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Wednesday, July 8, 2026

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Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently. - Henry Ford

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Current racing:

July 4 - 26: Tour de France
July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria

Upcoming racing:

July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

Latest completed racing:

Tour de France stage four reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from stage winner Mads Pedersen's Team Lidl-Trek:

Ahead of the race, the team had highlighted this punchy, breakaway day from Carcassonne to Foix as one that suited rouleurs such as Mads Pedersen, Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons perfectly. Pundits said that the Dane was the favourite to win the stage, but it was going to take tactical and physical prowess for him to win the battle that would ensue over the next 181-kilometers.

The first fight was making it into the decisive breakaway which formed in the opening part of the stage. Lidl-Trek committed fully to the opportunity, with multiple riders represented at the front of the race – every attack was covered, every acceleration was answered. In the end, Vacek, Simmons and Pedersen completed their mission, with all three riders making it into the 34-man group that would eventually come to the finish line.

Mads Pedersen wins stage four. Sirotti photo

As the kilometers ticked down, the race increasingly became a showcase for the team’s cohesion. When attacks came on the sharp climbs peppering the race route, each rider took turns controlling the pace, disrupting the moves of rival teams and ensuring that they remained in the strongest position against some tough opposition. Inside the final 30-kilometers of the race, only ten riders remained in the front group. With three men still there, Lidl-Trek had transformed numerical superiority into a tactical advantage that no rival could match.

Simmons and Vacek kept a tough pace in the run-in to Foix, making it challenging for any attacks to stick and allowing Pedersen to prepare for the final sprint – a selfless show of teamwork from the two national champions. When the decisive moment arrived, it was down to the former world champion to finish the job. The pressure was on, but Pedersen is a man who thrives on the biggest stages.

The 30-year-old was untouchable when he opened up his sprint, with no one able to challenge his powerful pedal strokes in the final meters to the line. Behind him, Simmons sprinted to second place too, making it an outstanding 1-2 finish for Lidl-Trek. This victory was not about individual brilliance alone, but built on collective strength, patience and flawless communication.

Post-Race Reaction from Mads

“I would say, this is a masterpiece in teamwork.

“With Quinn and Vacek there it was easier. Alone it would have been hard to control who would attack and be on top of every move. Movistar was there with two guys and tried quite some times, but I also think that the other guys realised quite fast it would be tough for them to jump away from the group, with these two guys controlling it for me. I was suffering a lot on the last climb, and they did incredible to pace it well for me and make sure that we didn't lose too much time over the top. Then, they were just machines from that point to the finish line, so what a team effort and what a team win today.

“I had a good talk with Luca, our General Manager, before the race and he said, please win me a stage and that this would be a good one for me. So, I would say that this stage is for Luca and all the good years we had together. It's not a secret: Luca was the guy who signed me in 2017 and the trust he gave me, the support he always gave me has been incredible. It's nice to end this journey like this, to give him a victory. I promised him that already before the Tour – it's nice to now give it to him. I'm really grateful for everything he has done for me and also to point out and, you know, give me a lot of pressure to win today, it's still magical.”

It wasn’t only with a stage victory that the team enjoyed success. Pedersen’s win moved him into possession of the green jersey, rewarding both his consistency and the relentless work of the entire team during the opening stages. Meanwhile, Mathias Vacek successfully secured the white jersey – completing the hat-trick of young rider Grand Tour jerseys – going into stage 5, keeping calm and focused as his teammates exploded the race from the breakaway.

In the words of Mathias Vacek:
“The [white] jersey? I didn't expect it. The plan was to go for the stage, it was the priority. When I knew, in the last 30km, that I was going also for white, it gave me a kick and I was just trying to go as fast as possible and also keep everything together for Mads to go for the stage.

“Everything went perfectly for the Team today! First and second on the stage, Mads in green, me in the white jersey. I said before the Tour, I just want to take it step by step and just ride without pressure. I know I'm in good shape, so I believe that there will be a possibility to go for a stage. Today, we did it as a team and the performance was super good. I have super good legs and I have the white jersey and this is a dream come true now.

