Tadej Pogacar storms back into yellow jersey after blowing rivals away on Galibier
Asked to assess the damage to his Tour de France hopes of another breathless stage in which he shipped almost a minute to his great rival Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard smiled. And then, like Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon on Monday, he reached for a footballing analogy. “We’re 1-0 down,” the Dane admitted to reporters outside his team bus in the Alpine resort of Valloire half an hour or so after the stage ended. “But we expected to be 3-0 behind by now. So I think that’s a small win. We know what we’re doing. We will see by the end of the Tour.”
It was fighting talk. And Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) may well be proved right in the end. But this was definitely a significant win for Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates squad who played their cards to perfection on the first big mountain test of the race.
Arriving at the foot of the Galibier, and despite riding into a block headwind, UAE Team Emirates wound up the pace in the bunch to such a degree that one by one Vingegaard lost his helpers. Matteo Jorgenson was the last to go, the American dropping out with around 4km of the 23km climb to the 2,642m summit remaining, as the last of the day’s breakaway was caught. Pogacar lay waiting. And then he pounced.
Powering clear in the last 1km to the summit, the Slovenian dropped everyone bar Vingegaard in short order. It looked initially as if the Dane might hang on, as he did on Sunday on the San Luca climb in Bologna. Only this time, crucially, Pogacar managed to eke out a small advantage, 10 seconds, over the summit.
The Slovenian increased that by another 25 seconds on the descent, his decision to go with slightly heavier wheels with deeper aero rims, rather than climbing wheels like Vingegaard and most of the rest of the bunch, paying off.
Pogacar’s win, combined with time bonuses, gives him a 50sec lead over Vingegaard who actually drops to third in the general classification, behind Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step). The Belgian was part of a group who caught up to Vingegaard on the descent and then managed to outkick him on the uphill finish in Valloire.
It was a fascinating finish and it sets the race up perfectly. If it is anything like last year, Vingegaard, who was in a hospital bed less than three months ago after crashing in the Basque Country, will get stronger and the two will take lumps out of each other until one is knocked out.
Vingegaard sounded confident that would be Pogacar, as it has been for the last two years.
“I think of course it’s a shame to lose time but to be honest when we came into the Tour we expected to be behind in all four stages [so far],” he argued. “So to only lose time in one of them I think we can be pretty happy. And to be honest most of the time I lost today, I lost in the downhill where weight mattered more. So I think we can actually be happy.”
That is one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is that Pogacar now knows he is the stronger rider and has the stronger team. The 2020 and 2021 winner still had four team-mates with him when Vingegaard ran out of help.
‘To ride on the front you need to have big balls like we had today’
Pogacar paid tribute to the likes of team-mates Juan Ayuso, João Almeida and Britain’s Adam Yates. “From Briançon to the top of the Galibier there was a really strong headwind,” he noted. “So to ride on the front you need to have big balls like we had today. So hats off to the whole team. For sure today we showed we have one of the strongest teams here. It’s crazy. We did a super amazing job and we need to continue like this.”
It was not just about the top two of course. Evenepoel produced an excellent ride to crest the Galibier in touch with the leaders before catching Vingegaard on the descent. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) were also in that group.
It was a less good day for Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost). The first Ecuadorian in history to wear the yellow jersey, he found it heavy, losing over five minutes to Pogacar and tumbling out of contention. It was also a disappointing day for Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) whose daredevil descent off the Galibier two years ago set him up for his win on Alpe d’Huez. This time he was unable to stay with the top general classification riders on the climb.
Wednesday’s fifth stage from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas, just outside Lyon, should provide Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) with his next opportunity to sprint for the 35th Tour stage win if he can get over a couple of fourth category climbs, the second of which comes 20km from the finish. Thursday’s stage into Dijon, by contrast, is a nailed-on sprint.
Tadej Pogacar wins stage four to take yellow: As it happened
04:59 PM BST
Pogacar in yellow
04:58 PM BST
Evenepoel leads young rider classification
04:56 PM BST
Abrahamsen still leads mountains classification
04:51 PM BST
UAE Team Emirates lead team classification
04:42 PM BST
Back into yellow
Pog took the maillot jaune after stage two and then lost it to Richard Carapaz after stage three, but he is back in yellow.
