Vuelta a España 2026: Pogačar solos to victory in Andorra, rips open a 3:21 GC lead
On the short but brutal stage 4 around Andorra la Vella, Tadej Pogačar attacked on the Collada de Beixalís and rode 50 kilometres solo to his second stage win of this Vuelta. His lead over the group of favourites grew to more than three minutes — Roglič, Mas and Kuss were all dropped. The full result, the new general classification, and a look ahead to stage 5 to Roquetes.
The breakaway and the Port d'Envalira
Stage 4 had barely started before the peloton was already in pieces: on the day's first climb, the category-one Port d'Envalira, a big breakaway went clear immediately while Decathlon CMA CGM set the pace at the front of the bunch. Lorenzo Fortunato was first over the top, taking the mountains points ahead of Paul Double. Sprinters and classics specialists like Wout van Aert, Matthew Brennan and Santiago Buitrago were already dropped on this opening climb — not a good sign for what was still to come.
Pogačar attacks on the Collada de Beixalís
With around 50 kilometres to go, on the steepest ramps of the Collada de Beixalís (up to 16 percent), Tadej Pogačar accelerated away from the group of favourites. Felix Gall tried to respond but was dropped soon after. From that point on, the Slovenian rode entirely alone.
Over the top of the Coll d'Ordino, his lead over the chasing group — containing Roglič, Mas, Kuss, Onley and Carapaz — grew to more than three minutes. Mikel Landa also couldn't hold that group's pace. Pogačar soloed into Andorra la Vella in 2:40:35, taking his second stage win of this Vuelta after the opening time trial — and arguably his most dominant solo ride ever in a Grand Tour.
The stage 4 result
Behind Pogačar, the rest fought over the scraps: Jarno Widar, in his first-ever Grand Tour, just edged the sprint of the chasing group ahead of Felix Gall, Oscar Onley, Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas and Primož Roglič — all given the same time of 2 minutes 39 seconds behind the stage winner. Richard Carapaz followed at 2:57, while Mattias Skjelmose and Gregor Mühlberger rounded out the top ten at 3:17.
The general classification after stage 4
Four stages in, Pogačar has the general classification in a chokehold: he leads Roglič by 3 minutes and 21 seconds, Mas by 3:32 and Kuss by 3:44. Onley (+3:45), Carapaz (+3:50), Gall (+3:57), Skjelmose (+4:06), Widar (+4:06) and his own team-mate Jay Vine (+4:11) round out the top ten, all within roughly fifty seconds of each other. Pogačar also leads the points classification (82 points) and the mountains classification (23 points) — after four days he holds all three of the main jerseys — while Onley leads the young rider classification.
Looking ahead: stage 5 to Roquetes, and more Vuelta reading
After the fireworks in Andorra, today brings a hilly 171.1-kilometre stage through the Priorat wine region to Roquetes — less explosive on paper, but with a late chance for attackers looking to exploit tired legs after the mountains. Follow it on our stage 5 page, or check today's stage once the flag drops.
Want to go through the opening week once more? Read our stage 1 and 2 results, the story of the hailstorm that cancelled stage 3, the complete guide to the 2026 Vuelta a España or the favourites breakdown. Test your knowledge with our stage 1-3 quiz, or build your own tier list of the contenders now that Pogačar has stretched his lead even further.
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