​The fourth stage of the 2026 Tour of Poland saw the general classification contenders come to the fore for the first time. This brought an end to the dominance of sprinter Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who had won the first three stages. After 175.5 kilometres, Bart Lemmen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) secured the stage victory in Karpacz. The Dutchman crossed the finish line just a few bike lengths ahead of his closest pursuer, Cristian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team).

​The final challenge was the closing climb to Karpacz, with an average gradient of 8.3 per cent over the last kilometre. Marco Brenner (Tudor) was also part of the winning breakaway, although he was caught by the group of favourites just a few metres from the finish.

Lemmen takes a tumble but wins anyway

Due to a mass crash, the race organisers shortened the stage and, amongst other things, removed the climb to Borowice (Category 1) in the final third of the race from the route. Among those involved in the crash were Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) and Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). Lemmen also took a tumble but continued the race – and was rewarded with victory.

Lemmen also took the overall lead in the tour. Scaroni is in second place, six seconds behind. Brenner has moved up to third in the general classification, 26 seconds behind.

​Tour de Pologne 2026 – Results of Stage 4

​Here’s how Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour of Poland unfolded

As the stage got underway in Zagan, the day’s four-man breakaway group formed, comprising Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team), Dries De Bondt (Jayco–AlUla) and the two Polish national team riders, Tobiasz Pawlak and Patryk Stosz. The quartet quickly built up a lead of more than two minutes over the peloton. At its peak, the gap to the peloton was just over three minutes.

Race neutralised following a mass crash

De Bondt secured the mountain points on the day’s first climb in Antoniow, 64 kilometres from the finish. Heavy rain then set in 50 kilometres from the finish. Eight kilometres later, there was a major crash in the peloton involving many riders – including Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates - XRG). As a result, the race was initially neutralised and subsequently shortened. The organisers removed a section of the route, which included the climb to Borowice (Category 1).

With a lead of 1 minute 35 seconds, the four breakaway riders began the final climb to Karpacz. Pawlak was the first rider to lose touch, having put in a lot of work for his Polish team-mate Stosz. Shortly afterwards, Stosz launched an attack and left De Bondt and Malucelli behind. However, eight kilometres from the finish, their breakaway came to an end on the climb. Shortly before that, as expected, the overall leader Milan had already lost contact with the peloton.

Marco Brenner goes on the offensive

​Bart Lemmen and Tijmen Graat of Team Visma | Lease a Bike launched the first attack; both were joined shortly afterwards by Marco Brenner (Tudor) and Cristian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team). Shortly afterwards, Graat dropped back, but the other three managed to build up a lead of a few seconds. Four kilometres from the finish, Lemmen secured the mountain classification in Karpacz (Category 1). This was followed by a short descent before the route climbed again to the finish.

Meanwhile, Lemmen used the descent following the mountain classification to pull away from Brenner and Scaroni. It was only in the final kilometre that Scaroni closed the gap on Lemmen again, but the Dutchman held on to secure victory at the finish.