The💛 back on his shoulders
Le 💛 de retour sur ses épaules #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/a2hrqj6imG— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 2, 2024
04:37 PM BST
The thoughts of stage winner and yellow jersey holder Tadej Pogacar
"This was the plan and we executed it very well"
Tadej Pogačar spoke after taking the stage win and yellow jersey on stage 4 💛🇸🇮#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/FHIQODZin2— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
04:29 PM BST
The stage is Pog’s
04:22 PM BST
Top ten in the GC
04:18 PM BST
Stage four results
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 3hrs 46mins 48secs
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +35secs
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) Same time
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) “
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +37secs
Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) Same time
Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step) +53secs
Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) Same time
Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) +2mins 41secs
Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) Same time
04:10 PM BST
Top five over the line
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates)
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) +35”
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates)
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
04:06 PM BST
The final kilometre
04:06 PM BST
Carapaz finishes
The Ecuadorian started the day in yellow but he will have to hand it over to Pogacar. He comes in just over five minutes down alongside his teammate Ben Healy.
04:02 PM BST
The rest come in
Evenepoel comes over the line in second with Ayuso third and Roglic fourth. Vingegaard comes in just behind.
04:00 PM BST
Pogacar wins
He attacked near the top of the Galibier and has descended brilliantly. Pogacar wins stage four and takes the maillot jaune.
🥇💛YES!!! @TamauPogi wins solo in Valloire and back in yellow jersey #TDF2024!
What. A. Teamwork. 👏👏👏 #WeAreUAE pic.twitter.com/MBSvsCa6Pv— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) July 2, 2024
03:59 PM BST
1km to go
Under the flamme rouge Pogacar goes and he is racing into yellow.
03:57 PM BST
3km to go
The trio of Rodriguez, Roglic and Ayuso have caught up to Vingegaard. Evenepoel has also made his way on so we have a quintet 35 seconds behind Pogacar.
03:55 PM BST
5km to go
We are into the final 5kms. Pogacar is now 30 seconds ahead.
03:54 PM BST
7km to go
Vingegaard is losing more time in this descent, he is nearly 30 seconds behind Pogacar now.
03:52 PM BST
10km to go
Pogacar now has a 17-second advantage over Vingegaard as he goes under the 10km banner and is heading for the yellow jersey.
03:50 PM BST
12km to go
Evenepoel was the third man on the road but Roglic and Rodriguez have overtaken him.
03:46 PM BST
16km to go
It is a fast descent off the Galibier. Pogacar is around nine seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Evenepoel is third on the road. Roglic is 30 seconds down on Poagacar. Carapaz is now four minutes down and is still climbing.
03:43 PM BST
18km to go
Pogacar goes over the top first and takes six bonus seconds. Vingegaard rolls over around six seconds behind.
03:42 PM BST
19km to go
Pogacar is putting a little distance into Vingegaard.
03:41 PM BST
19km to go
Like on stage two, Vingegaard is the only one who can respond.
03:41 PM BST
19km to go
Pogacar attacks with 800 metres left of the Galibier!
03:39 PM BST
20km to go
The riders who are in the front group include the big four; Pogacar, Vingegaard, Roglic and Evenepoel.
Just one kilometre of the Galibier remains for the leaders.
03:36 PM BST
21km to go
Almeida is unhappy and gets on the team radio, seemingly calling for his teammate Ayuso to get up to the front to do a turn.
Carapaz is now one minute 45 seconds down, losing heaps of time.
03:34 PM BST
22km to go
Yates is gone for UAE Team Emirates so Almeida is on the front for them. Vingegaard is on his wheel with Pogacar right behind the Dane.
03:33 PM BST
23km to go
Vingegaard is losing teammates as Matteo Jorgenson loses contact. UAE Team Emirates are flexing their muscles with 4km of the Galibier left.
03:31 PM BST
24km to go
The pace is frightening in the lead group as more and more riders are being spat out the back. The group is quite small now. Carapaz is 50 seconds behind now.
Geraint Thomas is another rider dropped.
⛰️ @TeamEmiratesUAE is pushing hard on the last part of the ascent!
⛰️ @TeamEmiratesUAE impose un fort tempo dans la dernière partie du col du Galibier ! #TDF204 pic.twitter.com/KhDRrAZcDE— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 2, 2024
03:28 PM BST
25km to go
Richard Carapaz took yellow at the end of yesterday’s stage but it looks like he is going to lose it as he is losing contact with the peloton. 6km of the Galibier to go.
03:26 PM BST
26km to go
Not good news for the Brits as Tom Pidcock and Simon Yates have been dropped.
Tom Pidcock is dropped 🥺#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/4Y0q7ez5p3
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
03:25 PM BST
26km to go
The breakaway is no more. The peloton has got to Luzkano and now they are the front of the race. When are we going to get our first attack from the big hitters? Surely imminently.
