Sprint finish or breakaway coup? That was the question ahead of the 4th stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026. The last third of the stage between Le Puy-en-Velay and Montrond-les-Bains was completely flat, but before that six categorised climbs had to be conquered. And the sprinter teams ultimately missed this rare opportunity in this stage race.
Sprinter teams play poker in the final
A nine-man lead group saved a few seconds of advantage at the finish. Victory after 167 kilometres ultimately went to Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek) in a long sprint. Second place from the group went to Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe), who, initially trapped, was unable to catch the US champion. Third place went to Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies).
The peloton arrived four seconds after the group. The sprinters' teams had simply miscalculated and stepped up the chase too late. The leading group also benefited from a tailwind in the finale.
There were no changes at the top of the overall standings. Alex Baudin (EF Education - EasyPost) defended his yellow jersey for another day. The Frenchman continues to lead the classification by twelve seconds ahead of Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley (both Netcompany - Ineos).
Results - 4th stage Tour Auvergne - Rhône-Alpes 2026:
How the 4th stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes went
It took until the Côte du Temple (3rd category), the second mountain classification of the day after around 70 kilometres, before a breakaway group was let go by the peloton. Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek), Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility) and Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Pablo Castrillo, Raul Garcia Pierna (both Movistar), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies), Jan Castellon (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA), Marco Frigo, George Bennett (both NSN) then came together at the front. Quinn secured the mountain classification on the Côte du Temple. Before that, Frigo took the one point on the Col de la Croix de l`Arbre (4th category).
Castellon diligently collects mountain points
The breakaway was joined shortly afterwards by Lars Craps (Lotto - Intermarché), Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe) and Samuel Watson (Netcompany - Ineos), bringing the total to twelve riders at the front.
However, the lead only grew to around two minutes. Castellon, meanwhile, used the group to diligently collect mountain points along the way: He won the following mountain classifications on the Côte de Chougoirand (2nd category), the Col des Limites (3rd category) and the Côte de Lérigneux and Côte de Roche-en-Forez (both 4th category). However, it was not enough to take the mountain jersey. The pace work of Cofidis and Visma | Lease a Bike reduced the lead to 1:20 minutes 75 kilometres before the finish.
Escape group defends its lead for a long time
After 110 kilometres, the climbs of the day were behind the riders, followed by a descent and then a 40-kilometre flat section to the finish. At this point, Samuel Watson and George Bennett had already dropped out of the leading group after a crash. The remaining ten riders still had a lead of around one minute on the peloton. However, with a tailwind in the final third of the stage, the ten escapees defended their lead for a long time and were still 40 seconds ahead of the peloton with ten kilometres to go. Even 1.5 kilometres before the finish, the leading group was still twelve seconds ahead - and ultimately saved a few seconds at the finish.
