Stage 4 Is The Queen Stage — 167.8km And 3,900m Of Climbing From Arco To Schwaz, Pellizzari Holds Four Seconds On Arensman And 15 On Vingegaard
The 2026 Tour of the Alps reaches its decisive day on Thursday. Stage 4 from Arco to Schwaz covers 167.8 kilometres and 3,900 metres of elevation gain, launches straight into the first-category Passo Bordala, and offers a second-half route of the kind of explosive, uncategorised climbing that the Tour of the Alps uses to disguise queen stages as transition days. If the GC is going to move, it moves here.
At the head of the overall, Giulio Pellizzari holds the maglia verde by four seconds over Thymen Arensman, six over Filippo Gaffuri, ten over Egan Bernal and Aleksandr Vlasov, and 15 over Jonas Vingegaard. The entire GC is within 30 seconds — a situation that realistically cannot survive a 3,900-metre day.
Roll-out is from Arco at 10:45 CET. The Bordala (14.8 km at 6.9 per cent with ramps to 9 per cent) begins after less than 20 kilometres of valley road. That is early enough for a serious breakaway to establish, late enough that a GC team that wants to thin the field can ride tempo from the gun. INEOS Grenadiers are the obvious instigator: Arensman is second overall and Bernal has spent two days biding his time.
From the Bordala summit the profile eases, briefly. The Vicolo Vattaro (8.4 km at 6.7 per cent) and Passo Redebus (13 km at 6.7 per cent) slot in back-to-back inside the final 80 kilometres, offering launchpads that favour a climber happy to commit 40-kilometre raids. Neither is classified on the road book. Both have decided Giro d'Italia stages in the past decade.
Vingegaard is the elephant in the room. The Dane has ridden conservatively on Stages 1–3, content with a 15-second deficit and one final dress rehearsal before the Giro d'Italia Grande Partenza in Bulgaria on 9 May. If Visma-Lease a Bike move here, they will do so on the Redebus, not the Bordala. If they do not, Pellizzari is likely to carry the jersey to Friday's Stage 5 time trial in Innsbruck, where his four-second lead over a time-trialling specialist in Arensman will be under serious threat.
Primož Roglič, sixth overall at 18 seconds, is the wildcard. The Slovenian rides for Pellizzari's podium but has always saved his best Alps ride for the queen stage. Bernal, a Giro podium contender on his best days, needs a breakout ride here if he is to convince INEOS to back him in Bulgaria alongside Arensman.
Weather forecasts from the Trentino regional service call for clear skies on the Bordala and a 40 per cent afternoon shower risk in Inn Valley — a wet, fast descent into Schwaz is possible. Expected finish is 15:45 CET. Live broadcast on Eurosport from 13:00 CET, with coverage and social updates on the Cycling Lookout social feed throughout the day.
Friday's Stage 5 is the 18.4-kilometre individual time trial that closes the race in Innsbruck. If Pellizzari can hold yellow tonight, he becomes the first Italian to win the Tour of the Alps overall since Geraint Thomas rewrote the record book on the same roads in 2017. But with 3,900 metres between here and there, very few riders on the startlist truly believe that outcome is on the cards.