Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory from a breakaway in stage four of the Tour de France — the former world champion’s first victory since stage 15 of last year’s Vuelta a España.And Uno-X Mobility’s Torstein Træen is the new race leader, 28 seconds ahead of U.S. rider Sean Quinn in second and 7:53 ahead of Tadej Pogačar — who rolled home safely with the other overall contenders almost 13 minutes after Pedersen crossed the line.This stage always seemed perfect for a breakaway and so it proved, a 34-rider group being established with more than 160km of the route remaining. Some of the race’s top sprinters made it in, which allowed Biniam Girmay to win the intermediate sprint ahead of Jasper Philipsen and Pedersen.
Tadej Pogacar is still leading the points classification by 2 points!
Tadej Pogacar est toujours en tête du classement par points pour 2… pic.twitter.com/5FRdme8Vwk
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 7, 2026There were several ‘fuga de la fuga’ (breakaway from the breakaway) attempts as another hot day unfolded, to be expected from such a large group — and the one that held saw Jan Tratnik and Mathias Vacek get away, joined soon afterwards by Alex Kirsch.That trio was caught on the early slopes of the category two Col de Montségur and that regrouping kicked off a series of attacks, with Movistar desperate to shed Pedersen before the finish line. Pablo Castrillo attacked on the steeper upper slopes to try and distance the Dane from a group of 10, but American road race champion Quinn Simmons worked admirably to keep Pedersen at the front.It was rolling terrain down to Foix from Montségur, and Castrillo and his teammate Raúl García Pierna tried numerous times to escape, but Lidl-Trek were able to cover the moves with Simmons and Vacek. That work paid off as Pedersen won the sprint in Foix with ease, with Simmons making it a Lidl-Trek one-two to cap off a masterful day of tactics and patience from the team.For Pogačar, losing yellow for at least one stage — and probably several more — takes some pressure off his team, especially ahead of a flat route into Pau on Wednesday.Jacob Whitehead analyzes another scorching day in the south of France.Pedersen lands dominant victory after Lidl-Trek tactical masterclassIt has been three years since Mads Pedersen’s last Tour de France stage win and 300 days since his last win of any kind, an eternity for one of the most powerful racers of the decade. Near misses have become commonplace, not just at Grand Tours but across the Monument races that the Dane craves.Last year’s superb performance at the Giro d’Italia, where he won four stages, showed how the 30-year-old can take over races, possessing a top-class sprint speed, a rouleur’s engine, and the ability to hang in there on climbs. With Wout van Aert missing, and outside of Pogacar’s majesty, he is arguably the most versatile rider at the Tour — and Tuesday’s stage four win was the first time that he truly imposed that control on the sport’s biggest race.This, however, was a team effort. Lidl-Trek managed to get three riders into the break: Pedersen, young powerhouse Mathias Vacek, and ultra-attacking Quinn Simmons.
