Tadej Pogacar opened his Tour de France account for the year with victory in an uphill sprint on stage four, defeating yellow jersey Mathieu van der Poel and his biggest rival for the overall title, Jonas Vingegaard, in an uphill sprint.
It was a 100th career win for the all-conquering Slovenian, and he did it in his world champion’s rainbow jersey after deliberately jettisoning the polka-dot jersey yesterday, handing that over to teammate Tim Wellens.
A four-man breakaway escaped on the flatter start to the 174km stage from Amiens to Rouen but were reeled in by the might of the GC teams as the big guns geared up for a battle on the punchy, hilly finish. Pogacar attacked on the final categorised climb, with only Vingegaard able to follow him, but the pair were caught in the closing stages, setting up for a wave of counter-attacks before a thrilling sprint to the line.
Van der Poel remains in yellow, with Pogacar on the same time and Vingegaard eight seconds back, while Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic, and Ben O’Connor all lost time to varying degrees.
Follow all of the latest from Stage 4 with our live blog below:
Tour de France 2025 Stage 4 - LIVE
- Mathieu van der Poel leads contenders on hilly day in Normandy
- Tim Merlier won crash-marred sprint on stage 3 while van der Poel retained yellow
- Plenty of climbing packed into final 50km
- How to watch the Tour de France
- Stage 4 route map and profile
Winners and losers of stage four
17:51 , Flo CliffordThe big winners, obviously, are Pogacar and Vingegaard, the Dane a little less so as he struggled to keep pace with his rival’s attack on the Rampe Saint-Hilaire - but did manage to make it back on, distancing all the other contenders in the process.
Remco Evenepoel lost another three seconds in the dash for the line but won’t be too concerned as that’s time he can make up in tomorrow’s specialist-friendly time trial.
Roglic fell off the back by 20 seconds in the final kilometres and now sits 1’27” down, with Felix Gall, Ben O’Connor, and Florian Lipowitz all losing time too.
But Oscar Onley has had another fine outing today, fourth on the stage and moving up to seventh overall. The young Scot is racing a ‘relaxed’ GC, according to his team, but is working nicely so far.
Tadej Pogacar seals century of wins with thrilling sprint victory on stage four of the Tour de France
17:44 , Flo CliffordTadej Pogacar claimed the 100th victory of his professional career to move level on time with Mathieu van der Poel in the yellow jersey on a thrilling stage four of the Tour de France in Rouen.
In the hometown of the Tour's first five-time winner Jacques Anquetil, Pogacar took a stride to what he hopes will be his fourth title with a show of strength on another classics-style stage, beating Van der Poel and his great rival Jonas Vingegaard in an uphill sprint.
It was Pogacar's 18th career Tour stage win and one that put him on the same time as Van der Poel - who retains yellow on countback - with Vingegaard eight seconds back going into Wednesday's time trial. Pogacar, 26, became the fourth youngest rider to reach 100 professional wins.
Tadej Pogacar seals century of wins with thrilling sprint victory on stage four
Tadej Pogacar speaks
17:39 , Flo CliffordHere’s what the 100-time winner had to say:
“I think today I got very, very close to the limit. I tried with an attack on the last climb and then Jonas followed me and everything came together.
“Joao [Almeida] did such an amazing job to lead me out until the very end, even if people were attacking so I'm super happy and proud of the team today, it's amazing and I'm just without words, it's such a nice victory.
“To win at the Tour is incredible, to do it in this jersey even more so and to win 100 victories is amazing...
“We will see, tomorrow [the time trial] is the real test. Already to win a stage in this jersey for me it's enough, I just go on enjoying this race. Of course we aim for yellow and we will see.”
'You tried, huh?'
17:16 , Flo CliffordTadej: "You tried, huh ?"
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2025
Mathieu: "I always try, but it's impossible against you"
Tadej : « Tu as essayé, hein ? »
Mathieu : « J'essaie toujours, mais c'est impossible contre toi ».
These two 💛🌈#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/jb5dcLH3S9
Who is leading the Tour de France? Yellow jersey and general classification standings
17:09 , Flo CliffordMathieu van der Poel remains the overall leader of the Tour de France - but only by a whisker as defending champion Tadej Pogacar won stage four, his 100th career victory, to move level with the Dutchman on time.
The world champion bested van der Poel in an uphill sprint to the line in Rouen, with two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard coming third as the general classification favourites vied for the stage win.
