Vingegaard appeared destined for stage victory and the coveted yellow jersey, setting the fastest time at the first intermediate checkpoint. However, the final third of the 31.1km course proved too strenuous, resulting in him settling for the second position for the day.
The course, stretching from Cours to Belmont-de-la-Loire, was divided into three distinct sections, starting uphill, followed by a longer downhill section leading to the first checkpoint, a flatter 9km mid-section, and finally culminating in an 11.4km false flat grind.
Amidst the grueling final phase, Bjerg stood out for his meticulously paced effort. Despite being 20 seconds behind Vingegaard at the first checkpoint, he steadily caught up and eventually claimed the lead on the uphill part of the course.
Upon winning, an ecstatic Bjerg stated, “I’ve worked so hard for this first pro victory. I’m just so relieved that I finally got it now. I feel like I had so many chances to do it and just didn’t live up to my own expectations.” Acknowledging his initial doubts about the course’s difficulty, Bjerg added, “This morning I doubted myself, I said the course was too hard, but my manager texted me saying ‘just go for it, you have nothing to lose’. I’m just so happy.”
The stage was key in determining the overall title. Significant time gaps were created ahead of the mountainous terrains, with Vingegaard’s performance serving as a benchmark. Among GC favorites, only a few riders, including Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), managed to get within a minute of the Tour de France champion.
The time trial results highlighted a discernible discrepancy among other top riders. Major names such as Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), suffered considerable losses, trailing around 2:30 behind Vingegaard.
Despite the outcome, Vingegaard maintained his optimism, saying, “Of course, I would hope to win the stage and take the yellow jersey but Mikkel did a really good TT today. I think I also did a good TT but it was really impressive by Mikkel.” He also admitted to perhaps being overly ambitious in his strategy, “It was the plan to go off hard, but maybe I went a bit too hard. I tried to save a bit in the middle then go again for the last part, but when I had to go, there was nothing to go with.”
With these results, the upcoming mountain stages promise to be intensely challenging as the participants strive to close the existing time gaps and vie for the overall title.
Stage 4 results
Mikkel Bjerg (DEN, UAE Team Emirates) – 37:28
Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma) – + 12 seconds
Remi Cavagna (FRA, Soudal Quick-Step) – + 27 seconds
Fred Wright (GBR, Bahrain Victorious) – + 34 seconds
Ben O’Connor (AUS, AG2R Citroën Team) – + 41 seconds
Felix Grossschartne (AUT, UAE Team Emirates) – + 44 seconds
Rune Herregodts (BEL, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) – + 54 seconds
Adam Yates (GBR, UAE Team Emirates) – + 57 seconds
Nelson Oliveira (POR, Movistar Team) – + 1 minute 2 seconds
Jonathan Castroviejo (ESP, INEOS Grenadiers) – + 1 minute 5 seconds
General classification after stage 4
Mikkel Bjerg (DEN, UAE Team Emirates) – 12:59:19
Jonas Vingegaard (DEN, Jumbo-Visma) – + 12 seconds
Fred Wright (GBR, Bahrain Victorious) – + 34 seconds
Ben O’Connor (AUS, AG2R Citroën Team) – + 41 seconds
Felix Grossschartne (AUT, UAE Team Emirates) – + 44 seconds
Rune Herregodts (BEL, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) – + 50 seconds
Adam Yates (GBR, UAE Team Emirates) – + 57 seconds
Julian Alaphilippe (FRA, Soudal Quick-Step) – + 1 minute 0 seconds
Daniel Martinez (COL, INEOS Grenadiers) – + 1 minute 7 seconds
Jai Hindley (AUS, BORA-hansgrohe) – + 1 minute 8 seconds