03:22 PM BST
27km to go
Remco Evenepoel’s team Soudal-Quick Step are very present at the front of the peloton. Does he fancy an attack soon?
The peloton has now swallowed up most of the breakaway now.
03:19 PM BST
28km to go
Through a tunnel Lazkano has attacked and the trio of Gaudu, Johannessen and Juul-Jensen cannot respond for the time being. The peloton are closing in. Still 9km of the Gailibier remain.
03:17 PM BST
30km to go
Wellens is done at the front of the peloton and Marc Soler takes over now for UAE Team Emirates. The gap to the front four is down to 50 seconds now.
03:12 PM BST
31km to go
It is now a four-man group at the front as Gaudu and Lazkano have been joined by Juul-Jensen and Johannessen.
03:11 PM BST
32km to go
There has been a small avalanche of snow near the top of the Galibier but the organisers have worked hard to clear it.
David Gaudu has joined Lazkano at the front.
03:08 PM BST
33km to go
With UAE Team Emirates bringing down the gap to the breakaway quickly, something needs to change at the front. So Oier Lazkano of Movistar has attacked.
van der Poel has been dropped from the breakaway as has Barguil.
GC riders swiftly closing in. Time bonuses (8sec, 5sec and 2sec) for the first three to reach the top of the Galibier, remember.
03:05 PM BST
34km to go
Politt has done all he can and that is his day done. Tim Wellens has taken over at the front of the peloton for UAE Team Emirates. They have reduced the gap to the breakaway down to under one and a half minutes.
03:03 PM BST
35km to go
The big hitters:
02:57 PM BST
37km to go
Nils Politt is on the front of the peloton for UAE Team Emirates and he is pushing hard, which is stringing out the peloton. The gap ahead to the breakaway is just over two minutes. Still a mere 18 kilometres remain up the Galibier!
Meanwhile:
Out of context #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/70o3g8DPT3
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
02:49 PM BST
42km to go
Here we go. We have hit the foot of the Galibier. Let the fireworks begin!
At the foot of the climb the breakaway’s lead is over two and a half minutes.
🏁41km
One of the most iconic climbs in the history of cycling, the Col du Galibier 🏔️
Here we go!#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/wygrrSKAUm— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
02:40 PM BST
47km to go
We are just a few kilometres from the start of the Galibier.
The big question today is whether UAE try to put the hammer down on the Galibier. I’m sure that must have been the plan for today at the start of the week - ride aggressively and try to hurt Vingegaard before he has time to build up his fitness (post-accident). You sense that Vingegaard’s performance in the first part of the race, particularly that finish in Bologna two days ago, has really changed the dynamic and made UAE second guess themselves. Do they want to burn matches now, knowing Pogacar already has a grand tour in his legs and seeing the form Vingegaard is in? It might come back to bite them later in the race? Or do they want to have another crack at him?
02:31 PM BST
53km to go
The breakaway’s lead back to the peloton is just under two minutes. We are around 10km away from the start of the Galibier.
02:25 PM BST
57km to go
There has been a split in the peloton on the descent as yellow jersey man Carapaz was caught out but the whole group is now back together.
02:20 PM BST
62km to go
Top four at the summit of Col de Montgenèvre:
Stephen Williams, 5 pts
Warren Barguil, 3 pts
Valentin Madouas, 2 pts
Tobias Johannessen, 1 pt
02:17 PM BST
64km to go
We are now on the descent before the riders then hit the Galibier. The peloton are currently two minutes behind the breakaway.
02:14 PM BST
68km to go
The breakaway hits the top of the climb and the king of the mountains points available are the same as on the previous climb. Barguil attacks early but it is Williams once again who snatches it. Madouas is third.
🏁68km
Another 5 points for Stephen Williams🏴 at the summit of Col de Montgenevre moves him into 3rd in the KOM competition ⚪️🔴#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/Zcn3sAgrRd— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
02:10 PM BST
70km to go
We have just crossed the border from Italy into France and the Tour is home for the first time in 2024. The breakaway are just one kilometre from the summit of the Col de Montgenèvre.
02:06 PM BST
71km to go
Stunning drive over the Galibier to Valloire this morning. Busy up there (and windy). Lots of snow at the top. It’s going to be fascinating to see whether Tom Pidcock goes for it again on the descent where made his name two years ago. OK, not made his name. He was already Olympic Mountain Bike champion and Cyclo-cross world champion etc etc But it certainly made him more famous. It still makes my palms sweat watching it. Terrifying.