The trio remain on the provisional overall podium, with last year’s third-placed finisher Remco Evenepoel losing another handful of seconds as a gap opened up at the finish, to now sit ninth, 58 seconds back. Primoz Roglic - the final member of the so-called ‘Big Four’ - was also distanced in the closing stages and sits 13th, 1’27” back.
Florian Lipowitz, Felix Gall, and Ben O’Connor were among the big names to suffer as Pogacar and Vingegaard piled the pressure on to once again demonstrate that they are a cut above the rest.
Who is leading the Tour de France? Yellow jersey and general classification standings
A cut above
17:01 , Flo CliffordThese two were once again simply better than everyone else. It’s going to be a thrilling Tour.
Pogacar back in polka dots tomorrow
16:55 , Flo CliffordHowever, Pogacar is now equal with teammate Tim Wellens on 5 KOM points, and leads the standings, so he’ll be back in the polka dots tomorrow.
Not ideal for the time trial, as he won’t be in his usual team-issued skinsuit.
Pogacar wins in world champion's rainbow jersey
16:50 , Flo CliffordThat adds an extra layer of explanation to UAE’s decision to have Tim Wellens take the polka-dot jersey of the KOM leader off Pogacar yesterday.
The Slovene had earmarked this stage for his 100th career win, and wanted to mark the century in the iconic rainbow stripes.
Van der Poel remains in yellow
16:45 , Flo CliffordSo Van der Poel retains yellow, despite some thought that Pogacar would take it on countback as a result of the bonus seconds he’s snaffled so far. But no, the Dutchman keeps it, and will be the last rider off the start ramp in tomorrow’s time trial.
But importantly for Pogacar, he’ll be second-last in the TT, going off behind Vingegaard so he’ll be able to chase his biggest rival.
General classification after stage four
16:41 , Flo Clifford1) Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), in 16hrs 46mins 00secs
2) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), at same time
3) Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +8”
4) Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), +19”
5) Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), +26”
6) Enric Mas (Movistar), +48”
7) Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) , +55”
8) Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), at same time
9) Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +58”
10) Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), +1’02”
Stage four results
16:37 , Flo Clifford1) Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), in 3:50:29
2) Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
3) Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
4) Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL)
5) Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ)
6) Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), all at same time
7) Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +3”
8) Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), +3”
9) Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), +7”
10) Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), +10”
18th Tour de France stage win for Pogacar
16:33 , Flo CliffordMark Cavendish will be looking nervously over his shoulder as Pogacar records his 18th Tour de France win, at the age of just 26. And this was earmarked as a possible stage for a breakaway!
The defending champ is looking pretty damn good.
Tadej Pogacar wins stage four
16:29 , Flo CliffordIt’s an exact parallel to last year’s Tour, when Pogacar won on stage four and took yellow, on the stage featuring the Col du Galibier.
Almeida was already celebrating, punching the air just before Pogacar crossed the line, and UAE surround their star man to congratulate him. All smiles.
Two bike lengths in the end between him and van der Poel, with Vingegaard putting in a great dig to close the gap and come third.
Tadej Pogacar wins stage four!
16:27 , Flo CliffordAs soon as Almeida swung off it was between Pogacar, van der Poel and Vingegaard for the win... Vingegaard was quickly distanced and it’s Pogacar who holds off van der Poel for his first win of the 2025 Tour de France!
And it’s the 100th victory of his already remarkable career. Some rider.
Almeida leads out Pogacar
16:26 , Flo CliffordJorgenson is caught, Almeida leads out the sprint, Van der Poel is on his wheel, then Pogacar...
Into the final kilometre
16:26 , Flo CliffordJorgenson leads under the flamme rouge... can he do it?
Evenepoel attacks!
16:25 , Flo Clifford1.3km to go: The best form of defence is attack, thinks Remco Evenepoel, as the double Olympic champ launches. He takes a corner brilliantly but Almeida is onto him and swarms onto the front.
Best young rider Kevin Vauquelin is a few seconds back.
Jorgenson attacks now...
Roglic 20 seconds back
16:24 , Flo Clifford2.8km to go: Roglic is 20 seconds back. His unlikely Tour de France title bid is suffering already.
