Pogacar imposes his rule in Le Markstein with Del Toro and Seixas behind him

Tadej Pogacar once again imposed his law in the mountains and won stage 14 of the Tour de France 2026 in Le Markstein. The leader attacked in the final part of the Col du Haag, leaving Jonas Vingegaard behind and achieving his fourth victory in this edition. The day also completely transformed the Top 5 of the general classification: Paul Seixas rises to fourth place, Juan Ayuso becomes fifth and Tom Pidcock, who had started the day in fourth, plummets to ninth place.

Pogacar wins in Le Markstein and the Top 5 of the General changes again: Seixas rises to fourth place and Pidcock falls to ninth

The queen stage of the Vosges left a new exhibition from Pogacar and numerous changes among the podium contenders. The Slovenian waited until the final kilometers of the decisive climb to launch his attack, but a single acceleration was enough to open gaps and ride solo for the six kilometers following the summit.

Isaac Del Toro completed the double for UAE Team Emirates-XRG by finishing second, while Paul Seixas crossed the line third. Jonas Vingegaard lost 44 seconds and Remco Evenepoel limited his losses with a final comeback that allowed him to maintain third place in the general classification.

 tries from afar, but ends up paying for the effort

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Tom Pidcock faced the day from fourth place in the general classification, after having recovered more than seven minutes in the escape of the previous stage. The Briton raced offensively again and managed to join one of the groups that formed during the ascent to the Grand Ballon.

The presence of the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider forced UAE Team Emirates-XRG to keep the pace under control. Pidcock was only nine seconds from the podium and his move could not receive the same freedom he had enjoyed on the way to Belfort.

The adventure ended before the Ballon d’Alsace, when the peloton neutralized his group. Pidcock thus reached the decisive stretch with more fatigue than the other favorites and began to lose contact on the first slopes of the Col du Haag.

The Briton could not keep up with the pace set by Decathlon CMA CGM, Visma-Lease a Bike, and the UAE riders. He crossed the finish line 3:44 behind Pogacar and fell from fourth to ninth place in the general classification, now 7:59 behind the yellow jersey.

An escape marked by Carapaz and Paret-Peintre

The stage began under heavy rain, with the sprinter teams trying to keep the peloton together until the early arrival of the intermediate sprint. Jasper Philipsen won ahead of Mads Pedersen and Max Kanter, although he only managed to cut five points in the battle for the green jersey.

The race began to break apart at the Grand Ballon. Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy, Valentin Paret-Peintre, and brothers Tobias and Anders Halland Johannessen ended up consolidating the leading group. Einer Rubio managed to join later.

Paret-Peintre scored points at the Grand Ballon, the Col du Page, and the Ballon d’Alsace, virtually becoming the leader of the mountain classification. However, the points from the Col du Haag would ultimately return Pogacar to the top position.

Carapaz was the most resilient of the escapees. The Ecuadorian broke away solo on the first slopes of the Col du Haag and maintained nearly a minute's advantage over the favorites, but the chase quickly reduced his margin.

The Col du Haag selects the favorites

The untested Col du Haag, 11.2 kilometers at 7.3%, was the decisive climb of the stage. Its irregular profile included several sections above 9%, a small intermediate descent, and a final kilometer and a half with gradients exceeding 10%.

Decathlon CMA CGM took responsibility at the foot of the climb to protect Paul Seixas. Tiesj Benoot and Nicolas Prodhomme increased the pace and reduced the group to the main contenders for the general classification.

Florian Lipowitz launched the first attack, immediately followed by Seixas. Sepp Kuss neutralized the move, and then it was Vingegaard who took the lead. The Danish rider's pace ended Pidcock's options and put Evenepoel and Del Toro in difficulty.

While Carapaz continued ahead, Vingegaard, Pogacar, Seixas, Ayuso, Lipowitz, and Del Toro formed the main group. Evenepoel lost contact for a few moments, but managed to regulate his effort and recover some ground before the summit.

Pogacar waits and seals it with a single attack

Pogacar stayed on Vingegaard's wheel for much of the Col du Haag. The leader did not respond with continuous moves, but waited until just over a kilometer from the summit to launch his acceleration.

Pogacar's attack! The yellow jersey takes a few meters lead in the final kilometers of the Col du Haag! #LesRP #TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/d6r8P3lZfF

— Eurosport France (@Eurosport_FR) July 18, 2026

Vingegaard was the only one able to stay relatively close during the first meters, but he also ended up giving way. Pogacar crowned solo and extended his lead in the six kilometers of favorable terrain leading to Le Markstein.

Behind, Del Toro and Seixas caught up with Vingegaard and collaborated during the final stretch. Del Toro still had the strength to attack and take second place, 38 seconds behind his teammate. Seixas finished third with the same time.

Vingegaard crossed the finish line 44 seconds later. Evenepoel finished fifth, 48 seconds behind, after overcoming a moment of difficulty and catching up with Lipowitz and Ayuso.

Pogacar thus adds his fourth victory in this Tour and the 25th of his career in the French round. His lead in the general classification increases to 4:30 over Vingegaard.

Seixas enters the Top 5 and Pidcock disappears from the top positions

The stage profoundly modified the positions behind the podium. Paul Seixas, third in Le Markstein, rises from sixth to fourth place and is now only 15 seconds behind Evenepoel.

Juan Ayuso loses a place but retains fifth place, just three seconds behind the Frenchman. Florian Lipowitz stays close and occupies sixth place at 5:44.

Isaac Del Toro rises to seventh place after his second position in the stage. Mattias Skjelmose becomes eighth, while Pidcock loses five places and falls to ninth place.

Between the fourth and seventh classified, there are only 31 seconds, so the battle for the podium remains completely open before the arrival at the Plateau de Solaison.

Top 10 of stage 14 of the Tour de France 2026

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 4:00:07
2. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 38 seconds
3. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 38 seconds
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – at 44 seconds
5. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 48 seconds
6. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 50 seconds
7. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 50 seconds
8. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – at 1:18
9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – at 1:40
10. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 1:40

Top 10 of the general classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 51:18:28
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – at 4:30
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 5:04
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 5:19
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 5:22
6. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 5:44
7. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 5:50
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 7:35
9. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 7:59
10. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 8:25