On this stage, which was just 104 kilometres long, Pogacar launched his attack 50 kilometres from the finish, completing the longest solo breakaway he has ever ridden in a Grand Tour. The fact that it happened in Andorra brought it all full circle: It was here, seven years ago, that Pogacar won his first stage in one of the three major Grand Tours. He now has 37 stage wins – and 129 victories in total. “Back then, I wouldn’t have thought my career would develop like this,” said Pogacar after the race. “Today I had to attack so early because I didn’t want to be isolated. The pace was very high right from the first climb, and it was also incredibly fast on the second one. When Jay (Vine) let me past, I knew I had to go then, because otherwise everyone else would have been riding against me.”

Whilst the 27-year-old once again rode his own race and now holds a 3:21-minute lead over the new second-placed rider, Primož Roglič (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe), things remained exciting further down the field. Behind the dominant rider, a group formed which will most likely provide the bulk of the final top 10. Alongside Gall, former champion Roglic and youngster Widar, this group also included Enric Mas (Movistar Team), who is currently third in the general classification. Less than a minute separates Roglic in second place and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in tenth.

The situation is much clearer when it comes to the distribution of the classification jerseys. With the exception of the Best Young Rider’s jersey, which is currently worn by Oscar Onley (Netcompany INEOS), all the others belong to Pogacar.

2026 Vuelta a España – Results of Stage 4

Here’s how Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour of Spain unfolded

From kilometre 0, the fourth stage of the Vuelta headed uphill. And attacks came just as early. It took several attempts, however, before a breakaway group managed to get away. But it was certainly a tough one. Halfway up the 24-kilometre climb to Port d’Envalira (Category 1), a group of 16 riders – including the two Visma professionals Wout van Aert and Matthew Brennan, Georg Steinhauser (EF Education – EasyPost), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) and Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) quickly built up a one-minute lead.

That was all the field, led by Decathlon, managed on the day after the Hail damage However, this wasn’t the case under ideal cycling conditions. On top of that, the breakaway group quickly thinned out on its own. With a minimal lead, eight professionals crossed the mountain classification line ahead of the peloton. Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) secured ten points ahead of Paul Double (Team Jayco AlUla), but they too were caught on the descent.

On the Collada de Beixalis (1st category), with an average gradient of 8.5 per cent and a 16 per cent climb right at the start, UAE took the lead. This was already setting the stage for Pogacar’s attack. The Slovenian stepped up the pace 50 kilometres from the finish. Only Gall kept up at first, but quickly changed his mind.

Gall remains aggressive

Gall soon found himself in a twelve-man chasing group that also included Roglic, Mathias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek), Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) and Onley. Marco Brenner (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) also rejoined the main field before the summit.

At the top, Pogacar had a lead of a good minute and a half over his pursuers. On the descent, he added another 30 seconds to his lead. With 35 kilometres to go, he tackled the Coll d’Ordino, the third Category 1 climb of the day. Whilst Pogacar was sticking to his plan, Decathlon picked up the pace again at the back of the peloton. Shortly afterwards, Gall launched another attack. Onley latched onto his rear wheel.

Roglic later joined the pair, as did Mas and Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). The quintet, with a 30-second lead over the rest of the chasing pack led by Skjelmose and Carapaz, were just under three minutes behind Pogacar at the mountain classification.

Carapaz and Skjelmose are only just catching up and are being left behind again

On the long descent from Ordino, Carapaz, Skjelmose and Widar, along with Gall’s domestique Gregor Mühlberger, caught up with the group ahead of them once again. Nine riders thus tackled the final climb, the Alto de la Comella (3rd category), together, although Skjelmose was forced to drop back early on. Pogacar, meanwhile, took it easy, losing a few more seconds of his lead. Carapaz also failed to make it to the top with the rest of the group.

Pogacar didn’t put a foot wrong in the final descent either. Just under three minutes behind him, the chasing group sprinted for second place and a few bonus seconds. Widar secured second place ahead of Gall.