Evenepoel bridges the gap
16:23 , Flo Clifford4.1km to go: Evenepoel tows Van der Poel, Almeida, Oscar Onley, and Matteo Jorgenson back towards the leading two. There’s a gap of some 12 seconds but it’s disappearing quickly, Vingegaard only just comes through to work with Pogacar. But they’re about to be caught by the absolutely ferocious turn of Evenepoel.
Now Jorgenson attacks, and Pogacar chases!
Vingegaard follows
16:21 , Flo Clifford5.1km to go: Vingegaard is the only one who can match Pogacar’s acceleration - and now the world champ, and defending champ, drops his rival!
And the Dane is fighting back!
Pogacar takes the point at the top, and Vingegaard is back on his wheel. The Slovene looks like he’s out on a training ride.
Now what?
Pogacar attacks in breathless climb
16:20 , Flo Clifford5.5km to go: Jhonatan Narvaez leads Pogacar onto the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, which hits a max of 15%. Joao Almeida swings onto the front, setting a blistering pace.
Van der Poel, Pogacar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel are all present and correct; Florian Lipowitz has dropped back and will lose time for Red Bull.
Almeida is out of the saddle - and now Pogacar launches!
Final climb approaching
16:17 , Flo Clifford7km to go: Campenaerts - a stage winner last year, one of the most popular ones, in a hugely emotional victory - is still piling on the pace. Vinegaard is locked just behind him, Pogacar just having to close a tiny gap onto the last Visma rider. Evenepoel is there or thereabouts; Roglic quite a bit further back.
Felix Gall is going backwards, so that issue earlier on today wasn’t an isolated one.
Victor Campenaerts attacks for Jonas Vingegaard
16:14 , Flo Clifford10km to go: Well, well, well, this is a real change of tactic from Jonas Vingegaard, who has Victor Campenaerts setting an absolutely infernal pace over the top of the climb and onto the descent. The Dane is lodged on his teammate’s wheel, with plenty of Visma teammates behind them.
Pogacar hasn’t been dislodged and still has a few teammates too, with Joao Almeida moving up.
Ben O'Connor, Julian Alaphilippe dropped
16:13 , Flo Clifford11km to go: The Frenchman is out the back and Aussie Ben O’Connor, who suffered in a crash a couple of days ago, is suffering here again too with this lightning-quick pace.
On the penultimate climb
16:11 , Flo Clifford13km to go: The bunch are onto the Côte de la Grand'Mare (1.8 km at 4.8%), with UAE leading things. Wellens in his full polka dot gear comes to the front, with Pogacar on his wheel.
Does the defending champ actually fancy the stage win, and yellow? Vingegaard is right behind him, the terrible twins, never separated. Evenepoel is moving up too. Where’s Roglic?
Martinez caught, Healy in trouble
16:03 , Flo Clifford19km to go: Ben Healy - possibly caught out in that crash - is off the back, and that’s not ideal for EF after riding for him all day.
Martinez has been caught, and that’s the end of the day for the breakaway. He’s soon at the back, but not because his legs have given out: teammate Santiago Buitrago is in trouble and needs dragging back.
Julian Alaphilippe, after a frantic chase, has only just got back on. That was a very slow wheel change and he’s suffered for it. He’d have been good on this sort of finish, but it’s unlikely he’ll have the legs now.
Tobias Halland Johannessen takes the KOM point, ahead of Tim Wellens. Two climbs remain.
Martinez about to be caught
16:00 , Flo Clifford22km to go: It’s going to be nuts from here on in. Up next is the very short Cote de Bonsecours, 900m at 7%.
Lenny Martinez has been exhorted on the team radio, ‘Don’t look back, Lenny!’ However, of course, he’s looking back. In better news for him, he’s nearly onto the climb, which suits him much better than anything flat or downhill. But he’s only got five seconds on the bunch.
Jonas Abrahamsen, amazingly, is back on the front along with a posse of Uno X-Mobility teammates.
Huge crash at the back of the bunch
15:57 , Flo Clifford23km to go: Oh dear, a huge crash at the back, possibly a coming together of wheels in a frantic fight for positioning on the approach to a tricky corner. Valentin Paret-Peintre has gone down; Primoz Roglic has narrowly escaped it.
Oh no, the French climber is in tears at the side of the road, and that’ll be a huge blow to Soudal Quick-Step if he departs - he’s an enormous asset to Remco Evenepoel’s mountain squad.
