Denmark's Mads Pedersen claimed a commanding stage victory at the Tour de France on Tuesday, winning the fourth stage from Carcassonne to Foix in a sprint finish, while Norway's Torstein Traeen seized the race leader's yellow jersey from defending champion Tadej Pogacar in a day of Nordic celebration.

Pedersen, who won the world championship in 2019, triumphed at the end of the 182-kilometre stage through the Ariège region of southern France — a mountainous area near the Pyrenees — in scorching temperatures that briefly exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. He crossed the line ahead of his Lidl-Trek team-mate Quinn Simmons, with Spain's Raul Garcia third. The win was Pedersen's third Tour stage victory, following successes in 2022 and 2023, and earned him the green points jersey. His team-mate Mathias Vacek, who finished tenth, moved into third overall and now leads the young rider's white jersey competition.

Traeen, 30, had been part of an initial 34-man breakaway that formed roughly 25 kilometres into the stage. UAE Emirates-XRG, Pogacar's team, made little effort to rein in the escape, allowing the group's advantage to swell. The breakaway was gradually reduced to ten riders over the day's final climb, the 7-kilometre Col de Montsegur at 1,059 metres. American Sean Quinn attempted to drop Traeen on the ascent but could not shake the Norwegian, who finished eighth on the stage. With the peloton arriving more than 13 minutes later, Traeen vaulted into the overall lead, holding an advantage of 28 seconds over Quinn, with Pogacar dropping to fourth at 7 minutes 53 seconds — the same time as his long-standing rival Jonas Vingegaard in fifth.

For Traeen, it is his second time leading a Grand Tour, having worn the red leader's jersey at the Vuelta a España for four days the previous year. His story carries considerable personal weight: in 2022, a routine doping control after the Tour of the Alps detected no banned substance but revealed markers consistent with testicular cancer. He underwent surgery, recovered without chemotherapy, and returned to racing. He later described recovering from a subsequent concussion as harder than beating the cancer. Traeen rides for Uno-X Mobility, a small Norwegian team managed by Thor Hushovd — himself a three-time yellow jersey wearer in 2004, 2006 and 2011 — making Traeen only the third Norwegian to lead the Tour. Characteristically measured after the stage, he called it "quite a nice experience" and acknowledged that his medical history had made cycling more enjoyable. "The focus was mostly on staying as cool as possible," he said of the brutal heat. "But when you realise you can take the yellow jersey, that's nice, of course."

With a sprint-friendly stage scheduled for Wednesday, Traeen is well placed to retain the jersey for at least several more days, prolonging what has become a remarkable Nordic chapter in this year's race.