Tadej Pogacar took a commanding step closer to his third Tour de France title, securing another impressive victory on a challenging mountain stage on Friday. He left his main rival, Jonas Vingegaard, in his dust, extending his lead to a staggering five minutes with only two days remaining. The Slovenian’s performance paints a clear picture of his dominance and all but guarantees his reclaim of the Tour crown from the two-time defending champion, Vingegaard, from Denmark, who is now trailing by 5 minutes and 3 seconds. Meanwhile, Tour debutant Remco Evenepoel of Belgium remains in third place, 7:01 behind the leader.
Pogacar’s decisive move came with approximately 9 kilometers left on the final ascent of the 16-kilometer climb to the Isola 2000 ski resort. Vingegaard was unable to keep pace as Pogacar relentlessly pursued Jumbo Visma teammate, Matteo Jorgenson. The American rider held a temporary lead, joined by Richard Carapaz and Simon Yates trailing closely. Carapaz and Yates were overtaken by the surging Pogacar, leaving only Jorgenson ahead. However, even Jorgenson was overtaken with two kilometers to go as Pogacar soared to his 15th Tour stage victory.
After four demanding hours in the saddle, Pogacar glanced back, finding no rivals in sight. He raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line, with Jorgensen trailing by 21 seconds and Yates finishing 40 seconds back in third. Carapaz secured fourth place, 1:11 behind the winner. Evenepoel claimed fifth place ahead of a despondent Vingegaard, both riders lagging 1:42 behind Pogacar.
The 20th and penultimate stage, scheduled for Saturday, will keep riders in the southern Alps and feature three demanding category 1 ascents, concluding with the ascent of Col de la Couillole. The Tour will conclude on Sunday on the French Riviera with a time trial from Monaco to Nice, departing from the traditional Parisian finish due to the Olympic Games.
