Valloire, France – Tadej Pogacar reclaimed the yellow jersey on stage four of the Tour de France by attacking near the top of the Col du Galibier and extending his lead on the twisty descent. Pogacar’s aggressive move on the first big mountain pass of the race paid off, as he finished 37 seconds ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. The race returned to France after opening stages in Italy, with the Galibier proving to be the first decisive point of the Tour.
Pogacar, who has 12 career stage wins at the Tour, felt confident and executed his plan to perfection. He was followed by Tour rookie Remco Evenepoel and teammate Juan Ayuso, with Vingegaard finishing fifth on the stage. Overall, Pogacar now leads Evenepoel by 45 seconds and Vingegaard by 50 seconds.
The challenging route from Pinerolo to Valloire featured two category two climbs before the grueling ascent to the Galibier. The hors catégorie climb lasted 23 kilometers with a gradient of 5.1%, testing the riders in the first true test of the Tour.
With Pogacar aiming for a rare Giro d’Italia-Tour double after his dominant performance in May, the competition is heating up. The last rider to win both races in the same year was Marco Pantani in 1998.
Stage five on Wednesday will be a less challenging leg with two fourth-category climbs before a flat finish, while stage six will feature another flat stage before the first individual time trial on Friday. As the race continues, the battle for the yellow jersey is expected to intensify as riders push themselves to the limit on the challenging routes ahead.
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