“My third Grand Tour and third white jersey, it's unbelievable.

With four stages of the Tour complete, Lidl-Trek will use this victory to take momentum into the next three weeks, balancing both general classification and stage win targets.

Here's the Tour de France report from fourth-place Marco Frigo's NSN Cycling Team:

Fourth on stage four, four days into his first Tour de France: it did not take Marco Frigo long to make an impact on the Tour de France.

The 26-year-old Italian was in the mix for a first Grand Tour stage victory in Foix on Tuesday after a day-long breakaway.

Frigo and teammate Biniam Girmay were part of a 34-rider group that went clear within 15 kilometers of leaving Carcassonne on another scorching hot day. Eventually that group whittled down to just 10, with Frigo being up against three riders from Lidl- Trek, who took home the victory through Mads Pedersen.

Stage four gets started. Sirotti photo

Girmay’s time in the breakaway was significantly shorter than Frigo’s near-170km out front, but it proved successful as he won the day’s intermediate sprint at Quillan (KM93).

He now sits sixth in the green jersey standings on 39 points, with 95 points on offer across Wednesday’s stage, which is expected to be the first bunch sprint of the race.

“It was a good day for us,” says Head DS Sam Bewley. “We’re happy to get a good result in the first few days of the race, and we can take a lot of momentum and confidence from it going forward.

“Marco had a great final of the race. The characteristics of the final weren’t favorable for a late attack, so we had to play for a sprint.

“But getting Bini in the break to get some green jersey points was also good – it’s useful to have those points his pocket going forward.”

Kevin Vauquelin's Team Netcompnay INEOS posted this Tour report:

Kevin Vauquelin secured sixth place for Netcompany INEOS on stage four of the Tour de France after being in the break all day.

An attacking start to the hilly stage from Carcassonne to Foix saw Vauquelin make the early break of around 35 riders. The gap was quickly established, gaining two minutes before the first of the four climbs of the day, and racked up over 10 minutes as the stage went on.

Attacks came from the front of the race over the climbs, but none were able to stick, until the final climb of the day up the Col de Montségur, with Vauquelin going clear with nine others.

It was down to a sprint finish from the group of 10, with Vauquelin managing his time, and taking the lead into the final corner with 300m to go.

The day's break about 25 kilometers into the stage.

It was timed well, but a powerful sprint from Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) saw him take the win, with the Frenchman finishing sixth on the line.

And here's the Tour de France report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The Tour de France continued under the scorching heat with a stage that screamed breakaway. The peloton was in Cathar territory Tuesday afternoon, when they left behind Carcassonne - home to one of the most stunning medieval citadels in Europe - and made their way to Foix, where at all previous five visits the stage win went to a rider that featured in the breakaway.

A hilly parcours, containing two classified climbs, was on the menu of this fourth stage, which used some of the roads that more than two decades ago featured at the Tour du Languedoc-Roussillon. As expected, the speed was high from the beginning, because most of the teams were keen on placing at least one rider in the front group, which ended up numbering 34 men, including Soudal Quick-Step’s Pascal Eenkhoorn and Jasper Stuyven. The duo brought their fair share of work, helping the breakaway establish a nine-minute gap on the peloton, but despite their best efforts, the final climb proved too much once the attacks started on those ramps which averaged more than 6%.

Adam Yates leads in the GC group 12min 59sec after Mads Pedersen won the stage. Sirotti photo

Jasper concluded the day not far from the top ten of this stage, while Ilan Van Wilder came home with the bunch, who arrived more than 12 minutes later and remained our team’s best-placed rider in the general classification.

“It was a good opportunity for the breakaway and we were there with two riders, but we weren’t the only team to have multiple men there. We did a good job, but it was a hard day and we went really deep, and the final ascent was just a bit too much for me, as I suffered there due to the heat. On Wednesday it will be our first big opportunity; it’s going to be a good chance for Tim and we’ll do everything we can to help him fight for the stage win”, Jasper said at the finish in Foix.

Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

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