‘I don't understand what's going on’ - Traeen left in disbelief after claiming Tour yellow jersey

Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility) admitted he was struggling to comprehend the significance of moving into the yellow jersey at the Tour de France after stage 4 in Foix, delivering a historic moment for the Norwegian team.

The Uno-X Mobility rider was the highest-placed GC contender in the final selection of the breakaway, moving into the race lead after starting the day 24th overall, 5:34 behind Tadej Pogačar. 

UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who controlled the peloton for much of the stage through Nils Politt and Florian Vermeersch, appeared content to allow the breakaway to contest the stage and concede the yellow jersey.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) ultimately claimed the victory in Foix from a sprint of ten riders. Meanwhile, Træen finished eighth, but more importantly, had done enough to take the race lead. 

He now leads the Tour by 28 seconds over Sean Quinn (EF Education-EasyPost), with Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek) third at 3:50 and Pogačar notably 7:53 behind in fourth.

“It feels unreal, and I don't really understand what is going on. So yeah, I think in a couple of days maybe I will wake up and understand how big it is,” Træen said post-race. 

The 30-year-old had dreamed of wearing yellow but admitted he did not believe the opportunity was real until the final climb.

“Yeah, of course. I was thinking maybe yesterday could be the day and then turned out that Tadej and UAE wanted the stage win,” said Træen. 

“So, then yeah, it was a different story, and then when I went into the breakaway today, I was not believing until we came to this last climb, and I understand, okay, the legs are pretty good, and the gap is pretty big. So, then yeah, then you just hope and uh believe, no?”

The achievement carries extra meaning given Træen’s journey back from testicular cancer in 2022. The condition was detected after a doping control test revealed elevated hCG levels, but the Norwegian was able to return to racing later that year. 

Since his return to racing, Træen has already made his mark on a Grand Tour, after leading the Vuelta a España in 2025 for four days en route to finishing ninth overall. 

Now wearing cycling’s most recognisable jersey, Træen is determined to savour every moment as he embarks on another rodeo of leading a Grand Tour.

“Yeah, of course, the Tour is the Tour. So, I will enjoy it every day I can enjoy it. So, yeah, I just hope that I can wear it as long as possible.”