Tadej Pogacar reached his 100th career win by claiming victory in stage four of the Tour de France, defeating Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard in an intense sprint finish.
Pogacar launched an attack on the steep Rampe Saint-Hillaire with five kilometres remaining, outpacing all of his opponents except Vingegaard. A group of six riders, together with Van der Poel, caught up to the duo before Pogacar surged ahead to secure his first stage victory in this year’s Tour de France. His win was supported by his teamwork with Joao Almeida, who held their group together in the final moments of the race.
With his win, Pogacar noted, “Everyone was at the limit. I tried an attack on the last climb, Jonas followed me and it all came back together.”
He added, “Joao did an amazing job for me with everyone attacking. It’s such a nice victory… To win at the Tour is incredible, and to win in this jersey. To have 100 wins is amazing.”
On social media, Pogacar captioned a post: “💯 wins…. From Komenda to the Tour de France, it’s been one hell of a ride. Every victory special— and built on the work of all the people behind me. The team, the grind, the belief. Proud to be part of it all. Still hungry, still having fun. Let’s keep writing chapters. 🖊️🔥 Merci all 🙏”
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Netizens showed their support by commenting: “Great champ! Great tem work! Dont let visma be The best team!! 🔥”, “YOU DID IT… 100! So proud ❤️”, “You are just beautiful and a racer with a big heart❤️ (translated)”, and “And I still have a feeling that it’s just the beginning of a wonderful journey. You’re spreading so much joy all around. Such a great energy. Thank you for that contagious happiness and love for cycling 🚴🥰”
Highlights of the race
Riders Kasper Asgreen, Jonas Abrahamsen, Lenny Martinez and Thomas Gachignard broke away first during the 174.2-kilometre ride from Amiens to Rouen. The athletes led for just over two minutes as a tailwind helped push them toward Rouen.
The peloton stayed calm until the final climbs, with Van der Poel’s team controlling the pace. Martinez, the smallest rider in the break, attacked with 47 kilometres to go on the first climb but was caught quickly. With a challenging final 30 kilometres, the UAE Team Emirates, led by Pogacar, controlled the pace on the narrow Cote de Belbeuf climb.
Only 25 riders reached the last climb, where Pogacar attacked. Jonas Vingegaard briefly followed but was soon dropped. The two battled with one another with just over five kilometres left, as Vingegaard fought to catch Pogacar. Eventually, five riders rejoined Pogacar and Vingegaard, including Van Der Poel, Almeida, Evenepoel, Onley, and Jorgensen.
Jorgensen and Evenepoel also launched late attacks but didn’t succeed. With 250 metres left, Almeida led the sprint, but Pogacar sealed the win and regained the King of the Mountains jersey.
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