Pogacar secures stage 19 victory on Alpe d’Huez, extends Tour de France lead
Tadej Pogacar has further solidified his position in the Tour de France, winning stage 19 on Alpe d’Huez and extending his overall lead to more than seven minutes. The defending champion’s performance on the iconic climb was marked by a record-breaking ascent, despite earlier speculation regarding the health of his UAE Emirates XRG team.
Pogacar’s climbing time on Alpe d’Huez was recorded at 35 minutes and 26 seconds, surpassing the previous record set by Marco Pantani in 1997 by over a minute. The Slovenian rider expressed happiness about breaking the record, noting that it was good for the team.
Dominant Performance on Alpe d’Huez
The stage saw a significant breakaway group form early on, including several notable riders. Among them were Richard Carapaz, Thymen Arensman, and Pogacar’s teammate, Adam Yates. Yates, who had been ill earlier in the week, showed strong recovery, leading the breakaway before assisting Pogacar later in the climb.
Pogacar’s decisive move came 12km from the summit, where he accelerated, leaving his closest rivals behind. He then joined forces with Yates to close the gap on the leading group. With 10km remaining, Pogacar launched a solo attack, ultimately catching and overtaking the breakaway with 3km to go.
The atmosphere on Alpe d’Huez was described as “crazy,” with an estimated 500,000 spectators lining the route. Many had arrived days in advance, creating a vibrant but at times chaotic environment for the riders. Pogacar acknowledged the support, stating, “It was a crazy atmosphere all climb and I’m thankful for the team that I it could pull it off.”
Impact on General Classification
The victory significantly impacted the overall standings. Pogacar’s lead over Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe now stands at seven minutes 11 seconds. Evenepoel remains in second place, while Pogacar’s Mexican teammate, Isaac del Toro, is in third, nine minutes 42 seconds behind the leader and holding the white young riders’ classification leader’s jersey.
The stage results saw Pogacar finish six seconds ahead of Lenny Martinez of Bahrain-Victorious, with Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost finishing a further three seconds behind in third. Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike secured fourth place, 1 minute 14 seconds behind Pogacar.
Carapaz also took over the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey by one point from Pogacar, following his combative riding. Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek maintained his lead in the green points jersey classification.
Team Strategy and Future Stages
The performance of Adam Yates was particularly noteworthy. After falling ill and vomiting after stage 16’s time trial, Yates spent two stages riding at the back of the field, losing almost an hour. His recovery and subsequent support for Pogacar on Alpe d’Huez were praised by his team leader, who said, “Adam gave me a good moral boost.” Yates, who is 33, has been a loyal domestique to Pogacar since 2023 and is contracted for another two seasons.
Team Visma | Lease a Bike also demonstrated attacking intentions, with Bruno Armirail, Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, and Davide Piganzoli all participating in the early breakaway. Kuss, despite battling for the stage win, ultimately finished fourth, stating, “It was a great day for the team.”
The peloton will face Alpe d’Huez again on Saturday for the ‘queen’ stage, which includes an additional 2,000 meters of climbing. Pogacar has now secured five wins in 19 stages, and another victory in the upcoming mountain stage seems likely.
The general classification after stage 19 shows Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) leading with a time of 67 hours 53 minutes.
Source: theguardian.com
