Pogacar takes revenge on Vingegaard and dominates in Le Lioran, Evenepoel comes back at the end and sneaks into the overall podium

Tadej Pogacar once again imposed his law in the Tour de France 2026. The leader of UAE Team Emirates-XRG won the tenth stage, contested between Aurillac and Le Lioran over 166.6 kilometers, after attacking at the Col de Pertus and turning the last kilometers into another individual demonstration. Remco Evenepoel finished second after overcoming a critical moment on the final climb, while Jonas Vingegaard lost 44 seconds and fell even further behind in the general classification.

Pogacar seals another duel in Le Lioran and Evenepoel resurfaces to finish second in stage 10 of the Tour de France

The day replicated in its final kilometers the same scenario in which Vingegaard had defeated Pogacar in 2024. This time there was no comeback from the Dane. Pogacar waited until just over a kilometer to crown the Pertus, launched without response and caught up with Richard Carapaz before the summit. From there he never looked back.

A large breakaway, but always monitored by UAE

The stage began with a long fight to form the breakaway. Attacks followed from the first kilometers and at various moments large groups opened up, but UAE did not allow the race to stabilize easily.

Finally, a breakaway of more than 30 riders consolidated, with names like Mathieu van der Poel, Ben Healy, Thymen Arensman, Harold Tejada, Alex Baudin, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ramses Debruyne, Richard Carapaz, and Javier Romo.

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Despite the volume and quality of the group, Pogacar's team always kept the gap under control. Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens, and Felix Großschartner took on much of the work and made it clear that UAE's goal was to contest the stage.

Javier Romo and Harold Tejada managed to open a gap within the breakaway, but the pressure from the peloton reduced their options. Romo ended up going solo and held the lead for several climbs, although he never managed to gain a sufficient advantage to threaten the favorites' victory.

Carapaz breaks the race at Puy Mary

The most serious move among the attackers came at Puy Mary. Richard Carapaz left the group and began to gain ground while UAE continued to select the peloton from behind.

The Ecuadorian crowned first and had nearly a minute before the Col de Pertus. He was not a threat to the general classification, but he did force Pogacar to move if he wanted to win the stage.

In the favorites' group, Adam Yates' pace reduced the peloton to about twenty riders. Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson soon disappeared from Vingegaard's surroundings, while Isaac Del Toro also began to show difficulties.

Tom Pidcock experienced another difficult moment on the descent of Puy Mary. The Brit lost grip on a turn and fell, but was able to get up quickly and returned to the group before the start of the Pertus.

Pogacar waits and attacks when everyone was at their limit

The Col de Pertus, with 4.4 kilometers at 8.5%, was the decisive point. Carapaz began the climb with about a minute, while the favorites' group advanced without a clear acceleration.

UAE no longer had riders to control and Visma placed Davide Piganzoli at the front. Pogacar waited until just over a kilometer to crown and then launched his attack.

The reaction was nonexistent. Vingegaard, Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Paul Seixas, Juan Ayuso, and Mattias Skjelmose continued together while Pogacar quickly opened a gap of nearly 20 seconds.

The Slovenian caught up with Carapaz about 300 meters from the summit and left him behind without stopping. He crowned solo and began the descent with a sufficient lead to face the last obstacle with victory in sight.

Evenepoel drops back and returns to finish second

In the chase, Vingegaard took the responsibility of setting the pace. Evenepoel, Lipowitz, Seixas, Ayuso, and Skjelmose stayed on his wheel, while Del Toro fell definitively behind.

The situation changed before the Col de Font de Cère. A surge from Lipowitz left Evenepoel cut off, who lost several meters and seemed to bid farewell to the group.

The Belgian did not give up. He limited the gap during the climb, took advantage of the descent, and reconnected in the last kilometer. His return was not only defensive: Evenepoel accelerated at the finish and clearly won the sprint for second place.

Paul Seixas finished third and added four seconds of bonus, ahead of Lipowitz. Ayuso and Skjelmose entered 38 seconds later, while Vingegaard collapsed in the final meters and crossed the line seventh, 44 seconds behind Pogacar.

Isaac Del Toro was the big loser of the day among the podium contenders. The Mexican finished eighth at 1:31 and lost the third position in the general classification to Evenepoel.

Pogacar extends his lead, Evenepoel enters the virtual General podium

Pogacar crossed the finish line with 32 seconds over Evenepoel and 34 over Seixas and Lipowitz. With the victory and the bonuses, he increased his margin at the front of the Tour.

Vingegaard remains second, but is now 3:36 behind the leader. Evenepoel rises to third place at 4:06, while Juan Ayuso and Paul Seixas complete the top five.

The tenth stage also left another worrying signal for Visma-Lease a Bike. Vingegaard not only failed to respond to Pogacar's attack, but ended up losing time to all members of the chasing group.

Top 10 of stage 10

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 3:58:08
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +32”
3. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – +34”
4. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +34”
5. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – +38”
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – +38”
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +44”
8. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +1:31
9. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – +1:59
10. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – +2:03

General classification of the Tour de France 2026 after stage 10

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 36:15:02
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +3:36
3. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +4:06
4. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – +4:22
5. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – +4:35
6. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – +4:44
7. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +5:08
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – +5:45
9. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – +6:34
10. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – +11:49