, with Vacek third at 3:50. Pogacar and Vingegaard sit 7:53 behind, while German rider Florian Lipowitz slipped to 11th at 8:46. Stage 5 on Wednesday is a flat 158.3 km route from Lannemezan to Pau, expected to end in a mass sprint.
