Mads Pedersen claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, while Torstein Traeen donned the yellow jersey after a decisive day of racing in the French Pyrenees. The stage, covering 182 kilometers from Carcassonne to Foix, saw Pedersen outsprint a small breakaway group to cross the finish line first, marking his first Tour stage win since 2023 and his first professional victory since last year’s Vuelta a Espana.

Pedersen, a former world champion, surged ahead in the closing moments ahead of his Lidl-Trek teammate Quinn Simmons, who finished second, and Spain’s Raul Garcia. Traeen finished eighth on the day, securing enough time to take the overall race lead as the main peloton arrived nearly 13 minutes later. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who had won the previous stage in Les Angles, alongside his main rival Jonas Vingegaard, finished well behind the new leader and appeared to cede the yellow jersey willingly.

“It was a masterpiece of teamwork,” Traeen said after the stage. “I was suffering on the last climb but, with Quinn and Mathias Vacek, it was an incredible day. They did incredibly well on the climb to pace it for me and make sure we didn’t lose too much time. They were just machines to the finish.”

The stage unfolded as a tactical battle, with the breakaway group managing to build a significant time gap over the peloton, allowing Traeen to leapfrog Pogacar in the general classification. Pedersen’s sprint victory capped an intense day of racing, highlighting the strength and coordination within the Lidl-Trek squad. The race now sees Traeen as the new overall leader as the riders continue their challenge through the demanding mountain stages of the Tour.