Ma(d)sterclass! Lidl-Trek deliver Pedersen perfect breakaway win on Tour de France stage 4, Simmons 2nd
CyclingTuesday, 07 July 2026 at 17:44
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Follow us on GoogleIs this finally a chance for the breakaway riders? UAE Team Emirates-XRG wasted no time in the first two flat stages, with victories for Isaac Del Toro and Tadej Pogačar. But the Slovenian is wearing the yellow jersey, and the fourth stage of the Tour de France seems to be too easy for the climbers—yet too difficult for the sprinters. IDL Pro Cycling bring you all the live action from start to the finish!
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The fourth stage takes the peloton from Carcassonne to Foix, where a breakaway rider is expected to win (but, we said that yesterday!) In addition to the tough course—which features 2,800 meters of climbing—the heat is also a factor in this region: temperatures hover around 40 degrees Celsius. "Bloody hot," as Tom Pidcock would put it. It looked like it was going to be a day for Mads Pedersen and Mathieu van der Poel, but there were also good climbers with plans.
Big names fight for the breakaway from the gun
From the start, there was naturally plenty of fighting for the breakaway again. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) was the first man to launch an attack, but he didn't get away. There were several accelerations, and out of the chaos, a group of about thirty riders rode away. This included Simmons, but also teammates Pedersen and Vacek. Lidl-Trek clearly had plans.
Furthermore, the group was stuffed full of top names: Biniam Girmay (NSN), Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), Michael Matthews (Jayco AlUla), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Alex Molenaar (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Jasper Stuyven, Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step) and... Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech).
Molenaar fights for KOM points, top sprinters battle for green jersey
Alex Molenaar was also present. The Dutchman from Caja Rural-Seguros RGA had been allowed to wear the polka-dot jersey for one day, but had already lost it to Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost). Baudin was not present this time, so the Dutchman could fight. At the first two climbs, one on the fourth and one on the third, he took the full haul. He then pushed on: he was joined by Robert Stannard (Bahrain Victorious) and Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost).
However, they were caught again, as an intermediate sprint was approaching. With Girmay, Philipsen, and Pedersen, there were three men who were keen to take the win. It became a tactical game, but ultimately Girmay proved to be the strongest: he took the full haul, ahead of Philipsen and Pedersen. Girmay and Philipsen then dropped immediately, while the rest of the leaders started the longest climb of the day.
Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) quickly rode away, and Vacek responded. Behind them, the riders looked at each other, and so the duo reached the summit with a one-minute lead. Molenaar picked up some extra mountain points, and after the climb, many men wanted to bridge the gap. This caused the pursuers to close the gap. Meanwhile, the lead over the peloton was well over seven minutes: Torstein Traeen (Uno-X Mobility) was thus virtually in the yellow jersey.
Three strong leaders gain lead over original breakaway
After the climb, many pursuers wanted to make a move to the front, causing the gap to shrink back to twenty seconds. The only man whose plan succeeded was Alex Kirsch (Cofidis). The three of them rode towards the final climb of the day, the Col de Montségur, with its summit just under forty kilometers from the finish. The pursuers saw their deficit grow again to just under a minute.
Vacek, in the breakaway, saw both Simmons and Pedersen in that large group of pursuers and used that as an excuse not to cooperate. A smart tactic, of course. At the foot of the final climb, the gap was still just under a minute, but that was quickly closed by Movistar and EF Education-EasyPost: we entered the final forty kilometers with a large group.
Michael Valgren then launched Sean Quinn. The American was 5:30 behind the yellow jersey and, provided he could drop Traeen, had a chance of achieving something great. The American's acceleration caused a significant split: about ten riders remained, including Simmons, Vacek, and Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. Michael Matthews and Kévin Vauquelin struggled, especially when Castrillo accelerated. But Lidl-Trek controlled the race excellently.
Lidl-Trek controlled the pace for Pedersen
Castrillo, Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Torstein Traeen were the best climbers, and they reached the top first. But Lidl-Trek managed to get Pedersen to the top about ten seconds behind those men. They caught up on the descent, and so a strong group of ten went down: Pedersen, Simmons, Vacek, Quinn, Vauquelin, Debruyne, Traeen, Castrillo, Raúl García Pierna (Movistar), and Marco Frigo (NSN) would battle for the victory.
A large chasing group hung fifty seconds behind: that seemed too much. At the front, the question was: how on earth are you going to beat Pedersen and Lidl-Trek? It would have to come via an attack, but Vacek and Simmons did an excellent job. The road still went up and down, but never steeply again. A breakaway by Castrillo was therefore expertly neutralized. Movistar teammate García Pierna was given no room either.
Movistar kept trying, but what could be done against Simmons and Vacek? Very little, as it turned out. Every time, they were right on top of them. It subsequently became a sprint. Vacek did the lead-out, and Pedersen attacked from very far out. Without any effort, he sprinted everyone off his wheel: Simmons even sprinted to second place. García Pierna finished third. The yellow jersey went to Traeen!
Stage 4 Results Tour de France 2026
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David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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