Cancer survivor Torstein Træen claims yellow jersey

Cancer survivor Torstein Træen claims Tour de France yellow jersey on desperately hot stage four Wed 8 Jul 2026 at 5:07am Torstein Traeen is the new leader of the Tour de France after a sizzling 181-kilometre stage from Carcassonne to Foix in the Pyrenees. The 30-year-old Norwegian for Uno-X Mobility was part of a 10-man breakaway that contested the final sprint, won by Lidl-Trek's Danish rider, Mads Pedersen. Traeen, who in 2022 was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had surgery to remove his left testicle, is just the third Norwegian to claim the famous yellow jersey. "It's quite hard for me to understand how big it is," Traeen said at the finish. "But I can see the face of my old coach, my soigneur, everybody, how special it is. "I don't really understand what's going on at the moment; in a couple of days it will sink in. The Tour is the biggest race in the world, now I just have to enjoy it." Traeen noted that it had been a pretty big week for Norwegian sport, with the country's footballers beating Brazil (again) at the World Cup to reach the quarterfinals. "I think we are so inspired by Norwegian culture," he said. "You can see it in the football, how much rowing there is. "We are just a group of guys who are friends doing this on this team." The Norwegian is not considered a favourite for the overall race, but he is no mug, briefly wearing the red leader's jersey at the 2025 Vuelta a España, going on to finish ninth, his best result at a grand tour. On a day where temperatures regularly hovered over 40 degrees Celsius, and after a three-day flurry of activity among the race's big favourites, the peloton was content to let a break escape as they survived the sweltering conditions. The peloton, including all the main favourites, rolled across the line 12 minutes 59 seconds behind Pedersen. Previous race leader and big favourites Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are now fourth and fifth overall, 7 minutes and 53 seconds down. "I would say a masterpiece in teamwork," race winner Pedersen, who claimed his third Tour de France stage win and his 12th grand tour race victory, said. "Mathias [Vacek] and Quinn [Simmons] … were just machines from there to the finish line. "What a team effort, what a team win today." Traeen's success must have seemed a long way off in 2022, when he returned a positive for hCG from the Volta a Catalunya. Human chorionic gonadotropin, to give hCG its full name, is on WADA's banned list as it stimulates testosterone production. It is also an indicator for testicular cancer, with Traeen's team boss urging his rider to see a doctor as soon as possible, especially as he had complained of soreness in his testicles. After a couple of scans, surgery revealed a 15mm tumour, which was excised. The Cancer Council notes that testicular cancer represents less than 0.1 per cent of all cancer deaths in Australian men, although it mostly affects younger men, with the average age of diagnosis being around 35 years. The five-year relative survival for men diagnosed with testicular cancer is approximately 98 per cent, with early treatment especially effective. The Tour de France was famously won seven times by cancer survivor Lance Armstrong, although his victories were later annulled after his extensive doping practices were discovered. [Image text:] Sant nce de tini france LCL Santini Uno