Stage 4

The road

At the start

The Galibier, on day four

Richard Carapaz holds the yellow jersey on countback, level on time with Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. Today the race crosses into France the hard way: Sestrières, the Montgenèvre, then the Col du Galibier at 2,642 metres — the first hors catégorie climb of this Tour and the earliest the race has ever gone so high. Bonus seconds wait at the summit, then seventeen kilometres down to Valloire.

How it was won

1. 178 km to go

   A 17-man break over Sestriere

   The race climbs from Italy into France over Sestriere and the Montgenèvre, a seventeen-rider move led by KOM-hunting Stevie Williams holding a slim leash.

2. 228 km to go

   UAE torch the Galibier

   On the mighty Col du Galibier, Almeida and Yates set a startling pace that strips the yellow jersey group bare — Carapaz, Bernal and even Vingegaard's helpers all swept away.

3. 319 km to go

   Pogačar attacks near the summit

   Nine hundred metres from the roof of the Galibier, Pogačar unleashes a violent acceleration; only Vingegaard can cling on, and even he is cracked on the final ramps.

4. 44 km to go

   Descending clear to Valloire

   On the plunging drop to Valloire Pogačar's descending prises the race open, Vingegaard flagging and swept up by Roglič, Evenepoel and Rodríguez.

5. 5At the line

   Pogačar takes yellow

   Pogačar crosses 35 seconds clear to reclaim the maillot jaune, a Giro-Tour double already looking a shade closer after this early show of force.

The result