​Tadej Pogacar delivered a statement victory on stage six of the Tour de France, conquering the Tourmalet to reclaim the yellow jersey. With a decisive move a little more than four kilometres from the top of the 17-kilometre ascent, the Pyrenean giant, 43 kilometres from the stage’s finish, Pogacar surged clear of his rival Jonas Vingegaard on the descent and held firm up the final climb into Gavarnie-Gedre. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG star secured the stage win by two minutes and 38 seconds over Vingegaard, marking the 17th time the two have alternated the top two places on a Tour stage. Pogacar reclaimed yellow from Torstein Traeen and widened his overall advantage after the Norwegian started the day level with him.
Traeen had hoped to carry the jersey into the second week but was distanced less than halfway up the Tourmalet. His seven minutes and 53 seconds lead at the outset had evaporated long before a crash on the descent added to the pain. Yet Pogacar’s form was overwhelming; midway up the Tourmalet, the Slovenian, aiming for a record-equalling fifth Tour title and a third consecutive victory, reassured his team on the radio: “I’m good guys, I’m good.” Those words signalled the coming move that would define the day.
Rivals’ teams would have anticipated what lay ahead after hearing Pogacar’s confidence. The Slovenian’s intensified focus and the squad’s readiness culminated in a decisive attack that left their rivals scrambling. Pogacar later described the morning as electric, saying, “I woke up at seven o’clock this morning and already my mind was going crazy; I was really, really excited for today.” He placed this victory among the top five in his 23 career Tour stage wins and praised the team for their unwavering commitment: “All the guys were really hyped, and I knew it would be good. We just committed, like nothing to lose. If we explode, we explode, but in the end we succeeded, and I’m super proud—it’s crazy teamwork.”
Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team had mounted a serious challenge earlier in the day, burning resources to place satellite riders in position, a strategy aimed at pressuring Pogacar and forcing a response. It did not yield the hoped-for returns. “It was very tough today, not the day I wanted, but that’s how it is sometimes,” said Vingegaard, who is chasing a rare Giro d’Italia–Tour double. “I still believe in myself; I still believe my legs will get better. The fight is not over.”
Pogacar’s teammate Isaac del Toro finished third on the day and climbed to third overall, three minutes and 27 seconds behind the leader after a stage where he moved ahead of Remco Evenepoel, who sits fourth, just three seconds further back. The victory solidifies Pogacar’s position atop the general classification and tightens the overall dynamics as the race heads into the second week.