Traeen takes Tour de France yellow as Pedersen wins stage four

FOIX: Norway’s Torstein Traeen moved into the overall lead of the Tour de France on Tuesday, while Denmark’s Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory in the fourth stage after a 182-kilometre ride from Carcassonne to Foix in temperatures that rose above 40C.

Pedersen, the 2019 world champion, finished first in the bunch sprint at the end of the stage, ahead of his Lidl-Trek team-mate Quinn Simmons, with Spain’s Raul Garcia taking third place. The win was Pedersen’s third Tour stage success, following one victory each in 2022 and 2023, and also lifted him into the green jersey as leader of the points classification.

Traeen began the day a little more than five minutes behind defending champion Tadej Pogacar, but joined a 34-rider breakaway that formed about 25 kilometres into the stage. That front group was reduced to 10 riders by the final climb, and Traeen crossed the line in eighth place. With the peloton arriving 13 minutes after stage winner Pedersen, the Norwegian took over the yellow jersey.

Traeen now leads the general classification by 28 seconds over American Sean Quinn, who was also in the break and finished ninth on the stage. Lidl-Trek rider Mathias Vacek came in 10th and climbed to third overall at 3 minutes 50 seconds, while also moving into the white jersey as leader of the young rider standings. Pogacar fell to fourth overall at 7 minutes 53 seconds, level on time with his main rival Jonas Vingegaard in fifth.

Breakaway shapes the stage

The stage turned early when a 34-man group broke clear in the opening 25 kilometres. It quickly became apparent that Pogacar’s UAE Emirates-XRG team was not planning to control the gap or defend the race lead. Sprinters Biniam Girmay and Jasper Philipsen later dropped out of the break after the intermediate sprint, which Girmay won ahead of Philipsen.

More riders were distanced on the 10-kilometre Col de Coudons shortly after the halfway mark, before the decisive moves came on the seven-kilometre Col de Montsegur, which peaks at 1,059 metres. At the summit, with 35 kilometres remaining, 10 riders were left in front and the peloton trailed by more than 11 minutes.

Sean Quinn attempted to distance Traeen on the climb, but the Norwegian stayed with him and remained on course for the yellow jersey. Several riders also tried to shake off Pedersen, regarded as the fastest finisher in the leading group, but he stayed in contention. With support from team-mates Simmons and Vacek in the closing run to the line, Pedersen launched his sprint with 300 metres left and won by several bike lengths.

Nordic double on the day

For Traeen, 30, this is the second time he has led a Grand Tour, after wearing the red jersey for four days at last year’s Vuelta a Espana. He is the third Norwegian rider to wear the Tour’s yellow jersey, following Thor Hushovd — now Traeen’s Uno-X Mobility team manager — who led the race in 2004, 2006 and 2011, and Alexander Kristoff, who held it for one day in 2020.

The day marked a strong result for Nordic riders, with Traeen taking the overall lead and Pedersen claiming the stage. The development came two days after Norway beat five-time World Cup winners Brazil, with Erling Haaland scoring twice.