02:00 PM BST
73km to go
The breakaway are about halfway up the Col de Montgenèvre and their lead over the peloton currently stands at three minutes.
01:53 PM BST
76km to go
As the peloton hit the foot of the climb, it is Visma-Lease a Bike who are at the head of it.
01:51 PM BST
77km to go
The breakaway reaches the foot of the Col de Montgenèvre, an 8.3km climb. The peloton are two and a half minutes behind. When we get towards the top of the climb we will leave Italy and head into France.
01:48 PM BST
79km to go
We are currently descending from the top of Sestrières but soon we will be climbing again up the Col de Montgenèvre, which is a category two climb.
01:46 PM BST
83km to go
Top four at the summit of Sestrières:
Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), 5pts
Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), 3pts
Warren Barguil (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), 2pts
Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), 1pts
01:40 PM BST
89km to go
There are five points, three points and two points available to the top three across the line. Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) beats Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) to the line with Warren Barguil third (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL).
🏁89km
After an interminable 40km of climbing, Stephen Williams🏴 takes maximum 5 points at the summit of Sestrières 🏔️#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/Dq3ahEJ5I0— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
01:38 PM BST
90km to go
The breakaway are inside a kilometre of the summit of Sestrières, with an advantage back to the peloton of just over two minutes.
01:36 PM BST
91km to go
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard won stage 11 in the 2022 Tour de France which included the climb up the Galibier. His preparation to this year’s Tour was far from ideal as he crashed a couple of months ago on the fourth stage at the Tour of the Basque Country, suffering a punctured lung and fractured ribs and collarbone. Here he is speaking ahead of today’s stage:
"Normally I suffer more on explosive climbs...I surprised myself"
Daniel asked Jonas Vingegaard how he feels after the first few stages 🇩🇰#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/4AzKCYfeyl— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
01:31 PM BST
92km to go
Over six minutes off the lead group we have all the main sprinters, including Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Fabio Jakobsen (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), and yesterday’s stage winner Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), who are all in one large group.
Up in the peloton Pogacar was momentarily off the back for a natural break so the pace slows a little to allow him back on.
01:26 PM BST
94km to go
The breakaway are coming towards the top of Sestrières and their lead to the peloton is three minutes.
01:24 PM BST
95km to go
Richard Carapaz currently is in possession of the yellow jersey, but his build-up to the 2024 Tour was far from ideal. He crashed at the Tour de Suisse, which he had to abandon and then fell sick. He won the 2019 Giro d’Italia with Movistar before moving to Ineos. EF Education-EasyPost snapped him up ahead of the 2023 season, with their manager Jonathan Vaughters admitting that they risked everything on Carapaz and poured everything into him ahead of the 2023 Tour. Carapaz was forced to abandon the Tour last year after a crash on stage one.
01:12 PM BST
102km to go
There are 17 riders currently in the breakaway. Here is a full rundown of all those riders;
Odd Christian Eking, Tobias Johannessen (both UNO-X Mobility), David Gaudu, Valentin Madouas, Romain Gregoire (all Groupama-FDJ), Warren Barguil (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek), Cristian Rodriguez, Raul Garcia Pierna (both Arkea-B&B Hotels), Kobe Goossens (Intermarché-Wanty), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech), Christopher Juul-Jensen (Jayco-Alula), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Their lead over the peloton is around one minute.
01:04 PM BST
106km to go
Quite a sizeable breakaway has formed and they now have 30 seconds on the peloton. This group consists of van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), David Gaudu and Valentin Madouas (both Groupama-FDJ).
12:58 PM BST
108km to go
It is still very frantic at the front as every breakaway so far has struggled to get away. van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) has joined the font group but they have just a matter of seconds on the peloton.
12:54 PM BST
110km to go
The breakaway has now been joined by Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkea-B&B Hotels) but they are struggling to get away from the peloton.
12:52 PM BST
112km to go
We have a four-man breakaway at the moment; Tobias Johannessen (Unp-X Mobility), Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan), Oier Lazkano (Movistar) and Christopher Juul-Jensen (Jayco-Alula). They only have ten seconds on the peloton.
12:50 PM BST
114km to go
Wout van Aert has dropped off the peloton and is around 50 seconds back. It looks like he will not be his day at all.
There were some concerns for Ineos Grenadiers and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe as Egan Bernal and Primoz Roglic were in a little strife but they are safely now back in the peloton.
