Welcome!
Hello and welcome to Cyclingnews' live coverage of stage 4 of the Vuelta a España.
The stage is starting earlier today – 11.43 CEST – with the finish expected around 16.30 CEST.
Need some pre-race reading?
Check out this column from our regular contributor – and 10-time Vuelta rider – Thomas De Gendt, breaking down what it's like at the race. It's funny and insightful at the same time.
It was quite the day yesterday for David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) with the Frenchman taking the stage win and moving level on time with race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Vingegaard took part in yesterday's uphill sprint and took third but was also up there in the intermediate sprint as the Danish star looks for bonus seconds and his top shape...
The race leaves Italian soil today just before the top of the second climb on the stage, the Montgenévre. Then the race has it's one and only day in France before finally making it to Spain tomorrow.
The jerseys today:
The riders are signed on and ready to go on the fourth stage of the 2025 La Vuelta with the stage starting in Susa and heading over 206.7km to Voiron.
Neutral start is due in just 10 minutes.
The start of the first climb today comes after just 4km with the category three Exilles climb. 5.6km with an average gradient of 5.6%.
After the Exilles the road doesn't really descent much as they tackle false flat to the next climb, the category two Montgenévre where the race enters France with the 8.3km climb having an average gradient of 6.1% and a peak altitude of over 1800 metres.
After that there is a descent for the riders to recuperate and maybe relax before more false flat heading to the Col du Lautaret, the highest point of the day at just over 2000 metres. The category two climb is 13.8km long and has an average gradient of 4.3%.
After the Lautaret, though, there is a very long descent that takes the riders from around 130km to go to around 50km to go and aside from one little lump, it is almost entirely flat after that to Voiron.
In the past, this would not have been a day for the sprinters but the sport has changed and now sprinters are much more versatile and capable of getting over some huge climbs in pursuit of victory.
Vingegaard is ready for the fourth stage of La Vuelta but will he be in red by the end of today?
It is a double British birthday today with Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) turning 24 and Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) turning 25.
🎂 We have two birthday boys in #LaVuelta25 today! ¡Feliz Cumpleaños, chicos! 🥳 Ben Tulett & Ethan Vernon 🥳
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T09:31:22.012Z
206.7km to go
💥 Here is the real start of stage 4️⃣, and the action starts immediately! 💪 ¡Salida lanzada de la etapa 4️⃣... que empieza con ataque ! 👋 Grupo Empresa Enfersa-Fertiberia Avilés | #LaVuelta25 #VueltaLIVE
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T09:52:02.660Z
Onto the first climb of the day, the 5.6km long category 3 Exilles climb which has an average gradient of 5.6%.
The peloton don't seem too happy to let the four man break go just yet with around 15 to 20 seconds between the them.
One rider in the chase is young Briti, Lukas Nururkar (EF Education-EasyPost). He is about equidistant between the peloton and break at 8" in both directions.
Nururkar bridges to the four leaders making it five in front with a gap of 25" on the peloton.
Another attack in the peloton...
That attack by Van der Lee is successful only in a sense that it has dragged the whole break back into the peloton's clutches and the fight starts over again.
A new move goes clear with a small gap on the pursuing bunch.
That move is also brought back as the race nears the top of the Exilles climb.
A new move comes again as a likely dash for the KoM points at the top of the Exilles climb. There are 3, 2 and 1 point(s) available.
Leaders:
That sees Nicolau take his first KoM points of the race and slots him straight into third place in the standings. A big opportunity for the Spanish rider to take a jersey today with a maximum of 13 points on offer.
A gap of just under a minute and a half splits the break and the peloton as it appears they have been allowed to go clear.
Aparicio is the best placed rider in the break at just 47" behind Vingegaard. Vervaeke is at 53", Bonneu at 1'37", Quinn at 9'49" and Nicolau at 13'09".
The gap continues to extend with it now almost at three minutes between the break and the peloton as they head to the Montgenévre climb.
