Reusser Wins Stage Four Time Trial and Takes Tour de France Femmes Yellow

What happened:

Watch the highlights:

Marlen Reusser took control of the Tour de France Femmes with victory on stage four, a time trial from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon. The Guardian reports that the Swiss world time-trial champion won the stage and moved into the yellow jersey, making it her third career stage win at the Tour.

Reusser now leads pre-race favourite Demi Vollering by 14 seconds overall. Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 Tour winner, is reported to be 1 minute 9 seconds further back. Defending champion Pauline Ferrand-Prévot lost more ground after struggling on the climbs, according to the source.

Why it matters:

This was the kind of stage where a specialist could reshape the general classification without needing a mountain ambush. Reusser’s time-trial credentials were already central to her threat profile, and stage four converted that advantage into the race lead. A 14-second margin over Vollering is not decisive in a multi-stage race, but it is enough to change responsibility.

The yellow jersey brings both control and exposure. Reusser’s team now has a leader to protect, while rivals have a clear target. Vollering remains close enough that the race is still highly live, but she is now chasing rather than defending a pre-race favourite’s position from the front.

Tournament impact:

The general classification has tightened around a different axis. Before this stage, the question was how the strongest overall contenders would handle the time trial. After it, the question becomes whether Reusser can defend a lead when the route asks for more than pure clock-racing strength.

Ferrand-Prévot’s loss of ground is also important. The source does not give her exact deficit in the supplied summary, but it does say she toiled up the climbs and lost more time. For a defending champion, that shifts the narrative from controlled defense to recovery. Every subsequent stage becomes less forgiving if the gap continues to grow.

What to watch:

The key battle is Reusser versus Vollering. Fourteen seconds is small enough for bonus seconds, tactical pressure or one hard stage to matter, but large enough that Vollering cannot treat the time trial as neutral damage. Niewiadoma-Phinney’s position, more than a minute further back from Vollering, makes her path harder, though not closed if the race opens up later.

Reusser’s challenge is now durability. Winning the time trial confirms form and specialization. Holding yellow requires surviving the terrain, team tactics and repeated attacks from riders who know the clock is still close.

Confidence:

Confirmed by the source: Reusser won stage four, took the overall lead, leads Vollering by 14 seconds, and Niewiadoma-Phinney is 1 minute 9 seconds further back. Still needing follow-up: full general classification gaps beyond those named, team tactics for the next stage, and Ferrand-Prévot’s exact overall deficit.