Tadej Pogacar attacked near the top of the first big mountain pass of the Tour de France and extended his lead during the twisty, high-speed descent to take back the yellow jersey.
Two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard did his best to limit the damage but finished 37 seconds behind on stage four. The race crossed back into France, finishing at Valloire, after the opening stages in Italy.
The climb to the 2,642 metre Col du Galibier met expectations as the Tour’s first decisive point. Previous leader Richard Carapaz was dropped on the Galibier.
With his UAE Team Emirates squad setting a fast pace up the climb, only Vingegaard and a handful of other riders were able to keep up toward the top of the Galibier.
Then Pogacar attacked with 800m to go and created about a 10-second advantage over Vingegaard at the summit.
On the 20km descent to the finish, Pogacar extended his lead over the more cautious Vingegaard, who suffered a high-speed crash in April and broke his collarbone and ribs and had a collapsed lung.
Pogacar, who also wore yellow after stage two, is aiming for the rare Giro d’Italia-Tour double after dominating the Italian Grand Tour in May. He is also targeting his third Tour title after wins in 2020 and 2021. He has been runner-up to Vingegaard in both the last two years.
Wednesday’s fifth stage is a less challenging 177km leg from Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas, featuring two fourth-category climbs before a flat finish that could end with a sprint.
There is another flat stage on Thursday before the race’s first individual time trial on Friday.
Source Agencies
