Tadej Pogacar extended his Tour de Suisse 2026 lead after sensationally pipping his one-day classics rival Mathieu van der Poel by just 0.31 seconds in Saturday's individual time trial.

Starting last as the race leader, world champion Pogacar drilled his effort over the 23.7-kilometer route around Aarburg as hard as he could, right to the line, and it proved enough to deny Van der Poel a morale-boosting victory.

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"I felt great," said Pogacar, who has won two of the first four stages and is the overwhelming favorite for Sunday's finale in the high mountains. "I didn't know I was fighting for the win. I knew it was close. I was just trying to go all out to the finish, and I'm really happy with the win.

"It's a great race, and I'm happy to take a second win. I'll go out for another one tomorrow."

Pogacar now has 11 wins this season in just 15 race days.

As for the overall picture at the mountainous Swiss tour, Pogacar gained more than a minute and a half on his nearest challenger, former Giro d'Italia winner Richard Carapaz, to extend his lead to 4 minutes, 22 seconds.

Czech Mathias Vacek moved up a place to third overall with an impressive fourth-place finish on the day and now sits just five seconds behind Carapaz in the overall standings.

Young Italian Andrea Bagioli dropped a place in the overall standings to fourth at 4:46 after finishing 43rd in the race against the clock.

Van der Poel had sat in the leader's chair for around an hour watching the final 50 riders come to the finish.

It was not until the last half a dozen or so that his time came under threat. First, Norwegian Tobias Foss finished six seconds slower, and then Vacek came home just 10 seconds down.

As Pogacar rolled through the red flag banner indicating he had 1 kilometer to go, it was clear that it was going to be close.

But in true Pogacar style, the 27-year-old Slovenian gave it everything, leaving Van der Poel looking stunned, even managing a wry smile.

Stage 5 on Sunday starts at Villars-sur-Ollon and sees the peloton climb the Col de la Croix twice in full and twice partially over the 150.7-kilometer route.

Tour de Suisse 2026 Stage 4 Results – Top 25

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 26:37.99
2. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 26:38.30
3. Tobias Foss (Netcompany INEOS) – 26:44.67
4. Mathias Vacek (Lidl - Trek) – 26:48.78
5. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 26:50.19
6. Sander De Pestel (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 27:05.25
7. Felix Großschartner (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 27:05.30
8. Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco AlUla) – 27:07.44
9. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 27:09.18
10. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 27:14.52
11. Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 27:14.73
12. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 27:15.79
13. Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) – 27:16.74
14. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 27:21.42
15. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain - Victorious) – 27:22.19
16. Alec Segaert (Bahrain - Victorious) – 27:24.87
17. Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) – 27:27.70
18. Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 27:29.34
19. Mattia Gaffuri (Team Picnic PostNL) – 27:30.40
20. Andrew August (Netcompany INEOS) – 27:30.40
21. Michał Kwiatkowski (Netcompany INEOS) – 27:39.88
22. Arthur Kluckers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 27:41.48
23. Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 27:44.74
24. Pier-André Côté (NSN Cycling Team) – 27:44.74
25. Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 27:45.90

Tour de Suisse 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 4

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 56:29 (B14)
2. Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 1:00:51 (B6)
3. Mathias Vacek (Lidl - Trek) – 1:00:56
4. Andrea Bagioli (Lidl - Trek) – 1:01:15 (B4)
5. Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 1:01:45
6. Ilan Van Wilder (Netcompany INEOS) – 1:01:48
7. Tobias Foss (Soudal Quick-Step) – 1:02:03
8. Wilco Kelderman (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 1:02:20
9. Primož Roglič (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 1:02:33
10. Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 1:03:12 (B1)
11. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 1:03:23 (B15)
12. Finlay Pickering (Team Jayco AlUla) – 1:03:28 (B1)
13. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 1:03:31
14. Andrew August (Netcompany INEOS) – 1:04:05
15. Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) – 1:04:07
16. Tiesj Benoot (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 1:04:12
17. Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 1:04:18 (B1)
18. Bart Lemmen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 1:04:34 (B4)
19. Mattia Gaffuri (Team Picnic PostNL) – 1:05:07
20. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 1:05:40
21. Lorenzo Germani (Groupama - FDJ United) – 1:06:00
22. Simon Dalby (Uno-X Mobility) – 1:06:35
23. Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 1:06:42
24. Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché) – 1:08:35
25. Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 1:09:30

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