Mads Pedersen claimed victory in stage four of the Tour de France, outpacing his breakaway rivals to secure his first win since 2023. The Lidl-Trek rider finished ahead of his teammate Quinn Simmons, who took second place, as Torstein Traeen, a cancer survivor, assumed the yellow jersey from Tadej Pogacar in Foix.

Traeen, diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2022, finished eighth in the stage while Pogacar and the main peloton crossed the line 13 minutes later. Pogacar, who had won the previous day’s stage in Les Angles, willingly relinquished the lead.

This stage maintained the Tour's tradition of breakaway victories in Foix, with 34 riders breaking away amid sweltering temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius. The breakaway group splintered on the final climb, yet Lidl-Trek positioned three riders in the front group of 10. Pedersen praised his teammates, stating, "This was I would say a masterpiece of teamwork."

Traeen, who was five minutes off the yellow jersey at the start of the day, reflected on his achievement, saying, "I think it’s quite hard for me to understand how big it is... maybe in a couple of days it will sink in."

In the overall standings, Sean Quinn moved up to second, while Mathias Vacek sits in third, with Pogacar dropping to fourth, nearly eight minutes down but still tied on time with Jonas Vingegaard as they conserve energy for the upcoming stages.