Torstein Threier wins yellow jersey, Mads Pedersen wins fourth stage of Tour de France

Norwegian rider Torstein Threier of the Uno-X Mobility team secured the yellow leader's jersey after the 113th Tour de France's fourth stage. This stage, spanning 182 km, took place between carcassonne and Foix in southwestern France on Tuesday.

Pedersen's Stage Victory

Mads Pedersen from Denmark won the fourth stage of the Tour de France on a day marked by Nordic spirit. Threier claimed the well-deserved yellow leader's jersey.

Competition and Stage Results

Pedersen, who was the 2019 world champion, won in a sprint finish attack, ahead of his teammate from Lidl-Trek, Quinn Simmons, who finished second. Spaniard Raul Garcia finished third on this 182-kilometer stretch from Carcassonne to Foix, which was held under intense heat, occasionally exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

For Pedersen, this was his third Tour de France victory, following wins in 2022 and 2023, and it allowed him to win the green jersey awarded to the best rider in the race.

Comments from Winners and Participants

The thirty-year-old Dane noted that the victory was the result of excellent teamwork. He mentioned experiencing difficulties on the final climb but that thanks to the support of Quinn and Matias Vacek, the day turned out incredible as they maintained a great pace. Pedersen emphasized that the team acted like 'machines' from the climb to the finish.

Threier, who started the stage about five minutes behind reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, was part of the initial breakaway of 34 riders formed approximately 25 kilometers in. This breakaway was reduced to 10 riders on the final climb, and Threier finished eighth.

General Classification Update

Since the peloton finished 13 minutes behind the stage winner, Threier now leads the yellow jersey standings with a 28-second advantage over American Sean Quinn, who finished ninth in the breakaway. Matias Vacek, Pedersen's teammate from Lidl-Trek, who finished tenth, now ranks third in the general classification with a gap of 3 minutes and 50 seconds and leads the young riders competition with the white jersey.

Tadej Pogacar dropped to fourth place, trailing by 7 minutes and 53 seconds, as did his rival Jonas Vingegaard, who took fifth place.

Threier's Grand Tour Achievements

For the thirty-year-old Threier, this will be the second time he has led a Grand Tour; previously, he wore the red leader's jersey at the Vuelta a España last year for four days. He is the third Norwegian to wear the Tour de France yellow jersey, following Tore Haasrud, who did so in 2004, 2006, and 2011, and Alexander Kristoff, who wore it for one day in 2020.

Race Flow and Tactical Moments

It was clear that Tadej Pogacar's UAE Emirates-XRG team had no intention of controlling the gap or holding onto the yellow jersey, as the breakaway of 34 riders went ahead in the first 25 kilometers. After an intermediate sprint won by the Eritrean, sprinters Biniam Girma and Jasper Philipsen left the breakaway. Several riders were dropped on the Col du Coudon climb, which stretched for 10 kilometers immediately after the halfway point, but the main battle for the stage victory and the yellow jersey unfolded on the 7-kilometer Col de Monségur at an altitude of 1059 meters.

With 35 kilometers remaining until the finish, 10 riders went ahead, leaving the peloton more than 11 minutes behind. Quinn attempted to overtake Threier on the climb, but the Norwegian held his ground and saw an opportunity to gain the yellow jersey. Threier noted that he was mainly focused on staying cool, and then, reaching the final climb, he needed to have energy. He added that in such heat, it is difficult to predict the body's reaction. After conquering the climb, he realized he could finish the day in the yellow jersey.

Several riders tried to drop Pedersen, who was the fastest sprinter in the group, but the Dane held on and remained in contact. He had two teammates—Simmons and Vacek—who helped control the approach to the finish, and when he launched his sprint 300 meters from the end, he surged powerfully forward and won the race by several bike lengths.

iol.co.zaJuly 6, 20:00

Tadej Pogacar wins yellow jersey after victory in the third stage of Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar secured a convincing victory in the third stage of the Tour de France, demonstrating mastery in the Pyrenees, which allowed him to reduce his deficit to Jonas Vingegaard and claim the leading yellow jersey.

Stage results and leadership

Current champion Tadej Pogacar won the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday, taking the 'special' yellow jersey from his rival Jonas Vingegaard. Although both athletes had equal time, Pogacar took the lead due to better finishing positions in the first three stages of the race.

The thirty-year-old athlete achieved his 22nd stage victory in the Tour de France and his tenth victory in the Pyrenees. He finished two seconds ahead of the Dane and earned an additional four bonus seconds compared to Vingegaard, thereby eliminating his six-second deficit at the start of the day.

Comments and other participants

Pogacar noted that winning the yellow jersey is a dream for any cyclist regardless of age. He added that every time he can put it on his shoulders again, it feels special.

In this stage, which was 196 km long, starting in Granollers, Spain, and finishing in Les Angèles in the French Pyrenees, former Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz overtook young French prodigy Paul Seix, finishing third in the same time as Vingegaard. Despite organizers' requests to stay away due to severe forest fires 70 km from the finish, many spectators gathered along the roads in France.

Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel finished eighth with a four-second deficit, maintaining third overall place, but lost 23 seconds relative to the leader. Isaac Del Toro, winner of Sunday's second stage, holds fourth overall place with a 24-second deficit, finishing eighth. Also in the top six leaders are Spanish Juan Ayuso (27 seconds) and Seix (48 seconds).

UAE Team Emirates strategy

After Pogacar allowed his teammates from UAE Team Emirates, Del Toro, to win on Mount Monjuic in Barcelona on Sunday, the Spaniard led the team for a decisive sprint to the finish this time. Pogacar made it clear that he aimed for both the stage win and the yellow jersey thanks to the dominant victory.

He explained that he gained extra energy in the finale thanks to Isaac: 'Thanks to Isaac, I got some extra strength in the finale today.' He continued: 'He gave more than one hundred percent in the final climb, and the whole team too. In the middle of the stage, we decided that we could compete for the stage win, and I am very, very happy that we started the Tour this way.'

On a day that looked perfect for an escape, UAE Team Emirates left no chance for anyone else. After 70 km, an eighteen-man breakaway formed, stretching the maximum advantage to three minutes. At that moment, UAE Team Emirates took over the pace. They halved the gap when the breakaway reached the Category 1 climb Col du Toses, 9.3 km long, located just over halfway through the stage. The breakaway reduced to six men at the summit, and 34 km before the finish, the French pair Alex Bodin and Nicolas Prodhomme went off on their own. Prodhomme held on for another 8 km, while Bodin, who had already achieved enough for the mountain points jersey, was caught 12 km from the finish. UAE Team Emirates controlled the race until the last short climb in Les Angèles, and Pogacar completed the job.