Reusser wins stage four time trial, takes yellow jersey at Tour de France Femmes

Marlen Reusser of Switzerland won stage four of the 2026 Tour de France Femmes, completing the 21-kilometer individual time trial from Gevrey-Chambertin to Dijon in 27 minutes, 30 seconds, according to ESPN. The victory delivered the yellow jersey to the world time trial champion, who enters the fifth edition of the Women's Tour as a major overall contender.

Reusser's time positioned her as the race leader entering the remaining five stages of the nine-day, 1,175-kilometer race. She holds the yellow jersey by 14 seconds from Demi Vollering, the 2023 Tour de France Femmes champion, per ESPN. Cédrine Kerbaol sits third, 54 seconds off the lead.

Reusser, 34 years old and riding for Movistar, finished 4 seconds ahead of Lieke Nooijen and 18 seconds faster than Vollering in the stage. The stage format played to Reusser's strength in the discipline, in which she holds the world championship title. She told reporters after the stage, according to ESPN, "I'm super, super happy" and noted that "We always said it was our Project Dijon."

The stage result reshuffled the overall standings. Sigrid Haugset, the Norwegian rider who had worn the yellow jersey after winning stage three with a solo breakaway, finished 3 minutes, 6 seconds behind Reusser, dropping to fourth overall, 56 seconds behind the new leader. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the defending Tour champion, finished more than two minutes behind Reusser and now sits 14th overall, more than 2 minutes off the lead.

Reusser's Tour resume includes stage victories in 2022 and 2023, though she has never held the yellow jersey until now. The remaining stages of the race include two demanding mid-mountain stages in Belleville-en-Beaujolais and Tournon-sur-Rhône before the anticipated mountaintop finish on Mont Ventoux, terrain where climbers like Vollering may attempt to reclaim time and the race lead.