GEVREY-CHAMBERTIN > DIJON (August 4, 2026) – The fact that everyone expected her to triumph today doesn’t take anything out from Marlen Reusser’s amazing performance – one of the best victories in her career, if not the best. The reigning ITT World Champion excelled in the individual time trial of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to defeat Dutch rouleur Lieke Nooijen (Visma-Lease a Bike) by 4” and put 18” on Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez), the best amongst the rest of the GC contenders on a day where defending Tour champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) lost more than two minutes to the winner. Even more was conceded by Sigrid Haugset (Uno-X Mobility), who lost her Yellow Jersey on the way to Dijon after her excellent solo victory in the Jura mountains on the eve. Reusser is of course the new overall leader of this Grande Boucle, with 14” on Vollering and 54” on Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly). The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift now enters a new phase, with two demanding mid-mountain stages to come in Belleville-en-Beaujolais and Tournon-sur-Rhône ahead of the much-anticipated mountaintop finish in Mont Ventoux.
At 2:51 p.m. CEST, Romina Hinojosa (Lotto Intermarché Ladies) became the first of 138 riders to start Stage 4 of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The Mexican rider inaugurated the 21-kilometer individual time trial from Gévrey-Chambertin to Dijon. The course featured three distinct sections: an opening 7-kilometer flat stretch, a rolling middle section that included several short climbs and a 1.8-kilometer ascent averaging 6.9%, and a final 9 kilometers of undulating terrain into the finish.
Extraordinary performance by Lieke Nooijen
Hinojosa was the first rider to complete the course, posting a time of 31:24. Noémie Abgrall (Ma Petite Entreprise) immediately improved on that mark with 30:33 before teammate Célia Le Mouël took over the provisional lead with 28:50. The French national champion’s benchmark lasted only briefly, as Sandrine Tas (Lotto Intermarché Ladies) bettered it by 0.96 seconds. Half an hour later, Belgian national champion Lotte Claes (Fenix-Premier Tech) crossed the line in 28:25 at an average speed of 44.34 kph.
Claes’ time remained at the top of the standings for only a few minutes before Lieke Nooijen (Visma | Lease a Bike) delivered an outstanding ride. The Dutch rider posted a new fastest time of 27:34 at an average speed of 45.70 kph, finishing 51 seconds ahead of Claes. Strong performances from Mischa Bredewold (SD Worx-Protime), Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly) and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM) were not enough to surpass Nooijen’s benchmark.
Marlen Reusser claimed the stage and the yellow jersey
The general classification contenders took center stage during the final hour. Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) recorded 28:39, Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) stopped the clock at 28:34, and her teammate Dominika Włodarczyk finished in 28:52.
The race favorite started last in the rainbow jersey and became the only rider to eclipse Nooijen’s time. Marlen Reusser (Movistar Team) reached the intermediate checkpoint at kilometer 9.7 with a 20-second advantage over the Dutch rider before setting the fastest time in Dijon, stopping the clock at 27:30 at an average speed of 45.82 kph. Reusser ultimately beat Nooijen by just 4 seconds, underscoring the exceptional second half of the time trial produced by the Visma | Lease a Bike rider.
The remaining overall contenders focused on limiting their losses to Reusser. Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) delivered a strong ride to finish in 27:48 at an average speed of 45.32 kph, just 18 seconds behind the stage winner. Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) and Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon//SRAM) conceded 1:03 and 1:09, respectively. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Kim Le Court-Pienaar (AG Insurance-Soudal) lost more significant time, finishing 2:13 and 2:23 behind Reusser.
Stage 3 winner and overnight race leader Sigrid Haugset (Uno-X Mobility) finished 3:06 behind Reusser and relinquished the yellow jersey to the Swiss time trial specialist, who capitalized on a course that suited her strengths perfectly.
Reusser talked about her Dijon Project:
“I am super happy. This is a goal that we have had in mind for a long time. This is the first Tour de France I have really targeted. I knew it was going to start from Switzerland, on the Swiss national day, and that we were going to have this ITT today. It became our ‘Dijon Project’ to win the stage and take the Yellow Jersey today – Yellow, like Dijon’s mustard! It has worked out. It is always hard to win an ITT, so I’m thrilled it happened like this.”
“It hasn’t been the perfect time trial, but it’s been good. I’ve started off quite well on the climb, but then I’ve had a few issues with my bike and with the wind, which had changed compared to this morning when I did the recon. I had planned to manage my effort differently, but I’ve still pulled off a good performance and a good result.”
Utah’s Natalie Quinn (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) finished in 28th place at 1:47 back.
Stage 4 Results:
| 1 | M. REUSSER | MOVISTAR TEAM | 00h 27′ 30” | – | – | – |
| 2 | L. NOOIJEN | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 00h 27′ 34” | + 00h 00′ 04” | – | – |
| 3 | D. VOLLERING | FDJ UNITED-SUEZ | 00h 27′ 48” | + 00h 00′ 18” | – | – |
| 4 | Z. BACKSTEDT | CANYON//SRAM | 00h 27′ 50” | + 00h 00′ 20” | – | – |
| 5 | M. BREDEWOLD | TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME | 00h 28′ 15” | + 00h 00′ 45” | – | – |
| 6 | K. FAULKNER | EF EDUCATION – OATLY | 00h 28′ 24” | + 00h 00′ 54” | – | – |
| 7 | C. KERBAOL | EF EDUCATION – OATLY | 00h 28′ 24” | + 00h 00′ 54” | – | – |
| 8 | L. CLAES | FENIX-PREMIER TECH | 00h 28′ 25” | + 00h 00′ 55” | – | – |
| 9 | R. MARKUS | LIDL – TREK | 00h 28′ 31” | + 00h 01′ 01” | – | – |
| 10 | E. LONGO BORGHINI | UAE Team L’IMAD | 00h 28′ 33” | + 00h 01′ 03” | – | – |
General Classification after Stage 4:
| 1 | M. REUSSER | MOVISTAR TEAM | 11h 47′ 36” | – | – | – |
| 2 | D. VOLLERING | FDJ UNITED-SUEZ | 11h 47′ 50” | + 00h 00′ 14” | B : 4” | – |
| 3 | C. KERBAOL | EF EDUCATION – OATLY | 11h 48′ 30” | + 00h 00′ 54” | – | – |
| 4 | S. HAUGSET | UNO-X MOBILITY | 11h 48′ 32” | + 00h 00′ 56” | B : 16” | – |
| 5 | E. LONGO BORGHINI | UAE Team L’IMAD | 11h 48′ 39” | + 00h 01′ 03” | – | – |
| 6 | K. NIEWIADOMA-PHINNEY | CANYON//SRAM | 11h 48′ 45” | + 00h 01′ 09” | – | – |
| 7 | P. BLASI CAIROL | UAE Team L’IMAD | 11h 48′ 48” | + 00h 01′ 12” | – | – |
| 8 | A. VAN DER BREGGEN | TEAM SD WORX – PROTIME | 11h 48′ 53” | + 00h 01′ 17” | – | – |
| 9 | A. NIEDERMAIER | CANYON//SRAM | 11h 49′ 19” | + 00h 01′ 43” | – | – |
| 10 | F. DE VRIES | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 11h 49′ 23” | + 00h 01′ 47” | – | – |
