Pogacar claims thrilling stage-four win to regain Tour lead

Tadej Pogacar claimed his 12th Tour de France stage win

Tadej Pogacar regained the leader's yellow jersey in thrilling fashion as he soloed clear to win stage four of the Tour de France.

On the first big mountain stage of the Tour, Pogacar produced an explosive attack 800 metres from the summit of the iconic Col du Galibier and extended his lead on the 20km descent to the line, putting time into all his general classification rivals.

Remco Evenepoel was second to reach the finish on the 139.6km route from Pinerolo to Valloire, some 35 seconds down, with defending champion Jonas Vingegaard 37 seconds back in fifth.

"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 said.

"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 in the start and I had good legs."

Slovenia's Pogacar, 25, now leads Evenepoel by 45 seconds in the GC standings, with Vingegaard five seconds further adrift in third.

Richard Carapaz, who led the race overnight, lost more than five minutes and is now 22nd overall.

Pogacar delivers statement win

With the race taking an early incursion into the Alps as it moved from Italy to France, this was a statement performance from Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates.

Denmark's Vingegaard and Visma–Lease a Bike (previously Jumbo-Visma) have dominated the past two editions of the Tour.

However, this year will feel like the perfect opportunity to redress the balance, with Vingegaard and Wout van Aert both competing after missing a significant block of training and preparation following serious early-season crashes.

Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso in particular, superbly raised the pace for Pogacar up the 23km ascent of the Galibier, whittling down the GC group until the Slovenian elected to make his move.

While Vingegaard, who had been left isolated without any team support, was quick to respond, a second acceleration meant Pogacar opened a seven-second gap, which he extended on the twisty descent to the finish.

Stage four results

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 3hrs 46mins 48secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick-Step) +35secs

3. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) Same time

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) "

5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +37secs

6. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) Same time

7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick-Step) +53secs

8. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) Same time

9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +2mins 41secs

10. Santiago Buitrago (Col/Bahrain Victorious) Same time

General classification after stage four

1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 19hrs 06mins 38secs

2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) +45secs

3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +50secs

4. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 10secs

5. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +1mins 14secs

6. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +1mins 16secs

7. Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +1min 32secs

8. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +1min 32secs

9. Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +3mins 20secs

10. Egan Bernal (Col/Ineos Grenadiers) +3mins 21secs