Stage 19 Victory
Defending champion Tadej Pogacar won stage 19 of the Tour de France atop Alpe d'Huez, pulling back more than three minutes on a breakaway group on the hors category final climb. He set a record time of 35 minutes 27 seconds on the ascent, beating the previous record set by Italy's Marco Pantani in 1997.[S1][S2][S4]
Pogacar crossed the line six seconds ahead of France's Lenny Martinez, who thumped his handlebars several times in frustration, and nine seconds ahead of Ecuador's Richard Carapaz, who had won stage 18 the previous day. Pogacar launched his attack with 12 kilometres remaining, caught the final survivors Carapaz and Martinez inside the final two kilometres, and dropped them with 800 metres to go. It was his fifth stage win of this Tour and the 26th of his career.[S1][S4][S5]
Remco Evenepoel finished sixth on the stage, 2 minutes 29 seconds behind, strengthening his grip on second overall. Isaac del Toro placed seventh at 2 minutes 41 seconds. Tom Pidcock, stage winner here in 2022, finished 20th and remains ninth overall.[S1][S4][S5]
British teammate Adam Yates, who fell ill after stage 16, vomited, and lost nearly an hour over subsequent stages, recovered to help pace Pogacar on the climb. He showed great strength in leading the breakaway before becoming a satellite rider to assist his leader.[S1][S3]
Race Dynamics and Crowds
A breakaway of more than 40 riders established a lead of several minutes mid-stage, but the main pack gradually reeled them in. The break fractured on the climb, with Richard Carapaz, Lenny Martinez, and Sepp Kuss emerging as the final three before Pogacar overtook them.[S1][S4]
Thousands of spectators lined the climb, sometimes spilling dangerously onto the road within millimetres of the riders, causing frustration. Pogacar described the atmosphere as 'crazy' and thanked the team for his victory.[S1][S2]
Pogacar's teammate Felix Grosschartner set a super good pace at the beginning of the climb, which helped drop many rivals. Pogacar said he went 'full gas' from there.[S1][S2]
General Classification and Jerseys
Pogacar extended his overall lead to seven minutes 11 seconds over Remco Evenepoel. Isaac del Toro remains third at nine minutes 42 seconds, with Paul Seixas fourth at 10 minutes 6 seconds. Lenny Martinez jumped two places to fifth after his second-place finish.[S1][S5][S6]
Richard Carapaz took the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey by a single point from Pogacar. Denmark's Mads Pedersen leads the green jersey standings with 502 points, 57 ahead of Jasper Philipsen.[S1][S6]
In the youth classification, Isaac del Toro leads Paul Seixas by 24 seconds, with Lenny Martinez third. Remco Evenepoel attacked inside the last four kilometres of the stage to strengthen his second place overall.[S4][S6]
Other classification moves: Tobias Halland Johannessen rose to 13th overall, Sepp Kuss climbed to 15th, and Matthew Riccitello moved up two places in the youth standings.[S6]
Looking Ahead
The peloton will take on Alpe d'Huez once again on Saturday for the three-week race's mountainous 'queen' stage, which includes an extra 2,000 metres of climbing. With a lead of over seven minutes, Pogacar is on the verge of a fifth Tour de France title, equalling the record held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.[S1][S2]
Pogacar said it was 'very cool' to win and that his teammate Felix Grosschartner set a good pace early. He expressed happiness at the recovery of Adam Yates. Sunday's final stage is a traditional procession into Paris.[S1][S2][S5]