The race seems to have settle down with the gap steadily increasing. The riders are climbing but are not yet on the official climb of Montgenévre.
It is a sunny day for the riders with a very pleasant 18°c in the mountains and next to no wind to speak of either.
La Vuelta will be soon heading into France for the 13th time in it's history. The first time was back in 1955 with a stage from San Sebastián to Bayonne, won by Frenchman Gilbert Bauvin.
The last time La Vuelta had a stage finish in France it was won by a certain Jonas Vingegaard on the Col du Tourmalet in 2023. Now he wears the red jersey of race leader.
180km to go
🏁 - 183 km | Stage 4️⃣ - Etapa 4️⃣ 5️⃣ riders are in the break at the head of the race! ¡5️⃣ corredores en cabeza de carrera! 🇧🇪 Louis Vervaeke 🇪🇸 Mario Aparicio 🇪🇸 Joel Nicolau 🇺🇸 Sean Quinn 🇧🇪 Kamiel Bonneu ⏱️3'11" Peloton #LaVuelta25 #VueltaLIVE
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T10:27:07.507Z
The riders are about to start the second climb of the day, the Montgenévre. This is a category 2 climb that is 8.3km long and has an average gradient of 6.1%. There are 5, 3 and 1 point(s) available at the top. Also, as they go over the top, they will enter France.
The break are working well together but their advantage is decreasing with 2'45" now splitting them and the peloton.
The race is in it's final few kilometres on Italian soil before going into France.
👋 Ciao @regionepiemonte, arrivederci 🇮🇹 - Bonjour 🇫🇷!📸 @cxcling | #LaVuelta25 pic.twitter.com/d4E6vVqMNHAugust 26, 2025
The peloton is being controlled by the expected teams of Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck as they try and set up their sprinters, Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen.
The gap has stopped decreasing again and is staying at around 2'50".
KoM (Montgenévre)
🔥 The breakaway has almost 4 minutes with 160 kilometres to go🔥 Los escapados, con casi 4 minutos a 160 kilómetros para el final⛰ 2️⃣ 𝐂𝐎𝐋 𝐃𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄́𝐕𝐑𝐄1️⃣ 🇧🇪 Louis Vervaeke @soudalquickstep - 5 p.2️⃣ 🇪🇸 Joel Nicolau - @CajaRural_RGA - 3 p.3️⃣ 🇺🇸 Sean… pic.twitter.com/cseY9hdEohAugust 26, 2025
La Vuelta enters France. The race waves goodbye to Italy and starts to make it's way west towards Spain tomorrow.
The riders now have their first proper descent of the race with around 8km of downhill before the road starts rising again towards the Col du Lautaret.
It is all to play for in the battle for red today with a huge chance for Gaudu to take it from Vingegaard.
❤️ The battle for Red is close in time. Now the placement on the stage will decide 👀 Who will wear it at the end of the day? ❤️ La lucha por La Roja está que arde. El 𝑝𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑜́𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑜, decisivo 👀 #LaVuelta25
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T10:59:45.200Z
The race now descends to Briançon. A place that now has a rare accolade of being able to say it has hosted all three Grand Tours with the Tour de France being a regular but also the Giro d'Italia has visited before as well.
The pace in the peloton has been dramatically upped by Lidl-Trek and a minute is immediately sliced off the gap to the break.
Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek spoke to La Vuelta's media team before the stage about his team's performance and today suiting Pedersen...
“I think until now we did a good performance as a team, and we would like to continue like this. We missed victory, but we still have many occasions and we continue like this. The first 80 km will be very fast and hard I think, with these two long climbs. Then, it will be a long downhill and flat. On paper, it’s a good stage for Pedersen. We’ll see during the stage if we can handle it.”
The pace in the peloton eases again as the road starts to rise once more. Lidl-Trek seem to just be managing things on the climbs and going hard on the descents and valley roads to keep Pedersen as fresh as possible and the gap to the break as simple to control as possible.
The Lautaret is the second highest summit of this year's race at 2059 metres of elevation above sea level. Only the Bola del Mundo at 2251 metres on stage 20 is higher.
