Pogacar attacks in the Tour de France's first big mountain stage and reclaims the yellow jersey

VALLOIRE, France (AP) — Uphill. Downhill. And everywhere else in between.

Tadej Pogacar is dominating cycling like few riders ever have.

The Slovenian standout's latest exploit came in the fourth stage of the Tour de France on Tuesday, when he attacked near the top of the race's first big mountain pass and extended his lead during the twisty, high-speed descent to take back the yellow jersey.

Displaying full confidence as he hit speeds of nearly 90 kph (56 mph) coming down from the 2,642-meter (8,668-foot) Col du Galibier, Pogacar opened up nearly a full-minute gap on his biggest rival, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard.

“This was more or less the plan and we executed it truly well,” Pogacar said after his 12th career stage win at the Tour. “I wanted to hit hard today. I know this stage really well. I’ve been training here many days. It felt like a home stage.

“I had confidence in the start, I had good legs, and I had to try it. I know the downhill but I was a little bit surprised to see wet road in the first few corners. So it was a little bit scary.”

The roads were slick from melting snow banks.

Vingegaard did his best to limit the damage but finished 37 seconds behind on stage four as the race crossed back into France after the opening stages in Italy.

The Galibier met expectations as the Tour’s first decisive battleground, with previous leader Richard Carapaz was dropped on the grueling climb.

Pogacar has been producing similar displays all season.

He won four of the five races he entered before the Tour, collecting 14 victories in 31 days of racing — including prestigious trophies at the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Pogacar, who also wore yellow after Stage 2, is aiming for the rare Giro-Tour double after dominating the Italian Grand Tour in May. He’s also aiming for his third Tour title after wins in 2020 and 2021. He was runner-up to Vingegaard the last two years.

The last rider to win the Giro and the Tour in the same year was Marco Pantani in 1998.

Tour rookie Remco Evenepoel, the Spanish Vuelta and world champion in 2022, crossed second in the stage, 35 seconds behind Pogacar. Juan Ayuso, Pogacar’s UAE teammate, finished third with the same time.

Primoz Roglic crossed fourth and Vingegaard fifth.

Overall, Pogacar established a 45-second lead over Evenepoel and a 50-second advantage over Vingegaard.

“It’s never nice to lose time, but to be honest I expected bigger time differences after four stages,” Vingegaard said.

With Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates squad setting a fast pace on the climb, only Vingegaard and a handful of other riders were able to keep up toward the top of the Galibier.

Then Pogacar attacked with 800 meters (yards) to go and created about a 10-second advantage over Vingegaard at the summit. There were about 20 kilometers of descending to the finish and Pogacar extended his lead over the more cautious Vingegaard, who suffered a high-speed crash in April, breaking his collarbone and ribs and leaving him with a collapsed lung.

Vingegaard was second at the summit and Evenepoel was third.

“Let’s not forget that (Vingegaard) had a very bad crash three months ago and in the descent maybe the last bit of confidence is still not there,” Grischa Niermann, the sports director for Vingegaard’s Visma team said. “Bike racing is also downhill, not only uphill.”

At the finish line, Pogacar had plenty of time to pound his chest and raise his fists in celebration.

The route from Pinerolo, Italy, to Valloire was relatively short at 140 kilometers (87 miles) but with two category two climbs to Sestriere and Montgenevre before the grueling ascent to the Galibier, it marked the first true test of the Tour.

The Galibier — the first “hors catégorie” (beyond category) climb this year — lasted 23 kilometers (14 miles) at an average gradient of 5.1%. The hardest parts came near the summit, where the road tilted upward to a gradient of nearly 10%.

Before the summit lies a monument to Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange.

Big climbs like the Galibier usually come later in the race. But organizers mixed things up with the start in Italy and the finish slated for Nice so as not to conflict with the Paris Olympics.

Stage 5 on Wednesday is a much less challenging 177-kilometer (110-mile) leg from Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne to Saint-Vulbas featuring two fourth-category climbs before a flat finish that could end with a sprint. There’s another flat stage on Thursday before the race’s first individual time trial on Friday.

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A breakaway group rides in the descent of the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Spectators wait the riders to pass in the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

The pack rides during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

The pack rides during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

A lone spectator waits for the riders to pass during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

A breakaway group rides in the descent of the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Belgium's Laurens de Plus, center, rides to climb the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, talk with cycling fans as he waits for the start of the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

The pack rides during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Spectators wait the riders to pass in the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, right, rides to climb the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Riders ride to climb the Col du Galibier during the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard reacts as he crosses the finish line of the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the fourth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 139.6 kilometers (86.7 miles) with start in Pinerolo, Italy and finish in Valloire, France, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The suspect in the attempted assassination in May of Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, is now facing terror charges as part of an investigation by authorities, the country’s prosecutor general said Thursday.

Maroš Žilinka said in a statement that the suspect identified only as J.C., who was originally charged with attempted murder, now faces the additional charges. Žilinka said the change is based on evidence the investigators obtained, but didn’t immediately give further details.

The government officials originally said they believed it was a politically motivated attack committed by a “lone wolf,” but announced later that a “third party” might have been involved in “acting for the benefit of the perpetrator.”

Fico has currently been recovering at home from multiple wounds he suffered in the assassination attempt on May 15 when he was shot in the abdomen as he greeted supporters after his government's session in the town of Handlova,

The assailant was immediately arrested and a court ordered him to remain behind bars.

Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond, He returned to power for the fourth time last year after his leftist party Smer, or Direction, won the parliamentary election last September, after campaigning on a pro-Russia and anti-American message.

His critics worry that Slovakia could abandon its pro-Western course and follow the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s policies.

FILE - Bodyguards take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in a car from the scene after he was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, on May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s authorities started to investigate a suspect in an attempted assassination on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico as a terror attack, the country’s prosecutor general said on Thursday, July 4, 2024. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)