Across France and Spain, more than 250,000 people have been displaced, hundreds of homes destroyed, and one death has been reported. Officials say extreme heat and climate change have intensified the fires, prompting large-scale evacuations and an unprecedented firefighting response.

Belgian Tim Merlier won the Tour de France seventh stage in a sprint finish at the end of a 175km run from Hagetmau to Bordeaux on Friday (July 10, 2026).

Norwegian Soren Waerenskjold took second place with Eritrean Biniam Girmay third as reigning champion Tadej Pogacar held onto the race leader’s yellow jersey.

Merlier timed his effort to perfection, reeling in Jasper Philipsen and Girmay to secure a clear victory.

Philipsen was fifth behind Max Kanter in fourth.

Denmark’s Mads Pedersen powered to victory from a big breakaway on stage four of ​the Tour de France on Tuesday (July 7, 2026), leading a Lidl-Trek one-two finish while Norway’s Torstein ‌Traeen from Uno-X Mobility claimed the yellow jersey.

Pedersen was the ​fastest from a lead group at the end of the ⁠gruelling 181.9-km hilly stage from Carcassonne to Foix, crossing the line ahead of teammate Quinn Simmons, while Spain’s Raul Garcia Pierna of Movistar finished third.

It was Pedersen’s third ‌victory in the Tour de France and his 12th in a Grand Tour.

The stage was shaped by an early breakaway ‌of 34 riders who built up a sizeable advantage over the ‌peloton ⁠on a route featuring four classified climbs. As the gap held ⁠deep into the stage, it became increasingly clear that the day’s winner would emerge from the escape group rather than the general classification contenders.

A reduced front group formed over the ​latter climbs, with Jan Tratnik, ‌Mathias Vacek and Alex Kirsch initially driving the pace before Pedersen, Simmons, Sean Quinn and Traeen bridged across on the Category Two Col de Montsegur, the day’s final climb.

Lidl-Trek’s numerical advantage proved decisive in the ‌closing kilometres. Vacek set a fierce tempo under the flamme rouge ​and although Kevin Vauquelin swept through the final corner in front after a late attack, Pedersen unleashed a powerful sprint ⁠to secure victory.

The win also moved Pedersen into the lead of the points classification, taking the green jersey from defending champion Tadej Pogacar.

Traeen takes yellow jersey

Traeen was another major beneficiary of the day’s breakaway, taking the overall race lead from Pogacar. The Norwegian, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer three years ago before making a full recovery, became only the third Norwegian rider to wear the Tour’s yellow jersey after Thor Hushovd and Alexander Kristoff.

“There isn’t that much to say right now. Right now I’m a ‌bit tired,” Traeen told TV2 after the stage.

Asked about the significance of the achievement, he ​added: “It is, of course, a bit of a boyhood dream coming true. A good day at work, as one would ⁠say.”

Pogacar, who claimed the 22nd Tour stage victory of his career on Monday, ⁠relinquished the race lead as the peloton rolled in well behind the breakaway.

The Slovenian remains level on time with chief rival Jonas ‌Vingegaard, while Remco Evenepoel is third overall. Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas and Florian Lipowitz are all within 53 seconds of ​the lead.

Defending champion ‌Tadej Pogacar’s final attack paid off as the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider ​won his first stage of this year’s Tour de France on ⁠Monday, taking the overall lead from Jonas Vingegaard, who finished second.

Pogacar and Vingegaard are tied at eight hours, 46 minutes and 55 seconds after stage three, but Pogacar’s bonus seconds and countback ‌put him in the lead as the four-time winner continues the hunt for his third straight Tour de France title.

Stage two winner and teammate ‌Isaac del Toroled out Pogacar in the final kilometre and the Slovenian earned ‌his ⁠22nd Tour de France stage win with a lunge for the finish ⁠line after a gruelling 195.9-km mountainous ride in stage three.

“It’s because of Isaac today, I got some extra power in the finale,” said the 27-year-old Pogacar, praising his Mexican teammate.

“Actually in the middle of ​the stage we decided that it’s ‌possible to go for the stage win and I’m really, really happy that we started the tour like this and incredibly finished today.”

Richard Carapaz came in third, while 19-year-old French debutant Paul Seixas claimed fourth place.

Gruelling mountain ride

Officials barred the ‌public from the finishing point of the mountain stage due to a forest ​fire in the region. A scorching sun bore down on the riders as they started the journey from Spain’s Granollers in temperatures of ⁠more than 35 degrees Celsius.

Despite the heat, early breakaway attempts pushed the peloton, with Vingegaard covering 43.6km in the first hour.

Bruno Armirail, wearing the number 13 bib upside down ‌to ward off bad luck, was in a crash with a few others at the front of the bunch shortly after the stage started. Frenchman Armirail suffered injuries to his right arm and leg, but everyone quickly got back on their bikes.

Frenchman Alex Baudin (EF Education–EasyPost) led a breakaway group of six ahead of the 9.3-km climb to Col de Toses, and was the first to reach the summit.

As the race ‌entered France, Baudin stayed in the lead to be the first at Col du Calvaire, ensuring he ​would take the polka-dot jersey from Alex Molenaar.

The peloton caught Baudin in the final 12 kilometres, as UAE Team Emirates-XRG riders set the pace, ⁠positioning three riders in front of Del Toro and Pogacar.

In the final kilometre, Sepp Kuss ⁠and Del Toro led out teammates Vingegaard and Pogacar. Pogacar pulled ahead of Dane Vingegaard to make a solo finish, eliminating the lead the two-time ‌champion had enjoyed after stage two.

The race will continue on Tuesday with a 181.9-km ride from Carcassonne to Foix, during which temperatures are forecast to reach ​41 degrees Celsius amid a heatwave.