Image: from Alma Plus Tv X @almaplustv
By Open Chronicle Sports
25 August 2026 | Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Tadej Pogačar turned the first completed mountain test of the 2026 Vuelta a España into a demonstration of supremacy, attacking with around 50 kilometres still to race and riding alone to victory in Andorra la Vella.
The UAE Team Emirates XRG leader completed the demanding 104.8 kilometre stage in 2:40:35, crossing the line 2:39 ahead of Jarno Widar, with Felix Gall taking third at the same time as the Belgian. More importantly, Pogačar transformed a general classification previously measured in seconds into one measured in minutes.
After four stages, Pogačar leads Primož Roglič by 3:21, Enric Mas by 3:32, Sepp Kuss by 3:44 and Oscar Onley by 3:45.
🚨🔥 O MOMENTO DO ATAQUE DE POGAČAR!
A 50 km da meta, o esloveno lançou o ataque e não deu qualquer hipótese à concorrência! 🇸🇮💥
Pogačar deixou o grupo perseguidor, onde estavam vários dos favoritos, a 2’39’’ e arrancou para uma vitória categórica! 🏆🚴♂️🔥 pic.twitter.com/QTXN4j3sBH
— Eurosport Portugal (@EurosportTV_Por) August 25, 2026
The Mountains Finally Deliver the Battle
Stage 4 carried particular significance after the previous day’s planned finish at Font Romeu was lost to the violent hailstorm that forced Stage 3 to be abandoned.
The peloton therefore arrived in Andorra still waiting for the first genuine confrontation between the riders targeting the Red Jersey.
There was little room for hesitation.
The compact Andorran stage contained 3,024 metres of vertical climbing in only 104.8 kilometres, with four classified ascents: Port d’Envalira, Collada de Beixalís, Coll d’Ordino and Alto de la Comella.
It was terrain designed to expose weakness. Instead, Pogačar used it to expose the scale of his superiority.
Pogačar Attacks from Distance
The decisive moment came on the Collada de Beixalís.
With approximately 50 kilometres remaining, Pogačar accelerated away from the general classification group. Felix Gall initially attempted to follow, but the Austrian was unable to hold the Slovenian’s pace for long.
What initially looked like an aggressive attempt to test his rivals rapidly became something much more significant.
Pogačar was alone.
And he kept going.
Rather than waiting for the final climb or trying to protect the Red Jersey conservatively, the race leader committed himself to a long solo offensive across the Andorran mountains.
His advantage continued to increase, at one stage reaching more than three minutes.
Behind him, the other overall contenders were effectively forced into damage limitation.
Fifty Kilometres Alone
The remarkable element of Pogačar’s victory was not simply the margin. It was the distance from which he created it.
His approximately 50 kilometre solo ride was his longest successful solo attack in a Grand Tour, exceeding his previous long distance efforts in both the Tour de France and the Vuelta.
The terrain still offered opportunities for the chase to reorganise. Coll d’Ordino and the Alto de la Comella remained ahead, followed by the descent towards Andorra la Vella.
Nothing changed the direction of the race.
Pogačar continued alone, maintaining an extraordinary tempo while the group containing most of his principal rivals struggled to reduce the advantage.
By the finish, the contest for the stage victory had long been settled.
Pogačar crossed the line in 2:40:35.
Then the clock started.
It would run for another 2 minutes and 39 seconds before the first chasers arrived.
Widar Announces Himself
Behind Pogačar, one of the day’s most impressive performances came from Jarno Widar.
The 20 year old Belgian emerged from the chasing group to claim second place, beating Felix Gall to the line. Oscar Onley finished fourth, followed by Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas and Primož Roglič, all at 2:39.
For Widar, competing in his first Grand Tour, second place behind the dominant race leader represented a significant breakthrough at the highest level.
Richard Carapaz conceded another 18 seconds to that group, finishing eighth at 2:57, while Mattias Skjelmose and Gregor Mühlberger arrived at 3:17.
Stage 4 Result
| Pos. | Rider | Team | Time / Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates XRG | 2:40:35 |
| 2 | Jarno Widar | Lotto Intermarché | +2:39 |
| 3 | Felix Gall | Decathlon CMA CGM | +2:39 |
| 4 | Oscar Onley | Netcompany INEOS | +2:39 |
| 5 | Sepp Kuss | Visma Lease a Bike | +2:39 |
| 6 | Enric Mas | Movistar | +2:39 |
| 7 | Primož Roglič | Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe | +2:39 |
| 8 | Richard Carapaz | EF Education EasyPost | +2:57 |
| 9 | Mattias Skjelmose | Lidl Trek | +3:17 |
| 10 | Gregor Mühlberger | Decathlon CMA CGM | +3:17 |
From Seconds to Minutes
The consequences for the general classification were enormous.
Before the Andorran stage, Pogačar’s advantage was still measured in seconds. By the end of the afternoon, the character of the race had fundamentally changed.
Roglič moved into second overall but now sits 3:21 behind his compatriot. Mas is another 11 seconds back, while Kuss and Onley complete the top five.
General Classification After Stage 4
| Pos. | Rider | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | 7:38:59 |
| 2 | Primož Roglič | +3:21 |
| 3 | Enric Mas | +3:32 |
| 4 | Sepp Kuss | +3:44 |
| 5 | Oscar Onley | +3:45 |
| 6 | Richard Carapaz | +3:50 |
| 7 | Felix Gall | +3:57 |
| 8 | Mattias Skjelmose | +4:06 |
| 9 | Jarno Widar | +4:08 |
| 10 | Jay Vine | +4:11 |
A Different Vuelta Begins
There are still 17 stages remaining, and La Vuelta’s route contains enough mountains to make complacency dangerous. Yet Stage 4 changed the strategic landscape.
Pogačar no longer needs to search urgently for seconds. His rivals need to recover minutes.
That difference matters.
UAE Team Emirates XRG can increasingly place responsibility on other teams to attack. Roglič, Mas, Kuss, Carapaz, Gall and the remaining contenders cannot simply follow Pogačar and hope to defeat him in the final week. At some point, they will have to create opportunities rather than merely respond to them.
The battle behind the Red Jersey may also become increasingly important. Only 36 seconds separate Roglič in second from Gall in seventh, meaning the podium contest remains extremely compressed even as Pogačar has moved far ahead.
Pogačar Returns to a Special Place
There was also symbolism in the location.
Andorra occupies an important place in Pogačar’s Grand Tour story. It was here during the 2019 Vuelta that the young Slovenian won his first Grand Tour stage.
Seven years later, he returned not as an emerging talent, but as the dominant figure in the sport.
This time there was no need to announce his arrival.
Stage 4 was instead a demonstration of what Pogačar has become.
The Vuelta still has a long road to Granada, but in the Andorran mountains the race received its first decisive message.
To take the Red Jersey from Tadej Pogačar, his rivals will have to find a way to bring back more than three minutes from a rider who has just shown that he is prepared to attack from 50 kilometres out.