This page contains the stage podium, the race story, GC implications after the stage, and per-rider performance. Read no further if you intend to watch this stage unspoiled.
20-year-old Tom Crabbe (Team Flanders - Baloise) launched off Axel Zingle's wheel to win the bunch sprint in Pozoblanco on the longest stage (194 km), holding off Søren Wærenskjold and Sandy Dujardin. Iván Romeo retained the overall lead.
Geoffrey Bouchard attacked first, joined by Nil Gimeno and then Luca Creti; the trio built a few minutes' lead but were reeled back well before the finish. With the day's early move neutralised, the intermediate 'Golden Kilometre' bonus sprint became the GC flashpoint: Romain Grégoire cleverly took maximum five bonus seconds there, with Tom Pidcock taking two — moves that would matter on the final-day GC. Inside the last 6 km, Tim Wellens attacked with Laporte and Marcin Budziński, but the peloton brought them back with 2.5 km to go. The finale went to the fast men. The 20-year-old Tom Crabbe seized his chance, launching from Axel Zingle's wheel and powering clear to a clean win — his second victory of the young season — ahead of Wærenskjold and Dujardin. Romeo stayed safe in the bunch to keep the jersey.
Romeo retained the lead over Leknessund (+0:07). Behind, the Golden Kilometre bonuses lifted Romain Grégoire to third overall at +0:49, just ahead of Laporte (+0:50), Jon Barrenetxea (+0:51) and Pidcock (also +0:52). The race was set up for a decisive final mountain stage with only seven seconds between the top two.
Grégoire rode the GC intelligently on stage 4, targeting the day's intermediate 'Golden Kilometre' bonus sprint and collecting the maximum five seconds while Pidcock took two. The move moved him up to third overall at +0:49 and set him on course for a podium tilt on the final mountain day. It was the clearest sign of his ambitions for a strong opening to the 2026 season as a GC option for Groupama-FDJ.