The temperature has gone up a lot to 27.5°c. A rather toasty day on the bike for the riders to deal with.
Onto the Lautaret they go with another 5, 3 and 1 point(s) available at the top.
There is a scenario where Quinn could possible take the jersey too to make it a little bit more complicated.
The break's gap returns to 2'25" as the pace drops on the climb back in the peloton once again.
The gap is back out beyond three minutes again.
The first two hours average speed is 34.3kph. A solid tempo has been set so far.
Three minutes split the break and bunch.
🏁 - 133 km | Stage 4️⃣ - Etapa 4️⃣ | #LaVuelta25 🚴♂️ The breakaway of 5 men is still out front as the riders make their way up Lautaret ⛰ Los 5 escapados, Aparicio, Nicolau, Vervaeke, Quinn y Benneu, ya suben Lautaret ⏱️ + 3'05" Peloton #VueltaLIVE
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T11:50:33.204Z
Quinn leads over the climb with 35" on the chasers and 2'45" back to the peloton.
KoM top 5 after today's climbs:
There is now almost 80km of descending for the riders to deal with as they head down towards Voiron.
Quinn has been dragged back by the chasers with the peloton now at 1'43".
The kilometres are ticking down very quickly on the descent of the Lautaret with the peloton closing in on the break.
Alpecin-Deceuninck and Israel-Premier Tech join Lidl-Trek on the front of the peloton.
The gap is steady at around a minute and a half.
The gap drops to just 42" seconds as the peloton seem done with having a breakaway today.
Some stunning views on the race route today. However, the riders don't have time to take it in as they are fully focused on the stage.
🏔🏟 The best stadium in the world 😍 🏔🏟 Los mejores estadios del mundo 😍 📸 Cxcling Creative Agency | #LaVuelta25
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T12:35:53.572Z
The gap between the peloton was last given as 17".
The peloton are coming by Le Bourg d'Oisans, the gateway to Alpe d'Huez but the race is not going that way today as the breakaway is caught.
Attack
❌ With 91km to go, the breakaway’s hopes are over. Only Aparicio tries again! 👏 La aventura de la fuga se acaba aquí... Aunque Mario Aparicio lo sigue intentando #LaVuelta25 #VueltaLIVE
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T12:46:08.813Z
Aparicio is finally caught.
It has been a very relaxed day for Vingegaard today...
👋 Jonas says hi 😘 #LaVuelta25
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T12:49:34.760Z
Fernandez is riding well and has a gap of 38" on the peloton.
🏁- 81 km | Stage 4️⃣ Etapa 4️⃣ | #LaVuelta25 💥 Sinuhé Fernandez decides to shake things up a little! Can he persist? ¡🇪🇸 Sinuhé Fernández - Burgos Burpellet BH se marcha en solitario! ¿Tendrá opciones? 🤔 #VueltaLIVE
— @lavuelta.bsky.social (@lavuelta.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-08-26T13:02:27.031Z
The peloton are just tapping out a solid pace here and are beginning to drag Fernandez back towards the bunch again.
The average speed has gone up to 40kph thanks to the huge amount of descending the riders have tackled in the last hour.
Fernandez gets his advantage back out to 38".
The race has really been unchanged for some time now. Fernandez is tapping out his tempo. The average speed is up to 41.2kph now as the Spaniard has 46" on the peloton.
Gap starts to steadily drop again as the race are heading to a small kicker before the intermediate sprint in Noyarey with the temperature soaring up to 31.1 °C.
The peloton looks calm but teams are getting into colour order as they prepare to take on a small climb.
Fernandez looks to really be labouring on this climb with the peloton now rapidly closing in on the Spanish rider.
Lidl-Trek, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Visma-Lease a Bike, Groupama-FDJ and UAE Team Emirates-XRG lead the peloton.
A really solid ride by Fernandez but he has finally been dragged back again with 46km to go.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Movistar and Visma-Lease a Bike up the pace on the descent with Lidl-Trek and Groupama-FDJ just disappearing for the moment.
