“It was an incredible feeling when I crossed the finish line,” Lemmen said afterward. “I had been waiting a long time for my first victory, and today it finally came. It’s special to win in the WorldTour and immediately take the leader’s jersey as well. I still can’t believe it.” 

After three sprint stages, the riders headed into the mountains for the first time. They covered 176 kilometers from Żagań to Karpacz. Team Visma | Lease a Bike started the stage with one fewer rider. Anton Schiffer was forced to withdraw from the race after crashing in the third stage, suffering a fractured collarbone. 

A four-rider breakaway shaped the opening phase of the stage, but with 40 kilometers remaining, the race was shaken up by a major crash in the peloton. Wilco Kelderman and Lemmen were both caught up in the crash, but both Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were able to continue. After a brief neutralization, the stage resumed. The four early breakaway riders were caught by the peloton at the start of the final climb. 

On the challenging final climb toward Karpacz, Tijmen Graat launched an attack. The 23-year-old Dutchman from Team Visma | Lease a Bike was followed by Marco Brenner and Lemmen. Not long afterward, Lemmen put in a strong acceleration of his own. Chasers Scaroni and Brenner were unable to close the gap to the Dutchman. Scaroni came very close in the final meters, but Lemmen held on by the narrowest of margins. It was Lemmen’s first professional victory since joining Team Visma | Lease a Bike in 2024. 

“After the crash, I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to continue,” Lemmen said. “When I got back on the bike, I felt pain everywhere. At that point, the adrenaline took over and I decided to keep going. After the restart, the peloton was riding a little more cautiously, and I took advantage of that to attack. I took the risk of going on the offensive myself, and it worked out well. After so many attempts to win, I finally managed to do it.” 

Lemmen heads into the challenging final weekend as the leader of the overall classification. He has a six-second lead over his closest rival, Christian Scaroni. Louis Barré sits sixth, 26 seconds behind Lemmen.