Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory in the fourth stage of the 2026 Tour de France, held on July 7, as Tadej Pogacar lost the yellow jersey and dropped to fourth place. The stage spanned 181.9 km from Carcassonne to Foix, with temperatures soaring to 40°C in southern France.
Pogacar's Struggles in Extreme Heat
Pogacar, the defending champion, finished 33rd in the stage, trailing new race leader Torstein Traeen by 7 minutes and 53 seconds. This marks the third consecutive year Pogacar has lost the yellow jersey after just one day. Riders faced extreme conditions, using blocks of ice to cool down as they battled the heat. The peloton was allowed to carry bags of ice and water instead of individual bottles, a strategy aimed at helping them cope with the high temperatures.
Traeen, who finished eighth in the stage, expressed his emotions on the podium, stating, "It's quite hard for me to understand how big this is, but you can see from the faces of my old coach how special it is." He is the third Norwegian to don the yellow jersey and previously underwent cancer treatment in 2022.
Petersen's Perfect Timing
Petersen's victory came as he broke away from a group of riders, timing his sprint perfectly to secure the win. His teammate, Quinn Simmons, finished second, while Raul Garcia Pierna of Movistar took third place. The results of the stage were:
- 1. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) - 4hrs 10mins 45secs
- 2. Quinn Simmons (US/Lidl-Trek)
- 3. Raul Garcia (Spa/Movistar)
- 4. Marco Frigo (Ita/NSN)
- 5. Ramses de Bruyne (Bel/Alpecin-Premier Tech)
General Classification After Stage Four
The general classification after stage four sees Traeen in first place with a time of 13hrs 2mins 46secs, followed closely by:
- 2. Sean Quinn (US/Easypost) +28secs
- 3. Mathias Vacek (Cze/Lidl-Trek) +3mins 50secs
- 4. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +7mins 53secs
- 5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +7mins 53secs
Stage five on Wednesday features a mostly flat route, ideal for sprinters, before the race transitions to the challenging high Pyrenees mountains on Thursday.
🤖 This article was rewritten by Feed and Figures' editorial AI from a report originally published by BBC Sport. Facts and quotes are preserved from the original; the rewrite focuses on clarity and structure. For the unedited original, see the source link below.
