Tadej Pogacar reclaimed the coveted yellow jersey in impressive fashion, dominating stage four of the Tour de France with a solo breakaway.
On the Tour’s first significant mountain stage, Pogacar unleashed a decisive attack 800 meters from the summit of the renowned Col du Galibier. He extended his advantage during the 20-kilometer descent to the finish line, gaining time over all his general classification rivals.
Remco Evenepoel finished second on the 139.6-kilometer route from Pinerolo to Valloire, trailing by 35 seconds, while defending champion Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line 37 seconds behind in fifth place.
“It was more or less the plan and we executed it pretty well – I’m super happy. It was like a dream stage and I finished it off so well,” Pogacar commented.
“I wanted to hit hard today and I knew this stage very well. I’ve trained here a lot of times and it felt like a home stage. I was confident at the start and I had good legs.”
Slovenia’s Pogacar, aged 25, now leads Evenepoel by 45 seconds in the general classification standings, with Vingegaard a further five seconds adrift in third.
Overnight leader Richard Carapaz suffered a setback, losing over five minutes and dropping to 22nd place overall.
