The fourth stage of the Tour de France smiles on Tadej Pogacar. The 139.6 km Alpine stage from Pinerolo to Valloire was won by the Slovenian rider, who was on the verge of a double, who attacked in the final kilometres of the Galibier, taking advantage of the great work of his team that had worn out the group of the best, and left all his rivals behind on the climb before throwing himself headlong into the descent and triumphing alone on the finish line in Valloire. Behind him was Remco Evenepoel, 35″, with Juan Ayuso third to deny the bonus to Primoz Roglic, fourth with the same time. Good also Jonas Vingegaardwho was the last to surrender on the climb to Pogacar and was then caught on the descent by the other men in the general classification behind him.
Tour de France, yellow jersey for Pogacar
Thanks to this success, the UAE Emirates team champion returns to wearing the yellow jersey, as former leader Richard Carapaz sank on the slopes of the Galibier. The general classification was revolutionized in the first stage with arrival in France after the Grand Depart from Italy. Pogacar returns to the top with a 45″ advantage – also thanks to time bonuses – over Remco Evenepoel, third Vingegaard at 50″. Giulio Ciccone, ninth at the finish at 2’41” from the winner, is in ninth place at 3’20” from the captain of UAE Team Emirates.
Pogacar’s words
“I’m very happy: it was a dream stage, finishing it like this is incredible. I knew this stage very well, I trained on the route for a long time, it was almost a home stage passing through Monginevro and Sestriere, even the bonus seconds at the top of the Galibier were important. I had confidence and great legs, I had to try. The 50″ advantage over Vingagaard? It’s great news, I’m happy to be in this situation. I’m very happy with my form and how I feel on the bike”, he said Tadej Pogacar after the finish line. Speaking about his downhill performance, the team captain UAE Emirates he admitted that “At the beginning there was a lot of headwind, on the climb I didn’t want to go too fast, I gave everything I could in the last meters – he concluded – I knew the descent, I was a little surprised to see the wet roads in the first corners, I was a little scared there. Then the descent was very fast, if you know the road it helps a lot”.