Gachignard caught as peloton bear down on breakaway
15:52 , Flo Clifford27km to go: The riders are all onto the Côte de Belbeuf (1.3km at an average of a biting 9.2%). Thomas Gachignard is the first of the breakaway quartet to be caught. It’s looking like curtains... but Lenny Martinez has attacked! The climber is off.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG are on the front now, just 16 seconds behind the Frenchman, as his companions are absorbed.
Martinez takes the Belbeuf KOM points, followed by Tim Wellens - wearing the KOM jersey - for UAE.
Abrahamsen wins intermediate sprint
15:48 , Flo Clifford29km to go: Jonas Abrahamsen launches a flyer and sails over the intermediate sprint at Saint-Adrien with ease, with Asgreen rolling over second behind him, leading Martinez and Gachignard over the line.
Back in the bunch - only 20 seconds back now - Jonathan Milan, in the green jersey, puts in a dig to mop up some remaining points ahead of rival Biniam Girmany.
Further back, Julian Alaphilippe has had an unfortunately-timed bike change and is now nearly two minutes off the pace - but a teammate drops back to shepherd him on.
Breakaway holding steady
15:42 , Flo Clifford34km to go: Kasper Asgreen is largely the driving force in this breakaway, hauling them over the flatter ground as we approach the business end of this stage.
There are 20 points on offer for the first rider over the intermediate sprint at Saint-Adrien. After that it’s back to climbing, with four categorised ascents in quick succession.
Still a gap of a minute back to the peloton.
Intermediate sprint approaching
15:34 , Flo Clifford39km to go: Confirmation that Asgreen took the one KOM point available on the Cote Jacques Anquetil.
The breakaway are working together again now, travelling at a brisk 63km/h, but the gap is down to 1’05” as they approach another uncategorised bump.
10km to go until the intermediate sprint, too. Let’s hope for less drama there than at yesterday’s.
Battle for KOM points among breakaway
15:29 , Flo Clifford45km to go: Asgreen attacks for the King of the Mountains points! The other three give furious chase and Martinez looks to nick the points on the line... but that looked to me like Asgreen hung on.
Back in the bunch, it looks like a few more riders have gone down in the battle for positioning on the climb, but nobody looks badly hurt.
Further down Felix Gall is dropped - possibly a mechanical issue, as this isn’t the sort of terrain the Austrian would normally struggle on.
Martinez attacks on the Cote Jacques Anquetil
15:26 , Flo Clifford47km to go: The pint-sized climber Lenny Martinez sees the writing on the wall for the breakaway and attacks!
Jonas Abrahamsen’s much bigger frame sticks right with him, but Asgreen and Gachignard are distanced.
Abrahamsen rolls onto the front to work with Martinez - for now... but that quickly comes to an end and the dropped pair come back on.
The gap back to the bunch is 1’25” now.
Approaching the real first climb of the day
15:19 , Flo Clifford51km to go: Apologies, got ahead of myself - the riders were just onto a regular, 5% uncategorised climb. The Cote Jacques Anquetil is approaching in 7km time.
There’s been a coming-together at the back of the peloton! Ooh, looks like a couple of riders - separately - going down, possibly on a low traffic island/piece of road furniture.
Matteo Vercher of TotalEnergies looks in some pain. Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike has gone down but is quickly back up, as is Yevgeniy Fedorov of Astana, pedalling furiously to get back on.
Onto the first climb of the day
15:09 , Flo Clifford59km to go: The real climbing begins! Kasper Asgreen leads the breakaway onto the cat-4 Cote Jacques Anquetil, named in honour of the famous Frenchman who lived nearby.
The gap is back out at 1’30”.
Breakaway still working well
15:03 , Flo Clifford63km to go: Our dogged quartet are still rolling through and working cohesively, with the diminuitive figure of Lenny Martinez on the front for now, but the gap is coming down. It’s now 1’15” and rapidly falling away, from 1’40” a couple of kilometres ago.
Ineos Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodriguez is off the back having a front wheel change, and scampering up the road to get back on.
Time trial on the horizon
14:56 , Flo CliffordCarlton Kirby, on TNT Sports comms, has just made the point that Kasper Asgreen - a fine time trialist, and a four-time Danish national champion in the discipline - is wasting his legs in the breakaway today, with a flat, specialist-friendly TT on the parcours tomorrow.
That will likely be a concern for the general classification riders too, who need to maintain a good position today, but will perhaps back off from contesting the stage win in order to conserve energy for tomorrow.
