All articles tagged with #tadej pogacar
Sepp Kuss’s plan to join a breakaway and attack early to shadow Tadej Pogačar on the Vuelta a España’s first mountain stage didn’t come off; he finished in the chase group behind Pogačar as the UAE Team Emirates rider extended his overall lead. Kuss remains in podium contention, sitting fourth overall, 23 seconds behind Primož Roglič, with a tough week of climbing still to come.
Tadej Pogačar won the opening 9.6km time trial in Monaco by a razor-thin nine-hundredths of a second over Ethan Hayter, claiming the first red leader’s jersey of the Vuelta a España as the field stayed tightly packed at the top of the GC; Primož Roglič finished 24th as the race heads into stage 2.
The 2026 Tour de France saw record speeds driven by aero bikes and equipment, optimized nutrition, and relentless tactics, with Tadej Pogačar setting multiple climbing and stage records and reshaping how the yellow jersey is raced; shorter routes, smarter training and recovery, and stricter testing all underpin the faster era, reinforcing that improved science and strategy are the main accelerants—doping concerns aside, the pace is here to stay.
Illness swept UAE Team Emirates‑XRG ahead of a punishing Alpine weekend, threatening Tadej Pogačar's bid for a record‑tying fifth yellow jersey as Brandon McNulty quit stage 18 and teammates Adam Yates and Tim Wellens finished far back, with Florian Vermeersch battling an injury; Pogačar must navigate two brutal Alpine stages to Alpe d'Huez while the team tries to manage the crisis and push toward Sunday’s finale.
Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz timed a decisive late attack on the final climb to win Stage 18 of the Tour de France in Orcieres-Merlette, his first win of this year’s race and second Tour stage victory overall, finishing ahead of Mauro Schmid and Matteo Jorgenson as Pogacar’s yellow jersey group crossed the line in a larger peloton and the Slovenian maintained his 4:32 lead over Remco Evenepoel; Stage 19 will climb L’Alpe d’Huez after two more Alpine days.
With Brandon McNulty out and multiple UAE teammates struck by illness or injury, Remco Evenepoel trimmed the Tour de France deficit to 4:32 as two crucial Alpe d’Huez stages loom. Pogačar’s team is faltering, enabling a potential late surge, but Evenepoel says he won’t risk his second place while Gamesmanship and illness could still reshape the GC in Paris.
Cyclingnews reports a wave of illness and injuries in UAE Team Emirates-XRG (including Wellens with a sore throat, Yates with a stomach issue, McNulty and Vermeersch affected), with the team publicly downplaying it through inconsistent messaging. While Pogačar appears healthy and holds a multi-minute lead, the absence of some teammates and new vulnerability could loosen UAE’s grip on the race during the final two mountain stages—culminating in Alpe d’Huez—shaping a more open GC battle even if the yellow jersey champion seems likely to come from the UAE camp.
Jasper Philipsen, backed by Mathieu van der Poel, sprinted to victory in Stage 17 to Voiron ahead of Mauro Schmid and Olav Kooij, with van der Poel setting up the win; Pogacar protected his overall lead of just over 4.5 minutes over Remco Evenepoel as the race heads toward the Alps; Adam Yates struggled and lost time; the stage was the last major sprint chance before the Alps, while the UCI defended night-time doping tests that disrupted riders' rest.
Philippa York argues the Tour de France final Alpine week will be unrecognizable after Vingegaard’s Stage 15 crash, as Pogačar loses a key ally and rivals like Remco Evenepoel gain momentum, reshaping the GC battles, the green-jersey fight, and the Alps time-trial dynamic, with late-stage decisions and controversy over 2am drug testing adding extra scrutiny.
Mauro Schmid sprinted past Harold Tejada to win Stage 13 of the Tour de France in Belfort, while defending champion Tadej Pogacar safely retained the overall yellow jersey lead. The 206‑km day featured a nine‑km Ballon d’Alsace climb and left Pogacar 3 minutes 36 seconds clear of Jonas Vingegaard and 4:06 ahead of Remco Evenepoel, ahead of Saturday’s mountain stage in Alsace.
Norwegian Søren Waerenskjold won Stage 11 from Vichy to Nevers, securing his first Tour de France stage win in a sprint ahead of Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen. Pogacar stretched his overall lead to over 3.5 minutes with his third Tour stage win the day before, finishing with the main bunch to protect his advantage over Jonas Vingegaard.
Tadej Pogacar used the Tourmalet descent to widen his GC lead, with UAE team manager Joxean Fernández Matxín saying the sprint from Gavarnie after the descent decided the race more than the climb, as Pogacar gained time on the descent that could redefine the remainder of the Tour with the rest day approaching.
On Tour de France Stage 9, UAE Team Emirates-XRG drove an aggressive front-of-pack pace to keep the day’s breakaway within reach despite little GC threat; Pogačar said there were no ambitions to win the stage, while teammate Wellens suggested the plan was to pressure rivals, and Mathieu van der Poel went on to take his first stage win of the race.
Belgian Tim Merlier won Stage 7 of the 2026 Tour de France in a sprint into Bordeaux, riding a well-timed move set up by Soudal Quick-Step for his fourth Tour stage win. Jasper Philipsen led a late attack but Merlier prevailed, with Soren Waerenskjold second and Biniam Girmay third. Pogačar kept the yellow jersey with a 2:42 lead over Jonas Vingegaard, as the race remained mostly flat and the heat persisted on the 109-mile route from Hagetmau to Bordeaux; Stage 8 heads to Bergerac before the finish in Paris on July 26.
Tim Merlier sprinted to victory in stage 7 into Bordeaux, beating Jasper Philipsen in a tight finish as Tadej Pogacar retained the yellow jersey with a 2:38 lead over Jonas Vingegaard; Soren Waerenskjold finished second and Biniam Girmay third, adding another Tour stage win to Merlier’s record alongside his 2021 and 2025 successes.