The breakaway prevails over the peloton once again, and Quinn Simmons takes the victory

The breakaway once again prevailed in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) claimed the fourth stage after being the strongest in a large group of escapees that managed to withstand the peloton's pursuit in the final kilometers of the stage contested between Le Puy-en-Velay and Montrond-les-Bains.

Quinn Simmons completes the breakaway and leaves the peloton empty-handed in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The American completed the 167.4 kilometers of the route in 3:34:08 and won the sprint against a group of nine riders who arrived first after a stage marked by continuous attacks and a peloton pursuit that never quite closed the gap.

The route featured six categorized climbs, although none particularly demanding. The last difficulty was located more than 40 kilometers from the finish, a perfect scenario for the most combative riders to try to anticipate the peloton.

After numerous moves during the first half of the stage, a quality breakaway formed by riders such as Quinn Simmons, Andreas Kron, Finn Fisher-Black, Raúl García Pierna, Pablo Castrillo, Mattéo Vercher, Jordan Jegat, and Marco Frigo ultimately consolidated.

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Visma wins the team time trial and Jorgenson strikes in the overall standings of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

The advantage was never too wide, but it was enough to maintain uncertainty throughout the afternoon. Behind, Visma Lease a Bike took on much of the pursuit with the intention of giving Van Aert a chance in a hypothetical mass sprint.

Simmons takes advantage of doubts and finishes the breakaway

The breakaway reached the decisive stretch with an increasingly reduced lead. The peloton was rolling at high speed along the long straights approaching Montrond-les-Bains and got to within just a few seconds of the escapees.

However, the leaders maintained excellent collaboration led by Movistar until the last kilometer. And although Visma tried, they could not make contact with the breakaway, and everything was resolved in a sprint among the escapees.

The champion of the United States managed to impose his power in the finish and ended up raising his arms ahead of Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies), who completed the stage podium.

Van Aert improves but still can't find victory

Although the result once again smiled on the breakaway, the stage left more positive feelings for Wout van Aert. After his difficulties in the early stages and having dropped out very early in the team time trial, the Belgian showed a much more competitive version.

Visma organized the pursuit for a good part of the stage, and the peloton managed to catch sight of the escapees in the final stretch, but the effort was not enough to definitively close the gap.

Victory once again slipped out of Van Aert's reach, who continues to seek his best form in a race he is using as preparation for the Tour de France.

Up front, the general classification did not suffer significant changes among the main favorites before the decisive mountain stages that will come in the final stretch of the week.

Top 10 Stage 4 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

1. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) – 3:34:08
2. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – same time
3. Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies) – same time
4. Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling Team) – same time
5. Raúl García Pierna (Movistar Team) – same time
6. Andreas Kron (Uno-X Mobility) – same time
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – same time
8. Lars Craps (Lotto Intermarché) – same time
9. Jan Castellón (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) – same time
10. Pablo Castrillo (Movistar Team) +4”