Tadej Pogačar annihilates the Vuelta a España with a monstrous solo attack, while the best of the rest fight behind him
CyclingWednesday, 26 August 2026 at 11:53
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Follow us on GoogleThe fourth stage of the Vuelta a España was won by Tadej Pogačar. In the short but grueling mountain stage through Andorra, the red jersey wearer attacked with no less than fifty kilometers to go. He crossed the finish line with a lead of nearly three minutes; behind him, it came down to a six-man sprint, in which Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) took a stunning second place, ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM).
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Severe weather cancels Vuelta a España stage 3
Tadej Pogacar claimed the red jersey on Day 1, held onto it on Day 2, and, like the rest of the peloton, ended up in the lobby of a hotel in the French Pyrenees on Day 3. Due to severe weather, the third stage was canceled, so the climbers will have some extra motivation for the fourth stage.
It starts and ends in Andorra la Vella, home to many riders in the Vuelta peloton. The road climbs almost immediately, reaching a staggering 2,409 meters above sea level—the highest point of this Vuelta. A series of grueling climbs follows. Who will stop Pogacar from putting on another masterclass?
At the start of the stage there were plenty of contenders who knew how to handle an early attack. There were multiple escape attempts on the Port d'Envalira, but ultimately a group of just under twenty riders succeeded. Visma | Lease a Bik had four men in the group: Wout van Aert, Bruno Armirail, Ben Tulett, and Matthew Brennan.
Strong breakaway, Uijtdebroeks dropped
Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Eddie Dunbar (Pinarello - Q36.5), Paul Double (Jayco AlUla), Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana), and Gijs Leemrijze (Picnic PostNL), among others, had also joined the group. Behind them, Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) had to drop back early: the Belgian had been struggling with a tear in his ankle since his crash.
At the front, Visma | Lease a Bike dictated the pace, and Van Aert, Armirail, and Brennan emptied themselves for Tulett. This ensured that a group of about ten riders were the first to reach the top of the Port d'Envalira. Fortunato took the mountain points there, but Decathlon CMA CGM set the pace in the peloton and was only thirty seconds behind the leaders. Consequently, the leaders were caught on the descent.
Pogacar launched a devastating attack early on
The entire peloton set off up the Collado de Beixalis. This was the second climb of the day: considerably shorter, but steeper. Decathlon CMA CGM decided to go all out and tore the peloton to pieces. Very quickly, only ten riders remained, and Pogacar saw this as his moment to accelerate: with fifty kilometres to go, he set off on his own.
Gall, whose team had been leading the race all day, bravely followed, but could only keep up for two hundred metres. The red jersey wearer was completely on his own, and the Austrian was swallowed up by the chasing group, which included Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike).
But they lost a lot of ground very quickly. After five kilometers of solo cycling, the gap at the top of the Beixalis was already 1.30 minutes. And on the next climb, the Coll d'Ordino, it widened more and more. Gall accelerated again there and took Onley with him, but Roglic, Mas, and Kuss also joined later. But the gap at the top of the Ordino was already 2.45 minutes.
Information on Stage 4 of the 2026 Vuelta a España
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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
- - Grande artículo, pero el nombre del puerto es Envalira, no “Envilara”, no? Pequeño detalle, pero importa en ciclismo.samanthak26-08-2026
- - Pedersen not there after 25 km of climbing is normal, but calling out the others publicly feels harsh. DS could’ve kept that in the bus—morale matters.bikebuffj26-08-2026
- - Not good enough, but not a disaster. If the team tightens up and gives him wheels deep into the penultimate climb, he can claw back seconds on medium-mountain days. Vamos Mattias!jeremya26-08-2026
- - Quick q: what’s the Envilara climb like compared to Tour climbs? Is it high-altitude causing the legs to go pop?tourdeforce926-08-2026
- - Roglič, Mas, Kuss, Onley, Gall all had the punch today. Skjelmose didn’t. But if he really lost a minute in stage 4 last year and still finished strong, there’s precedent. Keep the faith.sprocketspiny26-08-2026
- - Lidl-Trek’s chase was a mess. How do you end up pacing a group your leader isn’t even in? Communication breakdown or just chaos? Doesn’t inspire confidence.jennifer1926-08-2026
- - Sorry, is “two Grand Tours back-to-back” super common for GC riders? Do most guys struggle like this in the first mountain stage when they do it?cyclechamp4526-08-2026
- - Still early days. If he’s carrying Tour legs/fatigue, a week could flip the script. He limited the loss with Carapaz/Widar before cracking on the last climb—damage control could keep a top-5 GC alive.julien26-08-2026
- - That was a rough watch for Skjelmose in Andorra, especially on home roads. Losing 40 seconds isn’t terminal but the worry is how early he was isolated. If Konrad/Kämna/Bernard aren’t there on Envalira, that’s a tactical hole. DS is right to call it out.breakawaybikerd26-08-2026
- - Fair play to Gall—aggressive, grabbed bonuses, and didn’t crack when the hammer dropped. If he limits losses in the next high-alt days, top 5 GC isn’t crazy. Vamos Felix!pedalpowe2925-08-2026
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