GAVARNIE-GEDRE, France — Tadej Pogačar produced a tremendous solo ride on the iconic Col du Tourmalet to earn a 23rd Tour de France stage victory, reclaim control of the race and sap his rivals’ morale after just six days of racing.
Pogačar, who first wore the yellow jersey after winning at Les Angles, made the most of the first big mountain trek of this year’s Tour in the Pyrenees to stamp his authority, sending a clear message to his rivals that he remains in a class of his own.
The two-time world champion covered the final 27 miles alone, crossed the Stage 6 finish line 2 minutes, 38 seconds ahead of his main challenger, Jonas Vingegaard, and reclaimed the coveted jersey.
“I would say this one goes in the top five of my Tour de France victories,” Pogačar said. “This is an incredible victory, and one of the sweetest for sure. I was not calculating seconds or minutes, I just wanted to go full gas all the way to the finish.”
Pogačar’s teammate, Isaac del Toro, was third, 2:57 off the pace, ahead of Remco Evenepoel and Paul Seixas. Overall, Vingegaard lags 2:42 behind Pogačar, with del Toro in third place.
With his latest show of force, the UAE Emirates-XRG leader took a big step toward a record-equaling fifth Tour victory. Only Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault have won five Tours.
Scorching heat and iconic ascents
The stage started in scorching heat and was marked by several unsuccessful attempts of breakaways early on. Pogačar’s teammates, along with those of Vingegaard in Visma-Lease a Bike, set a fast tempo even before the day’s biggest climbs.
The last stage in the Pyrenees took riders through two iconic ascents, the Col d’Aspin and the Tourmalet.
Once Ben O’Connor managed to get away, he was allowed some freedom because he was not a threat in the general classification. He was first at the foot of Aspin and was caught with about 3 miles of the climb left.
Riders then tackled the grueling 10-plus mile ascent up the Tourmalet, the first HC climb of the 2026 Tour — which means Hors Catégorie (beyond classification), because it is the hardest level.
Overnight leader Torstein Træen was dropped before del Toro accelerated with his leader on his wheel just under 3 miles from the summit. Træen later crashed on the descent and was assessed by the race’s medical team before resuming his effort.
Pogačar then went solo, with Vingegaard digging deep to limit his losses. Pogačar reached the summit first, and Vingegaard tried to claw back his 30-second deficit in the downhill. But tucked into an aerodynamic position, his rival took the same risks and even was faster.
Pogačar had a lead of more than a minute as he tackled the final climb up to the finish line in the town of Gavarnie-Gedre. He never looked back and the gap kept increasing.
“I woke up at 7 this morning and my mind was going crazy,” Pogačar said. “I was really excited for today. I knew it was going to be a good day.”
