Slovenia's cycling superstar extends Tour de France lead

Nearly halfway into the 2026 Tour de France, the Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogačar showed yet again that he is unbeatable in the mountains, as he soloed 15 kilometres to the finish to open a wide gap in the general classification to his main rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider bagged his third stage win in stage ten on 14 July by attacking 15 kilometres before the finish, soon overtaking Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), the sole rider at the head of the course, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

He crossed the finish line 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and 34 seconds ahead of Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM). His main rival for the overall win, Vingegaard, was seventh, with a gap of 44 seconds.

In the general classification, Pogačar is now 3 minutes and 36 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, while the gap to Evenepoel is 4 minutes and 6 seconds.

The 167-kilometre stage, between Aurillac and Le Lioran, was more than just a regular stage for Pogačar: in 2024, on the same stage, his arch-rival Vingegaard beat him the last time.

"Two years ago, Jonas beat me in the sprint fair and square. Today I had similar legs at the finish, completely destroyed. But I enjoyed today," Pogačar said.

Pogačar also said he could not hear the team radio and did not know what the gaps were. Worrying he may be caught, he pushed to the max all the way to the finish line.

"I didn't know I was going to win until the final kilometre. But then I remembered it's Bastille Day and I tried to honour the yellow jersey," he said.

He also revealed that the original plan had been different - to try for a win for teammate Isaac del Toro - but the stage was "so difficult and hot that things turned out differently."

"We headed to the penultimate climb with such a harsh pace that we could see the legs were cooked. I simply tried, saw that I have a gap, and tried to push to the end. If I get carried away I get carried away and we could have paid dearly, but fortunately everything worked out," he told Slovenian public broadcaster TV Slovenija.

Photo Instagram/tadejpogacar