No report about today’s stage in the 2026 Tour de France could possibly start without marvelling at the absolute genius, mastery, and superiority of the, by now, probable five-time winner of the grandest bike race of all.
The Slovenian legend, Tadej Pogačar, left even knowledgeable cycling fans totally stunned by his dominance up the iconic climb to the top of Alpe d’Huez, a sacred pilgrimage for hundreds of thousands of riders who could only dream of shooting up the slope at anywhere near the speed that Pogi did today. He achieved a new record of 35 minutes and 27 seconds, beating Marco Pantani’s best that had stood for almost three decades.
No Tour de France has ever been won on one day alone, but has been left beyond reasonable doubt on many a day in the Alps, today being one of those days. It was claimed by a rider without equal; not even Eddy Merckx, not even Miguel Indurain, not even Alexandr Vinokurov.
Pogačar goes into the final two days of racing with a 7:11-minute lead over his nearest rival, Remco Evenepoel, whose possible ‘attack’ tomorrow up the same mountain is likely to be met with a casual response by the yellow jersey holder simply following him up.
Meanwhile, the Kazakhstan team, XDS-Astana, has made it to Stage 19 without any riders abandoning, an underrated achievement in what has been a tough race, and all the more notable given the crash on Day 1 that could have seen half the team withdraw.
But in the absence of any glory nearly on a par with their greatest years, by now over a decade ago, fans are left with the consolation of a few near misses by their star of the race, Harold Tejada.
The Colombian had been part of a breakaway in today’s stage, at the foot of the final climb still holding a 3:30-minute advantage over the chasing peloton, and XDS team radio urged Tejada to hang in there and do his best.
It wasn’t to be; he was dropped by the bunch on the tough climb, but neither was it to be for even the strongest from that group of ten or so cyclists, as, one by one, they were all passed by their rival, the greatest of them all.
Some tried to stay with him, others were just left breathless as he disappeared into the distance.
Tejada finished strongly in tenth place, 3:22 minutes behind Pogačar, which means he lost over six minutes on the 21 Alpe d’Huez hairpins to the probable winner of his fifth Tour de France.
The Slovenian World Champion didn’t rejoice when his nearest challenger, Jonas Vingegaard, fell and had to pull out of the race, not only because he is a true gent, but also simply because there is absolutely no stopping him, whoever he is up against.
Congratulations to Harold Tejada for his battling spirit. Kazakhstani cycling fans are proud of you and the whole team’s grit this year.