As the timing goes over 4 hours on the road the peloton is strung out after a calm ascent then a rapid descent.
The temperature has continued to go up and now is at the rather unpleasant 34°c.
5km to the intermediate sprint where there are 20, 17, 15 13 and 10 points available as well as 6, 4 and 2 bonus seconds.
1km to the intermediate sprint.
Multiple riders going back to the team cars to get the finale bits of sustenance as the ride next to the Isere river near Grenoble.
Several teams in colour order on the front of the peloton 42" up to Armirail at the front of the race.
Armirail is doing a great ride here as he is holding 47" on the peloton.
Tom Picock (Q36.5) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) seem very relaxed at the back of the peloton saving energy and staying out of stress at the front.
Alpecin-Deceuninck and Lidl-Trek join forces to up the tempo considerably as Armirail's gap was heading towards being possibly worrying but the gap is now coming down.
Any incidents or accidents in the last 5km will see riders have the same time as the group they were in. No stress once they get through the 5km marker.
Armirail is caught with 15km to go.
On the front of the bunch spread across the road are Visma-Lease a Bike, Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ, Arkea-B&B Hotels, Movistar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Bahrain Victorious.
Lidl-Trek and Alpecin-Deceuninck losing rider with some sat at the back of the peloton after doing their bit earlier in the stage.
7km to go and it is the same 7 teams on the front as previously mentioned with the last 10 minutes seeing a speed of 49kph.
Israel-Premier Tech, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Q36.5 all move up for their leaders.
Campenaerts drags Vingegaard to the front as they go through that 5km banner with Lidl-Trek and UAE Team Emirates-XRG coming over the top.
After disappearing for a while, Alpecin-Deceuninck move up with 4km to go but they aren't right up to the front just yet and the door is momentarily closed to them.
Bahrain Victorious, Lotto and Ineos Grenadiers make it to the front now.
3km to go. Israel-Premier tech and Caja Rural-Seguros RGA join Ineos Grenadiers and Arkea-B&B Hotels on the front with the latter taking control through some very technical road furniture.
Gaudu is very well placed at the front of the bunch with Vingegaard nowhere near him. The Frenchman just needs to be 8 places ahead of the Dane to take the red jersey to Spain tomorrow.
2km to go and it is still Ineos Grenadiers and Arkea-B&B Hotels on the front with Alpecin-Deceuninck and Picnic-PostNL just lurking on the shoulders of those teams.
500 metres to go and Q36.5 lead Alpecin-Deceuninck into the closing stages. Pedersen suddenly very well placed as is Philipsen.
Ben Turner of Ineos Grenadiers wins stage four of La Vuelta a España 2025!
Turner was a last minute call up after some very impressive performances in Poland and the Renewi Tour. He has just out sprinted Philipsen and Vernon.
Edward Planckaert was the leadout man for his Alpecin-Deceuninck leader, Philipsen. In the sprint Philipsen was screaming at Planckaert to get out of the way and go to the right to open up the road for him. Maybe Planckaert couldn't hear as he didn't get out of the way.
There will be plenty to take in from the final stage before La Vuelta finally heads to Spain tomorrow. The best place to start is with our post race report in the link below...
>>> Vuelta a España stage 4: Ben Turner powers past Jasper Philipsen for first Grand Tour stage victory
A huge moment in the career of Ben Turner from Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
It is a huge moment for David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) as he takes the race leader's jersey in his home country. The Frenchman finished about 10 positions ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and he only needed to be 8 ahead to take red.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has been rather anonymous so far in this race but the rider from Barcelona sits in 10th overall at just 16" down with the big mountains all still to come. He leads the best young rider classification.
Thanks to his intermediate sprint win, Mads Pedersen goes into the green jersey by a point over Ethan Vernon.
Polka dots will be worn by Joel Nicolau (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) as the race heads to his home region. A big moment for the Spanish rider. He should wear that for at least two stages.
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