Pogačar crushes Alpe d’Huez climbing record and demolishes Tour de France rivals with sledgehammer attack on Alpe d’Huez.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Updated July 24, 2026 09:51AM
Tadej Pogačar blew away his rivals and brushed off questions of sickness with a total annihilation of Alpe d’Huez on stage 19 of the Tour de France.
The yellow jersey stomped away from the GC group in the early bends of the infamous switchback climb, gobbled up the breakaway, and all-but sealed yellow with a defiant victory Friday on top of the Alpe.
This was another statement win for the Slovenian.
He bridged more than 3 minutes to the survivors of the day’s early break with an irresistable attack. It earned the Slovenian his fifth victory of the 2026 Tour de France, the 27th of his career, and another place in the record books of climbing times.
Pogačar climbed the Alpe in 35:27, demolishing Marco Pantani’s mark by more than 2 minutes.
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) and Richard Carapaz (EF Education EasyPost) finished 2-3 behind the Slovenian after they lit up the front of the race with a climbing duel on the Alps and clung to Pogačar’s wheel through the final kilometers of the iconic climb.
Pogačar puts yellow jersey into vice grip
It’s a result that puts Pogačar one huge step closer to a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey.
Remco Evenepoel was the best finisher from the GC group, but he was still 2:29 back on the GOATish Slovenian..
Pogačar now holds the yellow jersey in a vice grip. The four-time winner leads the race over Evenepoel by 7:11 after an attack that landed a bombshell into the GC group.
Isaac Del Toro, Mattias Skjelmose, and Paul Seixas finished close behind Evenepoel, and the top-4 remains unchanged on GC. However, the lead quartet is now split by 10 minutes as Pogačar continues to rule over the Tour de France.
Juan Ayuso and Tom Pidcock both suffered significant losses on the Alpe. They both cracked in the early corners of the 13.8km climb.
High anticipation in the Alps
Friday’s 19th stage was loaded with expectation.
The men’s Tour returned to the mythical 21 switchbacks of Alpe d’Huez for the first time since 2022, just as UAE looked on the ropes with a wave of sickness.
Hundreds of thousands of fans mobbed to the HC climb in anticipation.
The stage blew up early. At only 128km long and with questions over UAE, the breakaway riders saw hope.
A huge attack of 42 riders formed over the stage’s opening two categorized climb. This mini peloton of attackers blasted into a long valley toward the penultimate climb to Col d’Ornon with 3:25 advantage.
The group took a North American accent – Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, Quinn Simmons, Sean Quinn, and Matthew Riccitello all made the move.
Mads Pedersen also piled into the move to successfully nab more points for his battle for the green jersey with Jasper Philipsen.
Intriguingly, Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe and Pinarello-Q36.5 took control in the main bunch. Pogačar’s sickly squad got a free sit in the wheels. Red Bull perhaps spied an opportunity with Evenepoel, while Pinarello saw a threat to Pidcock’s GC position fom Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) making the break.
Showdown on the Alpe
Kuss, Carapaz, and Martinez battled to fend off Pogačar’s lightning chase. (Photo: Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images)
Fifteen riders remained out front as the race rushed into the steep early ramps of the Alpe. Pogačar and a small GC group clicked into the lower sprocket just 3:30 later.
Pogačar didn’t leave anything to chance. He wanted the stage win, the climbing record, and to all-but seal his fifth yellow jersey.
The 27-year-old burst out of the GC group after only 2km of the Alpe and carved his way around the infamous bends. Evenepoel and Seixas didn’t even seem to try to follow, stunned.
Pogačar hooked up with his teammate Adam Yates a kilometer later after the Brit made the early break. Yates – who had been sick – delivered a huge 2km turn before he blew his own legs off.
Breakaway riders Kuss, Martinez and stage 18 winner Richard Carapaz didn’t wait around when they knew Pogačar was coming. The three elite climbers led the race through thousands of beer-sozzled fans.
Carapaz attacked repeatedly in his quest for an iconic win on the Alpe, but couldn’t make it stick. Martinez and Kuss didn’t let the elastic snap until the Ecuadorian made one last all-out attack 3km from the summit.
But Pogačar was coming, fast. He bridged to Carapaz just 1,500m from the finish line with Martinez sucking his wheel.
Tour de France stage 19 results