Holding pattern
14:49 , Flo Clifford74km to go: As you were. The gap is still around two minutes, 2’07” at the moment to be precise, and EF are looking strong on the front - some four or five riders there, with Alpecin still controlling the pace.
While we’re waiting for the race to alight, here’s Lawrence Ostlere’s preview of the general classification battle at this year’s Tour, for some light reading:
Why the dominance of Tadej Pogacar and the ‘big four’ will warp the Tour de France
EF onto the front
14:41 , Flo Clifford80km to go: Some movement at the front now as Alpecin-Deceuninck are joined by a phalanx of EF Education-EasyPost riders. Lining things up for a Ben Healy attack?
We’re still a way away from the categorised climbing, but a little under 10km from an uncategorised bump that could be Healy-friendly.
Today's climbs
14:30 , Flo CliffordWhile the peloton roll towards Rouen, let’s take a look at the classified climbing that’s bound to shake up what has been a rather sedate, controlled day so far.
These are all within the final 50km of today’s 174km stage, with the Rampe Saint-Hilaire coming 5km from the finish line in Rouen.
- cat-4 - Cote Jacques Anquetil (3.5km at 3.6% average gradient)
- cat-3 - Cote de Belbeuf (1.3km at 9.1%)
- cat-4 - Cote de Bonsecours (900m at 7.2%)
- cat-4 - Cote de la Grand’Mare (1.8km at 5%)
- cat-4 Rampe Saint-Hilaire (800m at 10.6%)
EF planning an attack?
14:19 , Flo Clifford98km to go: Ben Healy, climbing supremo and breakaway artiste, has followed teammate Kasper Asgreen’s lead and switched to an aero helmet, so the Irishman probably has designs on this stage too.
The gap to the breakaway has fallen below two minutes for the first time in a long time, hovering around 1’58”, so it seems Healy is a better bet than Asgreen today with Alpecin on the prowl.
Peloton holding gap steady
14:12 , Flo Clifford104km to go: Silvan Dillier is still on the front. That two-minute gap is not budging. Still another 50km to go before the terrain starts to get tricky.
Visma on the front along with Alpecin
14:03 , Flo Clifford110km to go: Emilien Jeanniere of TotalEnergies, who crashed hard into the barriers at the end of yesterday’s stage, is holding onto the medical car for some assistance. It’s the only vehicle riders are allowed to hold onto for extended periods - let’s hope he’s okay, as that looked a nasty crash yesterday.
In the peloton, Visma-Lease a Bike are lined up behind Alpecin-Deceuninck, looking calm and relaxed. One of them gives the camera a cheery wave. It looks like, as well as keeping Jonas Vingegaard protected for the action later in today, they’re also sheltering Wout van Aert, who has said he’d like a go at the stage.
Alpecin-Deceuninck in control
13:56 , Flo Clifford115km to go: Silvan Dillier is putting in an absolute shift, controlling the tempo and the gap to the breakaway on this gently undulating terrain. Our quartet of leaders still have around two minutes and it’s barely shifted all day.
This is the calm before the storm; once the climbing properly starts (five categorised climbs within the final 50km) expect fireworks galore.
Leader's jerseys
13:46 , Flo CliffordToday’s jersey wearers took the now-traditional selfie on the start line. Mathieu van der Poel is in yellow after winning stage two and that lead is unlikely to be threatened today, while French youngster Kevin Vauquelin - a huge talent and a local lad, who formerly rode for a Rouen-based team - is in the white of best young rider.
Jonathan Milan is in green as a result of Jasper Philipsen’s untimely departure from the race, and Tim Wellens leads the polka-dot King of the Mountains classification, which he took off team leader Tadej Pogacar’s shoulders yesterday, for rather unsporting reasons (basically so Pogacar wouldn’t have to deal with all the attendant duties and tire himself out).
Nobody won yesterday’s combativity prize in a rare departure from tradition, with Wellens’ attack to take the jersey the only move of note, and the race commissaires evidently disapproving of his intentions.
🤳💚💛⚪️🔴🤍🇪🇺#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/03e5H125Le
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 8, 2025
Scenery check
13:39 , Flo CliffordBeautiful, as we’ve come to expect. Here’s the peloton near today’s start line.
Kasper Asgreen for the stage win?
