FOIX, France — On July 7, Denmark's Mads Pedersen powered to victory on stage four of the Tour de France, leading a Lidl-Trek one-two finish. Norway's Torstein Traeen from Uno-X Mobility claimed the yellow jersey after the gruelling 181.9-km hilly stage from Carcassonne to Foix.
Pedersen was the fastest in a lead group that emerged from an early breakaway of 34 riders. He crossed the finish line ahead of teammate Quinn Simmons, with Spain's Raul Garcia Pierna of Movistar finishing third. This marks Pedersen's third stage win in the Tour de France and his 12th in Grand Tours.
The stage featured four classified climbs and was dominated by the breakaway group, as the peloton was unable to close the gap. A reduced front group formed on the final climb, the Category Two Col de Montsegur, where Pedersen, Simmons, Sean Quinn, and Traeen bridged across to the leaders.
Lidl-Trek's numerical advantage proved decisive in the closing kilometres. Despite a late attack by Kevin Vauquelin, Pedersen unleashed a powerful sprint to secure the win.
Torstein Traeen, who overcame testicular cancer three years ago, became only the third Norwegian rider to wear the Tour's yellow jersey, joining Thor Hushovd and Alexander Kristoff.
Riders Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas, and Florian Lipowitz remain within 53 seconds of the overall lead.
Pedersen reflected on his victory, saying, "It is, of course, a bit of a boyhood dream coming true. A good day at work, as one would say." He also added, "There isn't that much to say right now. Right now I'm a bit tired."
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