Tadej Pogacar breaks Alpe d'Huez record to win Tour de France stage 19

Tadej Pogacar breaks Alpe d'Huez record to win Tour de France stage 19

Tadej Pogačar shattered the Alpe d’Huez climbing record on Friday, July 24, 2026, powering to a historic victory in stage 19 of the Tour de France. The Slovenian ascended the 13.8km climb in 35 minutes and 27 seconds, surpassing the previous record of 36 minutes 55 seconds set by Marco Pantani in 1997.

Pogačar, who has won five stages this Tour and 26 in his career, extended his overall lead to seven minutes 11 seconds over Remco Evenepoel. Despite the dominance of the performance, Pogačar claimed he was not thinking of the record during the ascent.

"It’s no secret anymore that I wanted to win here," Pogačar said. "I actually don’t know what Pantani’s time was, to be honest. I’m staying off the internet a lot the last few weeks. I don’t put too much into that; I heard I broke the record, so I’m happy. Finally! I just wanted to do a good race and win today for the guys."

Tadej Pogačar, rider, via NY Times

A Brutal Chase

The 128km stage from Gap began with a battle for the polka dot jersey between Richard Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre, with the Frenchman taking maximum KOM points on the Col du Noyer and Col Bayard. A large breakaway formed early, and while Mads Pedersen took the intermediate sprint, a group of 12 maintained a lead of approximately three and a half minutes as they reached Bourg-d’Oisans.

Pogačar launched his attack with more than 12km of the climb remaining, jumping clear of the GC group with a gap of 3:20 to the leaders. He briefly connected with teammate Adam Yates, who had been deployed as a satellite rider in the breakaway, before continuing alone. Pogačar eventually caught Carapaz and Lenny Martinez with 1.8km remaining.

Pogačar attempted to drop the duo twice in the final kilometers to avoid a flat sprint finish. His first effort at 1.5km failed, but a second surge with 800 meters to go proved decisive. He crossed the line six seconds ahead of Martinez and nine seconds ahead of Carapaz.

Crowds and Chaos

The ascent was marred by chaotic crowd conditions. Because the Tour only visits the climb every four years, organizers barriered only high-risk sections, such as the final four kilometers. This left riders vulnerable to spectators on the earlier slopes.

• Richard Carapaz was nearly clipped by a fan with 7.5km remaining and was almost taken out by a Shimano neutral service vehicle.
• Remco Evenepoel had an attack halted by a motorcycle that was forced to stop due to the crowds.
• Einer Rubio of Movistar rode into the back of a UAE Team Emirates car that had braked suddenly for fans; Rubio did not finish the stage.

GC Shifts and Standings

The stage caused significant shifts in the general classification. Lenny Martinez jumped into fifth place overall, leapfrogging Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso. Ayuso suffered heavily on the mountain, slipping away from the yellow-jersey group early and collapsing into the barriers after the finish.

Remco Evenepoel finished sixth on the stage, 2 minutes and 29 seconds behind Pogačar. While Evenepoel did not follow the Slovenian's attack, he rode his own pace to distance other podium challengers. Meanwhile, Isaac del Toro defended his white jersey, finishing seventh on the stage and retaining third place overall.

Carapaz moved up to eighth in the standings and took the lead in the King of the Mountains competition, one point ahead of Pogačar. Tom Pidcock dropped to ninth, and Jordan Jegat slipped to 10th.

The battle for the podium's third step and the white jersey will be decided on Saturday during the penultimate stage. The route features 5,600 meters of ascent, including the Col du Glandon/Croix de Fer, Col du Télégraphe, and Col du Galibier, before finishing with a second, steeper ascent of Alpe d’Huez via the Col de Sarenne.