13:32 , Flo CliffordOn TNT Sports comms Kasper Asgreen’s EF Education-EasyPost teammate Owain Doull is sharing some wisdom about the Dane, who memorably took a stage win from a seemingly-doomed breakaway at the Tour last year and again at the Giro this year.
“If he’s wearing the aero helmet, you can tell he’s up to something,” Doull says of his “steely” teammate, and sure enough the aero helmet is on today.
Weather check
13:25 , Flo Clifford137km to go: Picture-perfect stuff, a lovely sunny day in northern France - quite the contrast from yesterday’s washout.
All in order
13:13 , Flo Clifford147km to go: the gap is stable at two minutes as the riders traverse some rolling but gentle terrain.
Here’s the day’s breakaway (although this could all change later on): Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Thomas Gachignard (TotalEnergies) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno X-Mobility).
Asgreen closing in
13:00 , Flo Clifford156km to go: the Danish rider is now within 16 seconds of the trio and about to make the jump, with the peloton 2’10” behind and with the team of race leader Mathieu van der Poel controlling the pace, content to let these four have their time in the sun.
Kasper Asgreen joins the chase
12:51 , Flo Clifford163km to go: Gachignard has made the jump. Kasper Asgreen is on the move too, marooned in no-man’s land between the peloton and the break, a minute behind our trio of leaders and a minute ahead of the bunch.
It looks like things have settled down a little and the peloton are happy to let these riders escape.
Tour de France 2025 stage-by-stage guide: Route maps and profiles for all 21 days
12:49 , Flo CliffordFancy getting ahead with this year’s route? Lawrence Ostlere has put together a handy detailed guide to every stage of the 112th edition of the Tour:
Stage four underway!
12:42 , Flo CliffordThe flag has dropped and we’ve got an immediate attack from Lenny Martinez, who was visibly suffering in the early days of this race and is no longer a GC threat, and Jonas Abrahamsen, who I did predict would be active in trying to get into the breakway.
Their gap is already up to 40 seconds and there are a couple more riders trying to come across, including Thomas Gachignard.
171km to go from Amiens to Rouen.
Wout van Aert throws his hat into the ring
12:35 , Flo CliffordLittle update from Visma-Lease a Bike: it looks like Wout van Aert will get some freedom to stage-hunt today...
🇫🇷 #TDF2025
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) July 8, 2025
Wout's pre-race words. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/RpAeBjj9in
Technical finish to stage four
12:28 , Flo CliffordThe Tour route has come under fire so far, with yesterday’s tricky finish putting riders at risk in a high-speed sprint, and today’s is no different, as EF Education-EasyPost manager Jonathan Vaughters has already highlighted.
There are 15 corners in the last 6.5km, Robbie McEwen says on TNT Sports coverage, plus plenty of road furniture, speed bumps, and sudden narrowings of the road.
The riders will need to take extra care on the approach to the finish line in Rouen today - and the GC contenders will no doubt complicate proceedings by jostling for position at the front to stay out of trouble.
Neutralised rollout
12:21 , Flo CliffordThe riders have rolled out in Amiens for a brief neutralised start before the stage officially kicks off in around 15 minutes time.
Five key stages where the Tour de France may be won or lost
12:14 , Flo CliffordThis year’s Tour de France is a real ‘Tour of France’, taking place entirely within French borders for the first time since 2020.
There are pitfalls throughout the route for any yellow jersey hopefuls to avoid, with crosswinds threatening to wreak havoc in a tricky, punchy opening week in the north of France, before the real mountains begin almost halfway through the race.
We’ve taken a look at five crucial stages the general classification contenders will have to escape unscathed in order to mount a real challenge - and which could spell the end of a tilt at the title.
Spoiler alert, stage four is featured:
Key points of today's route
12:07 , Flo CliffordAmiens is the host town for this tricky 173km run to Rouen, a stage which a multitude of riders and teams will have bookmarked as it really could be anyone’s game.
It’s also one we picked out to potentially trip up the general classification contenders if they don’t keep their wits - and their teammates - about them.
The parcours is rolling all day with plenty of uncategorised lumps and bumps before the technical climbing starts in the final third of the stage, with five categorised climbs inside the last 50km, three cat-fours and two-cat twos - including the Cote Jacques Anquetil, named after the Tour great.
Any split in the bunch could be lethal to the chances of yellow jersey hopefuls caught on the wrong side, and it’s could be another day of relentless attacking and counter-attacking as riders look to launch winning moves and avoid missing out.
