“Perfect for the breakaway” – Pogačar in yellow as Tour de France stage 4 heads for hot and hilly day in the Pyrenees 

Today’s stage 4 of the Tour de France will be “perfect for the breakaway”, according to EF Education–EasyPost’s Ben Healy.

Healy animated much of the 2025 Tour de France. A blistering attack and rare win from the breakaway on stage 6 earned the Irishman the yellow jersey. 

At 181.9 km long with 2,700m of climbing, today’s stage from Carcassonne to Foix could be an ideal opportunity for Healy to launch an attack.

Healy has preserved energy in the last few days. “I’ve just been taking the past few days easy and I think today’s a good break day,” he said.

However, stage 3 saw the favourites dominate the latter half of the race. Pogačar claimed the stage victory with an explosive attack and will ride in the yellow jersey today after taking it from rival Jonas Vingegaard. 

This could mean the breakaway’s chances today are neutralised by the peloton. “It’s just such hard, ferocious racing. I think just the strongest rider wins in the end,” Healy added. 

The other issue to contend with is the heat. Yesterday’s stage saw special measures implemented due to wildfires. Vehicles were limited on the final 40km and fans asked to avoid gathering on the road side. 

Tom Pidcock described the race as a “war zone”. “I think the peloton went through 10,000 bidons today. And I didn’t have anything in the final, I was a bit cooked,” he told road.cc. 

The stage today is set to see temperatures of 37˚C. 

On dealing with the heat, Healy said: “You’ve just got to be absolutely smashing water all day long.” 

This morning, the UCI changed its rules for feed zones to ensure riders stay hydrated.