Pogacar wins Tour de France stage 19 with solo effort

Slovenia's four-time champion Tadej Pogacar on Friday further consolidated his overall lead by winning stage 19 of the Tour de France. He completed the challenging ascent of Alpe d'Huez in 35 minutes and 27 seconds. This victory came on July 24, 2026, as Pogacar, clad in the leader’s yellow jersey, accelerated to the finish line.

Pogacar achieved a remarkable victory atop Alpe d'Huez after a long and strenuous pursuit during Friday's 19th stage of the Tour de France. He initiated his attack with 12 kilometers remaining, eventually overtaking Richard Carapaz and Lenny Martinez in the final two kilometers before outpacing them with just 800 meters to go.

This win marked Pogacar's fifth stage victory of the year and his 26th overall since his Tour debut in 2020. Notably, it was his first victory on Alpe d'Huez, highlighting the significance of this achievement for a cyclist who has been a dominant force in the sport for the past six years.

Martinez finished six seconds behind Pogacar, while Carapaz, the winner of the previous stage, secured third place, crossing the line nine seconds later. With this performance, Pogacar extended his lead in the general classification to over seven minutes ahead of Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel, who finished sixth, 2 minutes and 30 seconds back.

Evenepoel managed to secure additional seconds over the third-placed Isaac Del Toro, who was also ahead of Paul Seixas in fourth place. Del Toro is currently at 9 minutes 42 seconds behind Pogacar, with Seixas at 10 minutes 6 seconds, setting the stage for their competition for the best young rider's white jersey in the penultimate stage on Saturday.

Additionally, Martinez's performance allowed him to rise two positions to fifth overall, narrowly ahead of Mattias Skjelmose, who completed the stage in eighth place, 2 minutes and 45 seconds behind Pogacar.