- Stage victory and top of the GC for the Slovenian rider
Tadej Pogačar put in a great display on the final 800 meters of the Galibier and in the descent to Valloire gave to the Slovenian rider the first stage success in the Tour de France 2024 (12th in career in the Grand Boucle) and again the yellow jersey.
The winning shot by Pogačar on stage 4 (Pinerolo-Valloire, 139,6 km with the climbs of Sestriere, Montgenevre and Galibier) was the cherry on top of a great performance by UAE Team Emirates. Almeida and Yates set a relentless pace on the Galibier (22,9 km at 5,1%, summit at 19,5 to the arrival), with a powerful final contribution from Juan Ayuso which caused a significant split in the peloton, leaving only the strongest riders.
Then it was Tadej’s turn to speed-up, only Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a bike) could follow him, but the Danish climber had to give-up 300 meters later, reaching the summit of the climb with 13” of gap.
In the downhill, UAE Team Emirates’ captain was flawless, so he could increase his advantage on Vingegaard, who was eventually reached by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep, 2nd), Juan Ayuso (3rd) and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora, 4th).
Tadej is the new leader of the general classification with 45” on Evenepoel and 50” on Vingegaard, Ayuso is 4th at 1’10”.
Pogačar: “I’m super happy. This was more or less the plan, and we executed it pretty well. It was like a dream stage and finishing it off solo was very special. I wanted to hit hard today, as I was confident, I could win and put some seconds on my rivals.
I know this stage pretty well. I’ve trained a lot here and it felt like a home stage, passing through Sestrière and Montgenèvre. There was a lot of headwind in the Galibier climb, so the pace didn’t feel that hard when following wheels. Still, my team did a super good job. I didn’t want to attack too early because of the wind, so I saved my legs until that attack with 800 meters to go on which I pushed as hard as possible in order to make such big differences as possible.
I knew the downhill, and that helped a lot, but it was a bit scary and surprising to see that the first few corners were wet.
The gaps I created are good news for me. I can be happy with the position and the shape I am in right now. Yet there are three demanding weeks ahead of us, and as for this week in particular there is an ITT that can create some gaps.”
Stage 5 will start from Saint Jean de Maurienne and will finish in Saint Vulbas (177,4 km). After a brief trip through the Alps, the Stage 5 is the first to take place solely on French soil. The route is predominately flat and is expected to be an opportunity for the sprinters.
Stage 4 Results
1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 3h46’38”
2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) +35”
3. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.
General Classification after Stage 4
1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) 19h06’38”
2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) +45”
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a bike) +50”
4. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) 1’10”
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