If there were any lingering questions about his team or after that time trial wobble Wednesday, or even if Jonas Vingegaard<\/a> might be inching closer, they were obliterated over three ruthless, merciless Alpine stages this weekend.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar could even play kingmaker Sunday \u2014 letting Lenny Martinez stay clear to snag a breakaway victory (good politics) and not further humiliating his rivals even more (good vibes) \u2014 and chose to mark the wheels when it looked like he could have easily dropped everyone to hit wins No. 99 and 100 in one shot.<\/p>\n The UAE Emirates-XRG GOAT can save that milestone for July.<\/p>\n By Sunday, the real question went from \u201cCan anyone beat Pogi at the Tour?\u201d to \u201cHow much will he win by?\u201d<\/p>\n In a league of his own The Dauphin\u00e9 opened with plenty of intrigue, but in typical Poga\u010dar fashion, he bulldozed those narratives and paved a pathway of destruction that shows all signs of leading to his fourth yellow jersey next month.<\/p>\n A quietly confident Vingegaard and a puffed-up Visma-Lease a Bike \u2014 flying high after its Giro d\u2019Italia raid \u2014 came into this Dauphin\u00e9 hoping and even plotting how to overthrow a perhaps overconfident and overstretched UAE in the Tour preview.<\/p>\n Also read<\/strong>: Why Poga\u010dar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel rarely face off<\/a><\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s TT aberration suggested that anything was possible.<\/p>\n That unraveled like a child\u2019s fantasy Friday when Poga\u010dar left Vingegaard and an even more ruffled Remco Evenepoel choking on his proverbial dust with what\u2019s becoming now his new trademark acceleration without standing out of the pedals.<\/p>\n As he did in the Ardennes, Poga\u010dar is now capable of riding everyone off of his wheel while remaining in an efficient seated, morale-crushing attack posture.<\/p>\n Tadej Pogacar\u2019s palmares at the age of 26:<\/p>\n World Champion \u2014 CafeRoubaix (@CafeRoubaix) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Friday\u2019s race-breaking attack backed up by Saturday\u2019s high-altitude tempo confirmed that Poga\u010dar is better than ever.<\/p>\n And even if riders like Vingegaard and Evenepoel insist they too are improving, they\u2019re not doing it in such a way as to have any hope to stay even with the Slovenian slugger in July, let alone surpass him.<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar leaves the Dauphin\u00e9 with massive momentum and elevates himself above the rest of the July field as the lone five-star favorite.<\/p>\n Vingegaard is still the only one Poga\u010dar would\u2019ve been the five-star favorite anyway, but this Dauphin\u00e9 started with the hope that Vingegaard might have leveled up after his crash-marred 2024 season.<\/p>\n Despite a concussion and crash at Paris-Nice, word coming out of the Visma camp was that Vingo was back at his 2022-23 best, and even better.<\/p>\n Also read<\/strong>: Why the Dauphin\u00e9 might be a smarter bucket-list trip than the Tour de France<\/a><\/p>\n The brutal reality from the Dauphin\u00e9 is that Vingegaard and Visma were out-raced and out-muscled in all the key stages, except for that odd TT when Pogi either soft-pedaled or was not comfortable with his TT setup.<\/p>\n Vingegaard was humiliated Friday when he was forced to put his head down after not being able to hold Poga\u010dar\u2019s pace for even 100 meters. Things weren\u2019t as bad Saturday, but it seemed like Poga\u010dar could have gone deeper if he needed to, and Vingegaard was racing to his limit.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s final stage saw Vingegaard\u2019s tepid accelerations immediately marked by Poga\u010dar, who uncharacteristically held back when it appeared he could have ridden to a third-straight summit finale stage win.<\/p>\n Still, the Dane is the only rider who can take it to Poga\u010dar, but this week revealed that Slovenian is superior when it comes to pure watts and power.<\/p>\n Is there room to improve until the Tour\u2019s most demanding climbs in the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es and Alps still nearly a month away? Yes. Could Poga\u010dar somehow be peaking too early? Maybe.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the only hope that anyone has \u2014 barring some disaster in the form of a crash, illness, or some other unpleasant surprise.<\/p>\n Trouble in Remco world Behind the leading pair, the most interesting thing about this Tour might be the race for third place.<\/p>\n Remco Evenepoel<\/a> revealed some rather gaping chinks in his armor coming into what will be his second Tour de France.<\/p>\n Like Vingegaard, he was hoping to show progress from 2024. Yet across the Dauphin\u00e9, he was dropped on all the key climbs.<\/p>\n Also read<\/strong>: Sepp Kuss under pressure to deliver in the Alps<\/a><\/p>\n Granted, he\u2019s still building back from his crash in December. He was also fighting through pollen allergies, which can be quite notorious this time of year in France.