Tadej Pogacar dominates in Alpe d'Huez: fifth victory and Tour almost decided

Tadej Pogacar cleared up any doubts about his condition with an undeniable display at Alpe d’Huez. The leader of the 2026 Tour de France attacked practically from the start of the final ascent, regained more than three minutes on the survivors of the breakaway, and still found the strength to leave Richard Carapaz and Lenny Martinez behind in the last 800 meters.

Tadej Pogacar crushes Alpe d’Huez with a long-range attack and achieves his fifth stage victory

The Slovenian thus secured his fifth stage victory in this edition and significantly increased his lead in the general classification. Remco Evenepoel finished sixth, 2:29 behind, and reinforced his second position after distancing Isaac Del Toro in the last kilometers, who finished seventh at 2:41.

Lenny Martinez finished second just six seconds behind the winner, and Richard Carapaz completed the podium nine seconds back, a day after winning at Orcières-Merlette.

A huge breakaway jeopardizes several positions in the general classification

Stage 19, covering only 127.9 kilometers between Gap and Alpe d’Huez, featured a total ascent of 3,500 meters and started directly with the Col Bayard, which is 4.7 kilometers at 7.1%.

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After a few controlled minutes by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, a breakaway of more than 40 riders formed. Among them were several important cyclists for the stage and the general classification, including Lenny Martinez, Richard Carapaz, Yannis Voisard, Adam Yates, Sepp Kuss, Thymen Arensman, Tobias Halland Johannessen, and Matteo Jorgenson.

The significant presence of Lidl-Trek also served a dual purpose. Mads Pedersen wanted to score in the intermediate sprint, while the team aimed to protect the positions of Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso.

Paret-Peintre and Carapaz also engaged in an intense battle for the mountain points. The Frenchman surpassed the Ecuadorian both at Col Bayard and Col du Noyer and officially took the lead in that classification.

Pedersen nearly seals the green jersey

Mads Pedersen took advantage of a mountain stage to strengthen his lead in the points classification. The Dane overcame the early climbs within the break and won the intermediate sprint at Le Périer.

The 25 points earned increased his lead over Jasper Philipsen to 57 points. Although mathematically the battle was still open, Pedersen left the classification well in hand before the last two stages.

After the sprint, Lidl-Trek reduced their presence at the front and began to work from the favorites' group. The gap to the break was then around four minutes, and Lenny Martinez threatened several positions in the general classification.

Carapaz, Kuss, and Martinez arrive prominently at Alpe d’Huez

The Col d’Ornon, 5.4 kilometers at 6.4%, significantly reduced the breakaway. The pace set by Bruno Armirail and other domestiques left a selection of about 15 riders at the front.

At the foot of Alpe d’Huez, the breakaway maintained around 3:30 over Pogacar's group. The final ascent featured 13.7 kilometers at 8.1%, although the last three kilometers were noticeably more manageable.

Thymen Arensman was the first to attack, about 12.5 kilometers from the finish. Lenny Martinez reacted immediately, and soon Sepp Kuss and Richard Carapaz joined them.

Carapaz tried to break the group with several accelerations, but Kuss and Martinez responded to all his moves. Arensman eventually fell back while the three climbers remained at the front of the race.

Pogacar attacks from the start of the ascent of Alpe d’Huez

In the favorites' group, Maxim Van Gils intensified the climb for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, causing Juan Ayuso and Tom Pidcock to start losing contact.

Pogacar did not wait. The leader attacked while seated on the bike with more than ten kilometers still to the summit. Evenepoel decided not to try to follow him directly and maintained his own pace alongside Del Toro, Paul Seixas, and Skjelmose.

Adam Yates, who was part of the break, briefly waited for his leader and helped him reduce the gap. However, his collaboration was short-lived, and Pogacar found himself alone again when he still needed to make up more than two minutes.

From that moment on, a devastating chase began. The Slovenian overtook the breakaway riders one by one and quickly cut the lead of Carapaz, Kuss, and Martinez.

Carapaz holds on until the last two kilometers

Carapaz's continuous attacks did not manage to definitively break the front group. Martinez always returned to his wheel, and Kuss also managed to rejoin after each acceleration.

The lack of understanding favored Pogacar's advance. Seven kilometers from the finish, the leader had already left Arensman behind and was just over a minute from the front. Four kilometers later, he had the three escapees in sight.

Carapaz managed to briefly drop Martinez and Kuss, but Pogacar reached the American first and then the Frenchman. In the last two kilometers, the Slovenian also connected with the Ecuadorian.

Martinez still managed to stay with them as the terrain began to ease. Everything seemed set for a sprint among the three, but Pogacar accelerated again in the last uphill section, about 800 meters from the finish. Neither Carapaz nor Martinez could respond.

Evenepoel strengthens his second position

Behind, Evenepoel made a solid and controlled ascent. The Belgian initially stayed with Del Toro, Seixas, and Skjelmose, but managed to distance them in the final part of Alpe d’Huez.

Evenepoel crossed the finish line sixth, 2:29 behind Pogacar. Del Toro lost another 12 seconds and finished seventh, allowing the Belgian to extend his lead over the Mexican in the battle for second place.

Skjelmose and Seixas finished together at 2:45, while Pidcock and Ayuso lost more time after dropping back in the first half of the climb.

Pogacar increased his lead over Evenepoel to 7:11 and left the Tour practically decided before the second consecutive finish at Alpe d’Huez.

Top 10 of stage 19

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 3:17:57
2. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 6 seconds
3. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – at 9 seconds
4. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – at 1:14
5. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – at 2:07
6. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 2:29
7. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 2:41
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 2:45
9. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 2:45
10. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) – at 3:22

General classification after stage 19

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 67:53:00
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 7:11
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 9:42
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 10:06
5. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 13:00
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 13:09
7. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 15:58
8. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – at 21:15
9. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 21:30
10. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – at 23:21