Pogacar Extends Tour de France Lead with Bastille Day Stage Win

Tadej Pogacar extended his Tour de France lead with a solo win on Bastille Day, increasing his advantage over Jonas Vingegaard to 3 minutes 36 seconds after stage 10's mountain challenge.

Pogacar Extends Lead with Third Stage Win

Tadej Pogacar increased his overall advantage to over three minutes by securing his third stage victory in this year's Tour de France. The 166.6km mountain stage from Aurillac, held on Bastille Day, saw Pogacar break away solo with 15km remaining and finish 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel. French teenager Paul Seixas finished closely behind in third place.

Defending champion Pogacar now leads his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard, by three minutes and 36 seconds in the general classification. Vingegaard crossed the line 44 seconds after Pogacar, placing seventh on the stage.

After Monday's rest day, stage 10 presented an opportunity for Vingegaard to reduce Pogacar's lead on the climb to Le Lioran, where he had previously beaten Pogacar in a two-man sprint in 2024. However, Pogacar's strong performance on Bastille Day extended his advantage.

"We targeted this stage from a long time ago," said four-time Tour winner Pogacar. "Two years ago, Jonas beat me in the sprint fair and square. Today was similar, my legs to the finish were completely destroyed, but yeah, I enjoyed the day."

During the stage, Richard Carapaz made a break on the Puy Mary climb, the third-from-last ascent, but Pogacar launched his decisive attack on the penultimate climb to secure his third Bastille Day win and 24th stage victory overall.

Vingegaard led the chase group, and although Evenepoel initially lost contact, he recovered on the descent before the final climb and surged into second place as Vingegaard lost time in the closing meters.

"It was an OK day for us, it could be a lot worse, that's for sure," said Vingegaard, who rides for Visma-Lease a Bike. "My legs are getting better and better, and I'm looking forward to the longer climbs."

British rider Tom Pidcock crashed during the Puy Mary descent but managed to finish ninth on the stage and moved into 10th place overall.

Booing Fans and Pogacar's Response

Pogacar has previously acknowledged that his success may prompt doping suspicions, despite no evidence ever being found against him. In 2021, he remarked on the sport's troubled history but emphasized his commitment to clean competition.

"I understood why cyclists would be questioned because the sport's 'history is bad' but added that 'I'm not one to take shortcuts'."

Despite his dominance, Pogacar's pursuit of cycling's top honors has not been universally welcomed by fans. After securing victory in Tuesday's stage, Pogacar gave a full effort to the finish line. Some spectators booed him at the finish, but Pogacar dismissed the notion that he was asserting his dominance aggressively.

"My team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, tried new radios on Tuesday and I lost communications with 10km remaining. I didn't know what the gap was, who was doing what, and all I had in my mind is try to keep pushing to the top," Pogacar explained.

"There was a little bit of doubt in my head [because of] two years ago, [when] I was empty in the sprint. In the final, I didn't know I was going to win until the last kilometre, and then I remembered it's Bastille Day and I tried to honour the yellow jersey.

"Thanks to all the fans that came today. It was an amazing atmosphere, even though there was some booing. To all the guys that were booing, you gave us more power."

There is speculation that UAE Team Emirates aims to secure this year's Tour early, allowing Pogacar to conserve energy for a potential attempt at the Vuelta a España, the only Grand Tour he has yet to win.