The day after their success in the team time trial, the peloton faced a treacherous stage from Tarragona to Barcelona. The focus was on the local circuit, where the Montjuïc and the Côte du Stade Olympique had to be climbed three times. After the breakaway riders were reeled in, the pace was ramped up considerably on the first climb.

The peloton was severely thinned out, and in the end around forty riders remained to contest the stage victory. In the final meters of the climb, Isaac del Toro accelerated, with his team-mate Tadej Pogacar following in his wake. Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel managed to hold on and crossed the finish line at the same time as the UAE Team Emirates duo. 

"This isn’t my favourite circuit, but I think I can be happy that I’ve kept the yellow jersey", said Vingegaard afterwards. "So far, things are going well and I’ve got nothing to complain about. I’m really trying to enjoy the yellow jersey and that’s what I did today."

Sports director Marc Reef talks about a tough day in the Spanish heat. "It was already 40 degrees on the first climb. You could notice that quite a few riders were running out of steam as soon as the pace picked up. We were ready to launch an attack on one of the climbs, but I think most were afraid of burning themselves out."

Reef is pleased with Vingegaard’s result. "We know that Jonas isn’t quite as explosive, so we’re very pleased with fourth place. When Isaac made his move, only Tadej was able to follow him. Jonas and Remco stayed on his wheel and didn’t lose any time. The fact that Jonas is still leading the general classification is a nice bonus."