After an explosive attack on the final climb, the World Champion celebrated his milestone achievement, saying it felt 'amazing' and that he was proud to win again on cycling's biggest stage while wearing the rainbow jersey.
"To win at the Tour is incredible, and in this jersey, even more, and to have a 100th victory is amazing," Pogačar said in his post-race interview.
Visma-Lease a Bike took control of the race on the last climb but before that UAE Team Emirates-XRG massed on the front, with Pavel Sivakov, Tim Wellens and then Jhonatan Narváez playing vital roles. On the final climb João Almeida stepped up and rode for Pogačar, chasing attacks and then leading up the final 5% ramp to the finish line. The two celebrated together beyond the finish area.
Pogačar's career has come a long way since his first victory at stage 2 of the Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta in 2019.
Seven years on, and the Slovenian has etched his name into cycling's history books as one of the greatest of all time with three Tour de France titles in 2020, 2021 and 2024, and now 18 stage wins at the French Grand Tour.
He has also won the 2024 Giro d'Italia and nine one-day Monuments, including four times at Il Lombardia, three times at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and twice at the Tour of Flanders. He won the elite men's road race title at the World Championships last year in Zürich with one of his trademark long-distance attacks.
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In Rouen, Pogačar capped off another exciting stage finales of the with another GC battle with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who was fighting to defend his yellow jersey, and others.
Pogačar responded to Visma-Lease a Bike taking control of the race with a strong attack on the final ascent with six kilometres to race in the twisting streets of Rouen. Vingegaard was able to go with him but then Pogačar produced a searing final sprint to take his 200th career win.
He said it was the kind of finish that he thrives in, action-packed and on-the-edge-of-your-seat bike racing.
"With so many good riders in the final, you are always a bit on edge and nervous about what is going to happen, and you never know until the final ... like today, you get this adrenaline, and it's pure racing, and I enjoy it," Pogačar said.
"So far the Tour went super great for me and for the team as well. I hope we can continue to ride like this. We'll try to enjoy it as much as possible."
Almeida does not love the cutthroat, Classics style of racing like Pogačar but played a vital role, especially by leading out the sprint. On the 5% ramp to the finish under the trees.
"It was my job, I did the best I could and so I'm really happy, Almeida said.
"Tadej won the stage, which was our goal for today and I think we deserved it. Visma rode well but our goal was to go hard in the final 800 metres of the climb. They did some work for us, which was good for us. Then we did the perfect execution."
Tadej Pogačar celebrates with Jhonatan Narváez after winning stage 4 at the Tour de France (Image credit: Getty Images)
Can Pogačar take yellow in the Caen time trial?
Pogačar is now tied on time with Van der Poel as the race heads into stage 5 time trial in Caen on Wednesday. The Dutchman will start last due to better places in the opening four stages of the Tour, with Pogacar off at
Remco Evenepoel is the favourite for the stage victory but Pogačar wants win number 101 and the yellow jersey.
"The TT is the real test but to have already won a stage in this jersey, for me, it's enough," Pogačar said of winning in the rainbow jersey.
"I will go in tomorrow to enjoy this race, of course, we aim for the yellow, but we will see."
I’ll go full gas from the start to the finish line and see where this places me, but the TT is the race of truth. We can't count out Remco or anyone else who is at around one minute. The Tour can turn around pretty fast."
Cheers went heard inside and outside the UAE Team Emirates-XRG in Rouen when Pogačar hit the line and took his 100th career win.
Team manager Mauro Gianetti had his smile back as he greeted his riders at the team bus and praised them for their hard work.
"This is the Tour de France and we expected a battle every day,"he explained, revealing UAE Team Emirates-XRG race strategy and mentality.
"It was easy to think the first ten days were for the sprinters but when we looked in depth at the route, we knew they would be tough stages. Every team is pushing hard and going so fast, so then the differences emerge. The team was great and Almeida was especially impressive. He could have won the stage but rode 100% for the team.
Pogačar is one step away and perhaps one day from the yellow jersey from the yellow jersey.
"We weren't expecting to be so in front of some of our rivals after just four days but we are there. Now we'll see what happens in the time trial,"Gianetti said.
"We've achieved 100 victories but tomorrow is another day and there is a long way to go in this Tour."
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Kirsten Frattini has been the Editor of Cyclingnews since December 2025, overseeing editorial operations and output across the brand and delivering quality, engaging content.
She manages global budgets, racing & events, production scheduling, and contributor commissions, collaborating across content sections and teams in the UK, Europe, North America, and Australia to ensure audience and subscription growth across the brand.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
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