When it comes to his rivals, Tadej Pogačar is not a man known for generosity.
One day after Pogačar all but gift-wrapped a victory for teammate Isaac del Toro, his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad tore the sleeves off a custom-tailored breakaway day, refashioned it into another Pogačar win, and snapped up just enough go-to-hell seconds on GC to secure their first yellow jersey of the 2026 Tour.
Caley Fretz
The message to the peloton was clear: if you want to come away with anything this July, you’re gonna have to fight for it.
On stage 4, Lidl-Trek’s response was “challenge accepted”– from literally the opening flag.
Quinn Simmons was at it from KM 0, but Pedersen's move was the real signal of things to come.
Lidl’s agitator-in-chief Quinn Simmons made the first move – nothing atypical there. But with just a single Cofidis rider up the road, Lidl’s second effort was a committed charge from Mads Pedersen, a rider with a more than reasonable shot of taking the win even if the day played out to a “normal” group sprint.
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