Mads Pedersen thrived in the wet and cold conditions, driving a relentless pace that shattered the peloton on the final climb to La Loge des Gardes. Through the rain and sleet, João Almeida caught Jonas Vingegaard and powered to victory in Paris-Nice stage 4.
It was a tough stage for GC riders, with over three hours of hard riding in wet and cold conditions. The race was briefly neutralised in the middle of the stage, and there was even snowfall. Northern Europeans thrived in these conditions, as Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek set a hard pace for Mattias Skjelmose. Meanwhile, Tobias Foss and Joshua Tarling attacked with 52 km to go, bridging to the breakaway with teammate Ben Swift.
The stage finished atop La Loge des Gardes, where, in the 2023 edition of this race, Tadej Pogačar won with a time of 16:22 minutes and an estimated 6.70 ᵉW/Kg. That day, Jonas Vingegaard, who arrived below his best shape, struggled and finished sixth. This time, Visma brought their two strongest GC riders—the 2024 Paris-Nice winner and current race leader after the TTT, Matteo Jorgenson, along with Vingegaard.
Nils Politt helped set a hard pace at the bottom of the climb, as UAE had brought João Almeida and Brandon McNulty. Mads Pedersen, excelling in these conditions, then reduced the GC group on the final climb to only the strongest climbers. Foss had around a 40-second advantage before the climb, but it was not enough.
After enduring gruelling race conditions, the lightweight Lenny Martinez was active on the climb, launching an attack that Vingegaard quickly closed down. Almeida then increased the pace with a slight acceleration. Race leader Jorgenson remained in the wheels, while his teammate Vingegaard responded to rival attacks. Martinez attacked again, with the Dane once more on his wheel. Vingegaard, unwilling to work with the Frenchman, initially tried to counterattack him and succeeded in dropping him on his second attempt. However, Almeida and the GC group kept Vingegaard within 10 seconds, making the climb far more exciting than a typical Pogačar-style solo, where he immediately opens a huge gap.
In the final moments, Almeida caught and passed Vingegaard, taking the stage win, with all the favourites finishing within six seconds of each other. Vingegaard and Jorgenson now lead the race with a 30–60 second gap over their closest rivals.
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Almeida won on La Loge des Gardes with an estimated 6.57 ᵉW/Kg for 16:41 minutes—19 seconds slower than Pogačar and Gaudu in the 2023 race. Vingegaard, who spent the most time in the wind, produced 6.59 ᵉW/Kg.