It was a day tipped for the breakaway, and one that was especially hard. Stage 4 of the Tour de France headed from Carcassonne to Foix over four categorised climbs and through extreme heat that saw the UCI implement emergency measures.
The 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen sprinted to win the stage, and he was closely followed by Uno X’s Torstein Træen, who was treated for cancer in 2022 and now leads the general classification.
“It feels unreal and you don’t really understand what’s going on,” Træen said after taking the yellow jersey today.
“When I went into the breakaway, I was not believing until I came to the last climb. And [then] I understood that the legs are pretty good and the gap is pretty big,” Træen said.
That gap means Træen now leads the general classification by 7 minutes and 53 seconds from Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard who are tied on the same time.
Although he is not an overall favourite for the Tour de France, Træen’s palmarès suggests he could hang onto yellow through the coming days. The 30-year-old climber led the 2025 Vuelta a España for four stages and finished ninth overall.
Træen’s cancer diagnosis followed an abnormal doping control test that revealed indicators of the disease. Anti-doping authorities contacted the Norwegian after the tumour marker Human Chorionic Gonadotropin was found in his sample. Doctors found a 15mm tumour in a testicle and surgery meant Træen didn’t need to undergo chemotherapy.
Træen’s performance on stage 4 is also poignant for Uno-X Mobility. Træen started his career with Uno-X Mobility in 2016 before moving to Bahrain-Victorious in 2022. He then returned to Uno-X Mobility in 2023, the first year the team was asked to participate at the Tour de France.
Remarking on Træen’s performance on stage 4 and yellow jersey, Uno-X Mobility’s sports director, Christian Andersen, said: “It’s the biggest day we’ve had so far. It’s outstanding.”
Today’s stage also saw the UCI ‘soften’ its rules around feed zones to ensure riders stay hydrated as temperatures hit 40˚C.
