Extended Highlights - Stage 4 - The AlUla Tour 2026

Voisard tries to go on the other side of the road. Can Egita hold on at the top of this mountain? Tudor Pro Cycling all the way. Yannis Voisard, what a victory. Yannis Voisard seized control of the Alula Tour yesterday with a brilliant display on Bir Jaida Mountain Worker. However, the Swiss rider will have to be switched on in today's fourth stage with more crosswind chaos forecast on the road to Hegra. The teams that we've spoken to already this morning say that this race is going to blow apart in the crosswinds. What do you think? Yeah, probably there is a lot of chance that it will happen. So we'll try our best to keep the jersey and try to also make the sprint at the end. The profile is nice and flat. So Lidl Trek will be hoping to guide their sprint star Jonathan Milan through the echelons and give him a shot at a third stage victory. Today will be a really another really good opportunity for all of us sprinters in the end. But yeah, we will have to be really careful with the wind. It will be really, really windy. Maybe it will be more or less like the first day, maybe 30, 40 riders. As I said, the wind is really strong and it probably will split. Time is running out, meanwhile, for Jacob Alula, who are determined to win here in the region of their title sponsor, their sprinter Pascal Ackermann, hoping to improve on third place two days ago. I'm quite happy about my shape and it's going better and better from day to day. And today is still a big chance to grab. I mean, it's still a super important race for us, for Jacob Alula to be here. So we're going to fight for our stage victories. We have two days to go today. It's my chance tomorrow, the climbers day. So we have to try everything today. Stage four is the longest of this Alula tour. 173 kilometers between Winter Park and Hegra, the ancient Nabataean city that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, Saudi Arabia's first. The bonus sprint comes early after just 19 kilometers with the two intermediates active sprints in the final 50K. No climbs on the menu, but like on stages one and two, the wind is bound to be a major factor. We are by no means guaranteed a bunch sprint. Well, the pace was so relentless on this fourth stage that by the time the live pictures began, there were only 38 kilometers remaining. The average speed was well over 50 kilometers an hour for the first two hours of racing. So once we joined the action, the day's 16 man breakaway had already been caught. And after a split in the main peloton, a group of chasers had caught up again. Everybody just catching their breath on this remarkable desert road. The bonus seconds at the start of the day were picked up by Matisse Lebert, who had been the best placed man on GC in the breakaway. But no danger in the end for the green jersey of Yanis Voisin. For him, it will all come down to the hike up to the sky views of Harata Wairid in tomorrow's fifth and final stage. Ultimately, then, this was going to be another one for the sprinters. And of course, the big favorite was Jonathan Milan, already a two time stage winner earlier this week. Others to keep an eye on were Pascal Ackermann, Milan Fretta and the other Italians who've been on form this week. Matteo Moschetti, Matteo Maluccelli and Daniel Scurll. Well, not everybody had made it back to the front after those crosswind battles. A group containing the orange jersey, Ziyi Qi, was a long way back. And the gap is massive. There's the peloton. And Pinarello Q36.5 were keen to shake things up again. Now we get a big acceleration. Any moment now in this race, you need to keep your focus, because if you don't, you can miss the breakaway of the day. Now the acceleration. Wow. Look at the speed round that left hander. Well, that move came to nothing and things settled down again until Zeb Kiffin attacked for the Terengganu cycling team. Decidedly, they have been very lively this week. The British rider taking three points at the final active sprint and deciding to kick on. The riders now heading into the final 10 kilometres of this stage and enjoying some magnificent views on the road back to Hegra. Well, the terrain is pretty breathtaking, isn't it? Through the rocks and the gateway towards Hegra now. Well, Kiffin did win a stage of the Tour de Langkawi last year, but he didn't present much of a threat to a full peloton containing a fair few sprinters, and he was caught with around 7km to go. Some of the GC favourites looking relaxed as the fast men prepared to face off. The big move on the right hand side. Q Pinarello, Q36.5 with Moschetti getting ready to try and win today's stage. Modern Adventure Pro Cycling on the front with Riley Pickerel looking to try and take this victory. Bergado is there in the white colours of Total Energie as he starts to slot backwards now in the string. Not too far to go there. There's the peloton. They're going to come up and make a big swooping left hand turn onto very rough road into the finish line. It's going to be an almighty charge into a headwind. So you need to leave it quite late. Bahrain Victorious moving up now with Phil Bauhaus. But I wonder whether they're going to go with Skrll instead. XDS Astana move up in the turquoise. But Modern Adventure have the front of this peloton now. Jaco Alula move up in the lavender coloured kit as they bring forward Pascal Ackermann looking for this stage victory. Look at the speed of Lidl Trek. Where is Jonathan Milan? There he is in the red. Has to break a little bit. Three and a half hours of furious racing across the desert. And there's a fight for this left hand turn now. Milan is not quite in position yet. Here goes the team of Corfidis. Milan is trying to fight his way out of a box right now. Pascal Ackermann getting ready to go. Milan moves up onto his lead out man just in time as Ackermann goes for the finish line. Bauhaus is there. Milan is kicking as well with Consoni. Milan goes, Bauhaus kicks as well. Milan through the middle. He's being challenged now by Malocelli. Milan is going to be beaten this time on the line. It looks like Malocelli of the team of XDS Astana squeezed through on the inside. Matteo Malocelli outpacing his compatriot Milan to win this fourth stage. The 32 year old played a pivotal role in XDS Astana's survival bid last year with his eight victories helping to keep the squad in the World Tour. He's now off the mark in 2026, celebrating his 18th career victory. For 10 years, I like pro. I finished a lot of times second behind a big champion and I needed one time in front of there. Today, there was Milan. I won in front of Milan. For me, this is the best victory of my life. And I hope to be in the top sprinter in the world now. Malocelli besting Milan with Fritz Bieste Boss completing the stage podium for Picnic Postonelle. Another good effort from Robin Frodevoort in fourth, but Ackermann was down in 21st. No major changes overall, with Voisin still leading Alfonso Ulalio. Sergio Higuita remains third after chasing back in the crosswinds. That overall podium is now another big target for Astana. Milan couldn't get his third stage win today, but he has sewn up the points classification. As long as he reaches the finish line tomorrow, the Italian will go home with the red jersey. No change in the orange jersey. Key is still the race's most active rider ahead of his teammate Rosli. And Ulalio remains our best young rider ahead of Björn Kurt. Four down, one to go, and tomorrow is the GC showdown on the sky views of Harita Wairid, which promises to be spectacular. Join us for that on Saturday. And thanks for watching.