<\/p>\n Remco Evenepoel about Poga\u010dar and Vingegaard:<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems like the high tempo setting is a training pace for them. Sometimes it discourages me when I see them pushing hard, when I\u2019m already at my limit. That\u2019s what happened again today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2139\ufe0f: DH : cauldphoto pic.twitter.com\/e9P51v5HQ1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Luk\u00e1\u0161 Ronald Luk\u00e1cs (@lucasaganronald) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But Evenepoel certainly showed vulnerabilities in the high mountains. Can he recover in the next few weeks? Time is on his side as it\u2019s still nearly a month before the highest mountains, and his time trial remains a lethal weapon.<\/p>\n But third won\u2019t be an easy lock for Evenepoel, and it looks unlikely he\u2019ll have the gas to challenge Poga\u010dar or Vingegaard for moving higher up the ladder.<\/p>\n Evenepoel might spend much of July looking over his shoulder as the real race in July will be for that third podium spot.<\/p>\n More to less, with one exception Simply based on what we\u2019ve seen this past week, there were more disappointments than surprises in the back half of the top 10.<\/p>\n Matteo Jorgenson didn\u2019t look as explosive, but again he\u2019s more of a big diesel for the high mountains. He was getting gapped Friday and Saturday but came back strong Sunday. Nonetheless, his stock goes down a little bit, especially in the larger context he will be working for Vingegaard almost exclusively.<\/p>\n Other riders like Enric Mas<\/a> (Movistar) and Carlos Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> (Ineos Grenadiers), both seemed to be going from m\u00e1s a menos, from more to less.<\/p>\n Can they improve so dramatically in the next few weeks to be considered podium contenders? No.<\/p>\n The big surprise and confirmation of this Dauphin\u00e9 was Florian Lipowitz<\/a>, who will line up next to Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d<\/a> as a potential second card for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.<\/p>\n The 24-year-old German won the best young rider\u2019s jersey \u2014 usually a lock for Evenepoel in any race he starts \u2014 and will bring momentum mixed with youthful exuberance to what is expected to be his Tour debut next month. Can he win the Tour? Nope. But he could ride into the top 10 and maybe even more.<\/p>\n Florian Lipowitz in 2025<\/p>\n Paris-Nice \u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) revealed new consistency in the big climbs to hit fifth, perhaps giving the Norwegian team a legitimate top-10 prospect for what will be his third Tour start.<\/p>\n The big revelation came in the form of 18-year-old Paul Seixas (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), who almost unfortunately for him will immediately see the hopes of an entire nation piled onto his slender shoulders after riding to a very solid eighth overall.<\/p>\n Seixas won\u2019t be racing the Tour, but along with stage-winner Martinez and Romain Gr\u00e9goire (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), winner of stage 1 at the Tour de Suisse on Sunday, there is hope for French fans champing at the bit for its first Tour de France winner since Bernard Hinault back in 1985.<\/p>\n And those who were not there This Dauphin\u00e9 was a treat because it was the first time since last year\u2019s Tour that Poga\u010dar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel faced off in the same race.<\/p>\n There are a few big names who were not in France last week who will be in the yellow jersey tug-of-war.<\/p>\n Pogacar\u2019s Dauphin\u00e9 domination scrambles the Tour pecking order. Only second or third seem up for grabs. Is there an outsider? Top among them is the eternal enigma of Rogli\u010d.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Pogacar\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CAuldPhoto-2025-Dauphine-Stage7-5550-2-720x480.jpg\")
Get used to this image: Poga\u010dar alone off the front. (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n\n
3xTour de France
Giro d\u2019Italia
2xTirreno-Adriatico
Paris-Nice
Volta a Catalunya
Criterium du Dauphine
4xIl Lombardia
3xLiege-Bastogne-Liege
2xRonde van Vlaanderen
3xStrade Bianche
2xFleche Wallonne
Amstel Gold Race<\/p>\n
\n![\"Vingegaard\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2220232069-720x480.jpg\")
Vingegaard couldn\u2019t match Poga\u010dar in the mountains but took gains in the time trial. (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Evenepoel\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CAuldPhoto-2025-Dauphine-Stage7-5542-720x480.jpg\")
Evenepoel patiently answered questions all week about his form.<\/p>\n\n
\n![\"Florian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/CAuldPhoto-2025-Dauphine-Stage6-5418-720x554.jpg\")
Germany\u2019s next big thing? Florian Lipowitz is expected to make his Tour debut. (Photo: Chris Auld\/Velo)<\/p>\n\n
Criterium du Dauphine
\u26aa\ufe0f Young rider classification at both
4\ufe0f\u20e3th at Tour of the Basque Country pic.twitter.com\/mOlgf0Pc4d<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2220262383-720x478.jpg\")
O\u2019Connor is among a handful of Tour favorites racing this week at the Tour de Suisse. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
![\"Dauphin\u00e9\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2219578794-720x489.jpg\")
Poga\u010dar adds the Dauphin\u00e9 to his list of career wins. (Photo: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT\/AFP via Getty Images)