Torstein Traeen Takes Tour de France Lead as Mads Pedersen Wins Stage 4

Mads Pedersen won the fourth stage of the 2026 Tour de France on Tuesday after launching a sprint from a breakaway group on the flat run-in to Foix. Torstein Traeen of UNO-X Mobility took the yellow jersey as Tadej Pogacar surrendered the overall lead. The 181.9-kilometer stage from Carcassonne to Foix featured 2,700 meters of elevation gain across four categorized climbs.

Temperatures reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Pedersen finished in 4 hours 10 minutes 45 seconds. The breakaway stayed clear of the peloton by 13 minutes at the finish. Quinn Simmons of LIDL-TREK placed second and Mathias Vacek of the same team finished tenth.

Pedersen said his teammates did an incredible job to prevent losing too much time at the front. Traeen leads the general classification in 13 hours 2 minutes 46 seconds. Simmons sits second at 28 seconds back.

Vacek is third at 3 minutes 50 seconds. Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are tied for fourth at 7 minutes 53 seconds behind Traeen. Pedersen holds the green points jersey. Alex Baudin of EF Education-Easypost wears the polka-dot mountains jersey.

Vacek leads the white young-rider classification. LIDL-TREK leads the team standings. Stage 5 is scheduled for Wednesday from Lannemezan to Pau over 158.3 flat kilometers.