The final climb comes 5km from the finish, the 800m wall of the 10.6% Rampe Saint-Hilaire, which is likely to be decisive.
Who is leading the Tour de France?
12:00 , Flo CliffordYesterday had plenty of sprinting drama but apart from Remco Evenepoel going down in a crash - getting up again seemingly unhurt - there wasn’t a lot of movement among the general classification.
Here’s how things stand ahead of stage four:
- Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) 8hrs 38mins 42secs
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates XRG) +4 secs
- Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +6 secs
- Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels) +10 secs
- Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) same time
- Enric Mas (Spa/Movistar) same time
- Joseph Blackmore (Gbr/Israel-Premier Tech) +41 secs
- Tobias Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) same time
- Ben O’Connor (Aus/Jayco Alula) same time
- Emanuel Buchmann (Ger/Cofidis) same time
Jasper Philipsen has collarbone surgery
11:55 , Flo CliffordPoor old Philipsen at least managed to win a stage and take yellow before his Tour ended in tears just two days later.
His team Alpecin-Deceuninck has provided an update after successful collarbone surgery:
Stage 3 of @LeTour delivered us a tough day and a 💔 moment, as @JasperPhilipsen was forced to leave the race after a heavy crash during the intermediate sprint for the green jersey.
— Alpecin-Deceuninck Cycling Team (@AlpecinDCK) July 8, 2025
In the meantime, he underwent a successful surgery last night at AZ Herentals to repair his… pic.twitter.com/wxMuUfAKoo
Stage three recap
11:50 , Flo CliffordIf you missed yesterday’s action, it was messy... Tim Merlier pipped Jonathan Milan to victory on a crash-strewn stage three of the Tour de France that saw Saturday's stage winner Jasper Philipsen forced to abandon in the green jersey.
Soudal-QuickStep's Merlier had the power to come around Milan and take the win in a photo finish in Dunkirk, but it was a reduced sprint as two crashes in the final five kilometres split the peloton - with Merlier's team-mate Remco Evenepoel among those to go down.
Philipsen had not even made it that far, forced to abandon after a heavy crash at the intermediate sprint on a day when a calm start to the 178km stage from Valenciennes turned into a frantic, dangerous finish.
Mathieu van der Poel retained the leader's yellow jersey, still four seconds clear of Tadej Pogacar, but it was a costly day for his team.
Tim Merlier takes sprint victory on Stage 3 as Philipsen abandons Tour after crash
Prediction for stage four
11:45 , Flo CliffordThis could quite literally be anyone’s game, to the point that it feels impossible to predict. Mathieu van der Poel is the obvious form pick after winning stage two on similar terrain, and Alpecin-Deceuninck will have the added impetus of winning a stage in honour of fallen sprinter Jasper Philipsen, who was forced to abandon yesterday.
Victor Campenaerts and Jonas Abrahamsen will surely light up the race with plenty of attacks, but whether they make the crucial break is another story, and the former may instead be pressed into service keeping Jonas Vingegaard out of danger.
Romain Gregoire also likes this sort of terrain; Alex Aranburu and Thibau Nys can climb and pack a punch too. Of what feels like a hundred options, we’re going with Axel Laurance, who likes a punchy stage and has been a constant attacking presence for Ineos Grenadiers this year.
Stage four route map and profile
11:40 , Flo Clifford
Stage four start time
11:36 , Flo CliffordStage four is set to begin at 1.15pm local time, 12.15pm BST, and finish at 5.20pm local time (4.20pm BST).
How to watch the Tour de France
11:33 , Flo CliffordThe 2025 Tour de France will be broadcast live on ITV4 in the UK, in what is the last year of free-to-air coverage of the race before it is exclusively shown on TNT Sports and Discovery+.
Viewers can also stream the race online via ITVX app and website, and subscribers can watch the action on the TNT Sports and Discovery+ apps.
Each stage will packaged into hourly highlights shows on ITV4, typically starting at around 7pm BST. The highlights can be streamed on ITVX with the website and app.
Good morning
11:30 , Flo CliffordHello and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of stage 4 of the Tour de France!
Today is set to be a cracker, with dozens of riders in with a shot at victory on a punchy parcours through Normandy - and the threat of crosswinds and splits means the GC riders will be on high alert too. Don’t go anywhere!
