If anyone thought Tadej Pogačar might be content to defend the Yellow Jersey for a day, they clearly haven’t been watching this Tour.
The Slovenian delivered another emphatic statement in Stage 10, launching a trademark acceleration with 14 kilometres remaining that simply blew the race apart. No one could follow. Not Jonas Vingegaard. Not Remco Evenepoel. Nobody.
By the finish, Pogačar had added yet another Tour stage victory to his incredible résumé while extending his overall lead with a display that looked less like racing and more like controlled demolition.
A Brutal Day Through the Massif Central
The 167km route from Aurillac into the heart of the Massif Central looked tailor-made for fireworks.
After a relatively gentle opening, the riders faced almost 4,000 metres of climbing over a relentless succession of ascents. The Côte de Pailherols (3.0km at 7.2%) opened the climbing before the Col de la Griffoul (5.9km at 6.7%), Col du Prat de Bouc (3.1km at 6.5%) and Côte de Murat (5.2km at 5.3%) gradually softened the legs.
The real damage, however, was always expected to come over the final trio of climbs.
First came the famous Puy Mary, followed almost immediately by the brutally steep Col de Pertus (4.4km at 8.5%), before one final sting over the Col de Font de Cère. It was the same decisive finale used in 2024 when Jonas Vingegaard emerged victorious.
This time, it belonged entirely to Pogačar.
Pedersen Takes Care of Green
Before the mountains took over, the sprinters still had unfinished business.
Lidl-Trek spent much of the opening hour controlling the race to deliver Mads Pedersen to the intermediate sprint. Their aggressive pacing even split the peloton briefly, with Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel caught in the front group before everything came back together.
Pedersen made the most of the opportunity, taking the maximum 25 points ahead of Max Kanter and Biniam Girmay while green jersey rivals Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen were left stranded further behind.
No sooner had the sprint finished than Mathieu van der Poel lit the fuse.
Van der Poel Animates the Break
The Dutchman was once again impossible to ignore.
Attacking repeatedly, Van der Poel not only rode for himself but also helped shepherd teammate Ramses Debruyne into what eventually became a 31-rider breakaway.
Among those making the move were Ben Healy, Alex Baudin, Harold Tejada, Sergio Higuita, Thymen Arensman, Kevin Vauquelin, Ben O’Connor, Luke Plapp, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Louis Vervaeke, Guillaume Martin, Ion Izagirre, Jefferson Cepeda, Javier Romo and several other strong climbers.
On paper it looked dangerous.
In reality, UAE Team Emirates-XRG never allowed it to become one.
UAE Never Lets Go
The peloton had suspected before the start that UAE intended to race aggressively.
They were right.
The break was never allowed more than about 90 seconds, forcing the escapees to ride flat-out from almost the moment they formed.
Javier Romo emerged as the strongest rider out front, first working alongside Harold Tejada, Sergio Higuita and Ben Healy before eventually forging on alone to collect valuable King of the Mountains points.
Behind him, UAE simply kept tightening the screws.
With around 40 kilometres remaining, Romo’s adventure finally ended before Richard Carapaz launched the next attack.
Because the Ecuadorian was no longer a serious overall threat, UAE didn’t panic. The pace remained high but controlled as the peloton steadily shrank to barely two dozen riders.
Pogačar Presses the Nuclear Button
Everything changed on the Col de Pertus.
The steep slopes immediately began claiming victims. Mattias Skjelmose cracked, domestiques disappeared one by one, and the elite group continued shrinking.
Then, with roughly one kilometre remaining to the summit, Pogačar attacked with 15km to the finish.
There was no counterattack.
There wasn’t even an attempt.
The Yellow Jersey accelerated clear in seconds, bridged effortlessly across to Carapaz before riding straight past him, and crested the summit alone.
Behind, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Paul Seixas and Juan Ayuso could only limit their losses.
No Way Back
If anyone hoped the descent might allow the chasers back into contention, Pogačar quickly ended that discussion.
He extended his advantage over every kilometre of road, climbing and descending with complete confidence while the chase behind struggled to organise.
One notable absentee from the front group was UAE teammate Isaac Del Toro, while Evenepoel briefly looked to be in real difficulty before fighting his way back just before the final kilometre.
The Belgian then salvaged second place by outsprinting the chase group, while Vingegaard was left empty after repeatedly trying to contain the damage.
At the finish, Pogačar crossed the line 32 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, with young French sensation Paul Seixas another three seconds back. Vingegaard followed shortly afterwards after another bruising afternoon.
It was Pogačar’s 24th career Tour de France stage victory.
More importantly, it was another clear reminder that, unless somebody can find an answer soon, this Tour is rapidly becoming his race to lose.
Tour de France 2026 Stage 10 Results
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