Tadej Pogacar extended his lead in the overall Tour de France standings after another convincing victory on the mountainous stage of stage 14, surrounded by thousands of fans.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of teammate Isaac del Toro of Mexico, with French teenage sensation Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA-CGM finishing third at the same time on the 155-kilometre stage from Mulhouse.
Pogačar’s main rival for the yellow jersey, Dane Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, finished fourth, 44 seconds back.
The leaders, who also included impressive breakaway riders Tobias Halland Johannessen of Uno X Mobilty and Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost, weaved their way through the fervent fans lining the narrow tarmac roads up Le Markstein in the Voges mountains near the German and Swiss borders.
Although Vingegaard came into the three-week race in his best form after a debilitating crash in 2024, it was a day of punishment for the man who had won the Tour twice over Pogacar, in 2022 and 2023.
For a while it looked like Vingegaard would be able to hold on to Pogačar’s wheel after the Slovenian launched an attack eight kilometers from the finish – 29-year-old Vingegaard himself had set the pace just a few kilometers earlier.
But Pogacar’s ultra-high cadence and sustained power were again far superior to any other rider.
Vingegaard now trails Pogacar by four minutes 30 seconds overall after this win and Pogacar’s three other stage wins across this three-week Grand Tour.
Pogacar, 27, is aiming to become one of the most successful riders in Tour history with five victories, joining Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
“Thank you to all the fans who came to the side of the road,” Pogacar said afterwards. “It was truly something unforgettable to see the crowd of people on top of the mountain – I had never seen anything like it (before).
“All the cyclists and racers… we have a lot of respect for each other – it’s great to put on a show like this and great to see this kind of racing. There are so many spectators here that it gives an extra boost.”
Belgian Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe holds third place in the general classification, five minutes and four seconds back.
Dane Mads Pedersen from Lidl Trek remains in the green glasses jersey, while the King of the Mountain jersey belongs to Pogačar.
The White Young Riders classification is now led by Seixas, three seconds ahead of Spaniard Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek.