Pogacar wins tenth Tour stage on French national holiday in the Massif Central

Already on the penultimate climb, around 16 kilometers from the finish, Pogacar made the decisive move. As dpa wrote: "Am vorletzten Anstieg einer harten Etappe ... lancierte der 27-Jährige 16 km vor dem Ziel den entscheidenden Angriff." The Slovenian overtook the previously solo-riding Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz from Team EF Education-EasyPost and steadily extended his lead over the remaining kilometers. "Schnappte sich Pogacar Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) an der Spitze des Rennens", the report continued.

Stage course: From Aurillac to Le Lioran

In the end, Pogacar crossed the finish line with a winning time of 3:58:08 hours and had a 32-second advantage at the finish over the second-placed Remco Evenepoel from Belgium. "Der Belgier", as Evenepoel was referred to in the report, rides this year for Team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe and is described as a double Olympic champion. "Doppel-Olympiasieger Remco Evenepoel" thus confirmed his strong form in the high-mountain stages of the second Tour week.

Third place on the stage went to the "französischer Jungstar" Paul Seixas from Team Decathlon-CMA CGM. He finished at the same time as the German Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider Florian Lipowitz, both 34 seconds behind the winner. "Überzeugen kann auch Florian Lipowitz", dpa wrote about the rider from Ulm, who had finished the previous Tour de France in third place overall. With his fourth place on the stage, the German made a statement in the general classification in sixth place (+4:44).

Placements: Evenepoel, Seixas and Lipowitz in the top group

Behind Lipowitz and Seixas, the Spaniard Juan Ayuso from Team Lidl-Trek (+0:38) and the Dane Mattias Skjelmose (also +0:38) took fifth and sixth places. The two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark, who rides for Team Visma - Lease a Bike, came in seventh, 44 seconds back. "Der Däne des Teams Visma - Lease a Bike erst zwölf Sekunden hinter Red-Bull-Fahrer Evenepoel sichtlich erschöpft im Ziel ankam", dpa described the Dane's condition on the mountain.

In the general classification, the Slovenian Pogacar is still in the lead after ten of 21 stages. His advantage over second-placed Vingegaard is 3:36 minutes, and over third-placed Evenepoel it is 4:06 minutes. "Damit rückt er in der Rekordliste nah an den viertplatzierten André Leducq (Frankreich/25) heran", it said with a view to the all-time list of stage wins at the Tour. Behind the three leaders follow Ayuso (+4:22), Seixas (+4:35), Lipowitz (+4:44), the Mexican Isaac del Toro (+5:08), Skjelmose (+5:45), the Frenchman Lenny Martinez (+6:34) and the Briton Tom Pidcock (+11:49).

General classification: Pogacar extends lead over Vingegaard

Pogacar's teammates had a considerably more modest result in the general classification: "Pogacars oberösterreichischer Teamkollege Felix Großschartner" finished the stage in 40th place, 21:23 minutes behind, and is 34th in the general classification, 1:06:02 hours back. His compatriot Marco Haller was also at the start. Things went slightly better for the Austrian team-mate Felix Gall, who had not been nominated for the Tour this year, as the dpa report noted.

A special touch was added to the day by the calendar: the tenth stage took place on July 14, the French national holiday, the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille. A few days earlier, on July 12, the riders had completed the ninth stage, covering 185.5 kilometers from Malemort to Ussel, followed by the first rest day on July 13. Two years earlier, Pogacar had been beaten by Jonas Vingegaard at the same location, in Le Lioran, in a tight finishing sprint. This time, the Slovenian turned the tables and celebrated a commanding solo victory.

Heatwave: Stage shortened for the first time due to extreme temperatures

Not only in sporting terms, but also from a climatic perspective, the stage made headlines. The German veteran John Degenkolb (37) highlighted the extreme conditions of this Tour in a ZDF interview: "Ich muss sagen, die Hitze, die wir die letzten neun Tage durchleben mussten, kommt an nichts ran, was vorher war." He went on to say: "Wir hatten die letzten Jahren mal drei, vier Tage, als es unfassbar heiß war. Aber jetzt war es wirklich die ganze Woche wie in der Wüste. Bis zu 40 Grad." His verdict was unequivocal: "Das toppt alles." In the team bus, the thermometer had reportedly shown 43 degrees. "Im Bus hat das Thermometer 43 Grad gezeigt", Degenkolb was quoted as saying.

Despite these strains, the riders' average speeds remained at record levels; no decline in performance had been observed so far, the report said. The organizers had, among other things, relaxed the feeding rules in view of the heatwave. The average temperature on the first nine race days was 32.4 degrees Celsius according to dpa — compared with 25.9 degrees on average during the 2022 Tour de France. "Dementsprechend kam es ganz gelegen, dass die Etappe zumindest mal um 30 Kilometer verkürzt würde", the report assessed the move.

Wednesday's eleventh stage, which follows the rest day, promises considerably milder conditions for the riders and, above all, interesting opportunities for the sprinters. "Über 161 Kilometer geht es von Vichy nach Nevers fast ausschließlich über flaches Terrain", dpa wrote. "Lediglich zwei Bergwertungen der vierten Kategorie warten auf die Fahrer." After the strains in the Massif Central, a bunch sprint looks likely again. The second rest day of the race follows on July 20, with the finale — the 21st stage from Thoiry to the Parisian Champs-Élysées (133 km) — scheduled for July 26.

Outlook: Flat stage to Nevers on Wednesday

With the 24th stage victory of his career, Pogacar has further narrowed the gap to the top of the all-time ranking. The record is held by the Briton Mark Cavendish with 35 stage wins, with the Frenchman André Leducq following on fourth place with 25 wins. Pogacar therefore needs just one more stage victory to draw level with Leducq and enter the top four of the most successful stage hunters in Tour history. Should Pogacar win the general classification, it would be his fifth Tour victory following his triumphs in 2020, 2021 and 2024.

The 113th Tour de France had begun on July 4, 2026 with a 19.6-kilometer individual time trial in Barcelona. After ten stages, the Slovenian world champion commands a commanding lead in the race. With the upcoming flat stage to Nevers and the looming finale in the Alps and Pyrenees, it remains to be seen whether Pogacar can extend his lead further or whether Vingegaard, Evenepoel and the strong young riders Seixas and Lipowitz can once again come within striking distance.

At the finish in Le Lioran, a scene unfolded in front of numerous spectators that summed up the dynamics of this Tour well: a visibly exhausted Vingegaard at the finish, while