The 184 km stage from Winter Park to Hegra began in strong wind, and a large 16-rider breakaway went up the road early — including Paul Double, Dries De Bondt and Julius Johansen plus riders threatening Yannis Voisard's lead — while behind, the field exploded with Sergio Higuita briefly losing ground and several sprinters, including Fabio Jakobsen, dropped. But the move carried too many ambitions and, crucially, the shifting wind direction turned into a block headwind that helped the chase reel everything back with 56 km to go. The day then settled until a late dig by Zeb Kyffin was snuffed out by the headwind, and the teams held their lead-outs to the last moment. With no organised lead-out, Pascal Ackermann sprinted very early; Jonathan Milan came through but was caught on the saddle mid-effort, apparently burnt out, and Matteo Malucelli took his wheel perfectly to surge past in the final metres for a surprise win — denying Milan a third stage.

The bunch finish with the GC group together left the overall unchanged: Yannis Voisard retained the leader's jersey by 4 seconds over Afonso Eulálio, with the climbers and all-rounders saving themselves for the decisive Stage 5 summit finish at Skyviews of Harrat Uwayrid. The headwind that neutralised the dangerous break ultimately protected the status quo.