12:41 PM BST
119km to go
Results of the intermediate sprint:
Mads Pedersen
Biniam Girmay
Bryan Coquard
Jasper Philipsen
Jonas Abrahamsen
12:39 PM BST
120km to go
Pedersen takes the 20 points on offer in the points classification with yesterday’s stage winner Biniam Girmay taking second. Jasper Philipsen was interested but gave up in the end.
One sprinter who was not in contention was Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), who has dropped off the back of the peloton.
💚 @Mads__Pedersen 🤗 @GrmayeBiniam
A friendly battle in the green jersey contest on what has been a fierce start to stage 4 💥#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/l3jvEww5Cc— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 2, 2024
12:37 PM BST
121km to go
We are approaching the intermediate sprint as Castel del Bosco. Lidl-Trek are setting it up for Pedersen.
12:34 PM BST
123km to go
The speed of the peloton has meant that the breakaway has been caught which in turn is probably going to spark more attacks.
12:32 PM BST
125km to go
The pace is still frantic in the peloton, which I am sure the sprinters will not be enjoying. They will want things to settle down in the peloton. The gap to the breakaway is only just over ten seconds. Silvan Dillier of Alpecin-Deceuninck is the one forcing the pace at the front of the peloton and that felt very planed by the team as that sets up an attack by Mathieu van der Poel.
12:27 PM BST
129km to go
We now begin the 39.9km climb up to Sestrières, a long, gradual climb. The breakaway has a 20-second lead over the peloton.
12:25 PM BST
130km to go
Pedersen has been joined by five other riders; Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Frank van den Broek (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL), Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) and Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility). Their lead back to the peloton is just over ten seconds.
12:20 PM BST
134km to go
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has gone out in front and others are trying to join him. There is an intermediate sprint coming up in around 15km as Castel del Bosco so Pedersen might be thinking of that. The peloton is still flying along.
12:17 PM BST
136km to go
We have a long, gradual climb up to Sestrières to begin this stage. The pace is fast and no-one has got away yet.
12:15 PM BST
138km to go
Attacks start straight away as the peloton is massively strung out very quickly. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) is right at the front.
12:14 PM BST
Flag drops
Off we go!
12:11 PM BST
Carapaz ready
12:06 PM BST
Neutralised start
The roll-out from Pinerolo has begun and we are just under four kilometres away from the flag dropping.
12:03 PM BST
Rider abandons
Ahead of stage four, Soudal-Quick Step have announced that Casper Pedersen has abandoned the Tour. He crashed in the final stages of yesterday’s stage and has suffered a fractured collarbone. We wish him well in his recovery. Get well soon Casper.
Get well soon, Casper 💪
The Wolfpack will miss you but knows you will come back stronger 🤗 pic.twitter.com/b7u9WODMH5— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 1, 2024
11:55 AM BST
Carapaz in yellow ahead of stage four
11:50 AM BST
Stage four profile
11:16 AM BST
Battle in the Alps
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of stage four of the 2024 Tour de France. Yesterday was a day of firsts at the Tour. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) became the first black African to win a stage at the Tour de France after winning a sprint finish in Turin. He beat out Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Dstny) and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) to take his first stage at the Tour, having previously won a stage at the Giro d’Italia in 2022.
A crash with just over two kilometres to go caused chaos as a number of the main contenders for the sprint were affected including Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), who was looking to win an historic 35th stage at the Tour, and Jasper Philipsen, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider who won four stages at the Tour last year and lost his leadout man Mathieu van der Poel to a puncture in the final 10km.
Although all the general classification contenders were handed the same time after the crash inside five kilometres, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) has taken the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) after finishing higher up at the finish on stage three. Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to claim the yellow leader’s jersey but he has a job on his hands keeping it today.
Today’s stage will have significant ramifications on the contest for the yellow jersey as we will enter into France for the first time during today’s stage. We have a 139.6km stage in store from Pinerolo to Valloire, which includes the climb up the hors catégorie Col du Galibier as the riders climb into the Alps. In 2022 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) won stage 11 which included the climb up the Galibier, finishing nearly three minutes ahead of Pogacar. We will find out a lot today about Pogacar, Vingegaard, Carapaz, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Pogacar attacked on stage two into Bologna and Vingegaard was the only one to keep up. What will the form of Pogacar and Vingegaard be like today? Can the likes of Carapaz, Evenepoel and Roglic keep up? All those questions will be answered in the hours ahead so stick with us throughout stage four.