Lidl-Trek delivered a big result on stage four of the Tour de France 2026, with Mads Pedersen winning and Quinn Simmons taking second on the 181.9km ride from Carcassonne to Foix.
The stage was completed in 4h 10mins 45secs, and it felt like a second-week transition day for much of the peloton because of the extreme heat and the slower pace in the second half. That made the final climb and the run-in especially demanding, but Lidl-Trek handled it better than anyone else.
How the stage unfolded
Pedersen said before the race that Luca Guercilena had asked him to win a stage early in the Tour, and he delivered on that request. He called the result a team effort, saying Mathias Vacek and Quinn Simmons did an excellent job pacing him on the climb and helping him avoid losing too much time over the top.
That support mattered. Pedersen said he was suffering on the last climb, but Vacek and Simmons kept the effort under control before Lidl-Trek pushed on to the finish. Simmons’ second place gave the team a clean one-two on the day and underlined how much strength it had in the closing kilometers.
Heat, points and the jersey picture
The hot conditions were a major factor throughout the stage. Pedersen said riders had to keep cooling down with water and ice, and that being in the break made it easier to stay comfortable because the team car was close by. He also noted he would have liked to win the intermediate sprint, but he still collected 50 points at the finish.
For the general classification, Torstein Træen remained in the yellow jersey after stage four. He said it was hard to fully grasp how big the moment was, but added that the Tour is the biggest race in the world and that he now just has to enjoy it.
For Lidl-Trek, the takeaway was simple: a stage win, a second-place finish for Quinn Simmons, and a strong demonstration of teamwork on one of the hottest days of the race.
