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Tadej Pogacar powered alone to the summit of the mighty Col du Tourmalet, deep in the Hautes-Pyrénées, and rode on to victory on stage six to Gavarnie-Gèdre, taking an emphatic overall lead in the 2026 Tour de France.
In the shadow of the towering cliffs of the Cirque de Gavarnie, and under the gaze of President Macron, Pogacar was imperious. Only his perennial rival, Jonas Vingegaard, was able to give chase and by the end of the stage, even his resistance seemed futile.
All the labels that have been applied to Pogacar — ogre, monster, beast — were appropriate as he embarked on another of his trademark solo raids, crushing the morale of his opponents yet again as he did so.
A lead that had been under half a minute at La Mongie ski station became the best part of three minutes by the time he reached Gavarnie-Gèdre. An increasingly listless Vingegaard did not even bother sprinting for the finish line, as he ceded 2:38 to his old rival.
After the stage, Pogacar was compared to Michael Jordan, although the rider himself cited Usain Bolt. “Seeing him being so dominant was crazy,” he said, “and in tennis, Novak Djokovic. He’s on another level.”
It will take a lot to stop Pogacar claiming his fifth overall win in Paris on July 26. He is now the fifth-most prolific stage winner in the history of the Tour, winning 23 including 11 in the Pyrenees.
If Eddy Merckx was the Cannibal, then with more stage wins likely to come, Pogacar’s new sobriquet could be the Glutton.
Despite being pursed by Vingegaard and, further behind, a group of eight containing Olympic time trial champion Remco Evenepoel and French favourite Paul Seixas, his lead on the descent from the Tourmalet grew, kilometre by kilometre. With two stages won already, and one gifted to team mate, Isaac del Toro, he is already in full control.
The pace set by Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG team at the foot of the Tourmalet was infernal. The 17 kilometres of climbing provided a platform for Pogacar and a graveyard for others, including then-race leader Torsten Traeen whose second day in yellow turned into a nightmare.
By the midway point of the interminable climb the peloton had been reduced to just 16 riders. Among those unable to keep pace was Thymen Arensman, leading the Netcompany Ineos team in the absence of the injured Oscar Onley, and Tom Pidcock of Pinarello Q36.5.
Five kilometres from the summit of the Tourmalet, as the lead group entered La Mongie, Pogacar and del Toro moved ahead, with the four-time winner then pushing on alone.
If Vingegaard’s pursuit initially limited the damage on the climb’s final ramps, Pogacar’s attack put the hype around Seixas into perspective. The rider who had traded blows with the Slovenian in April had no response and slipped further behind.
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Pogacar’s advantage over the peloton is now both physical and psychological. Faced with such domination, few of his rivals will risk taking him on. Most will now settle for a podium or top five position rather than targeting overall victory.
The end of the 2026 Tour’s first week already feels like the end of week two in any other year. The combination of Pogacar’s domination, the Pyrenean climbs and the stifling heat is already taking its toll, with the number of abandons steadily increasing day by day.
Among them was Cian Uijtdebroeks of the Movistar team, once spoken of in the same glowing terms as Seixas, but who had suffered gastrointestinal problems and a fever since the race started.
For Traeen it was a calamitous day. His prophecy of losing touch proved correct and with 11 kilometres remaining on the Tourmalet, the overnight leader fell behind the group of favourites. By the top of the climb, he was already far behind the Slovenian.
Worse came on the descent of the Tourmalet when Traeen clipped the wheel of the rider in front of him and was catapulted to the tarmac. After spending some time being tended to by doctors, he gingerly he remounted and finished the stage almost 30 minutes behind the irrepressible Pogacar.
