4/21: TIME TRIAL BOSS
Winner of his 4th Tour individual time trial, Tadej Pogacar raises his arms for the 21st time in the race. He surpasses Luxembourg's Nicolas Frantz as the 6th rider with the most wins, and is now only one behind Frenchman André Darrigade. This is the second time he has achieved 4 wins in a single Tour, the first being in 2024 (6 wins).
63%: WHO CAN STOP HIM?
11 stages have ended on a cat.1 summit since Tadej Pogacar joined the Tour in 2020. The Slovenian has won 7 of these 11 stages, representing a 63% success rate. He has even won 6 of the last 8 finishes on cat.1 climbs since the day he won a cat.1 climb for the first time at La Planche des Belles Filles, in 2020.
5: GIRMAY, MERLIER (...) SAVED!
The time limit had to be calculated according to the best time plus 33%, but it was exceptionally increased to 40% before the start. A change that saved 5 riders! Without this, the time limit would have been 7'40, which would have led to the elimination of Biniam Girmay (30'54"), Arnaud Démare (30'59"), Elmar Reinders (31'10"), Tim Merlier (31'27"), and Luka Mezgec (31'28").
6: SO TIGHT IS THAT YOUNGSTERS FIGHT!
Today's best young rider, Florian Lipowitz, is 6" behind Remco Evenepoel in the general classification. This is the first time in the 21st century that the young rider classification top-2 are so close after 13 stages. The podium is still less than a minute apart, with Oscar Onley having moved up to 3rd, 47" behind. This is also unprecedented in the 21st century.
5: IMPRESSIVE PLAPP
Luke Plapp, who held the provisional time for part of the stage, spent 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 22 seconds as the virtual winner before being passed by Primoz Roglic. The three-time Australian time trial (2021-24-25) and road race (2022-23-24) champion finished 5th and recorded his best stage result, improving the 9th place he achieved in Caen. This is the first top-5 finish for an Australian in a time trial since Richie Porte's 3rd place at La Planche des Belles Filles in 2020.
12: BAD DAY FOR EVENEPOEL
Only 12th today, Remco Evenepoel missed a Tour time trial podium for the first time. The two-time world champion (2023-24) won at Gevrey-Chambertin last year, finished 3rd in Nice 16 days later, and won in Caen this year.
10.9: SHORTEST TIME TRIAL
It was the 222nd individual time trial in the history of the Tour, but more importantly: being 10.9 kilometers long, it was the shortest —excluding prologues and half-stages. The previous one was the Clermont-Ferrand - Puy de Dôme done in 1959 (stage 15), which was 12.5 kilometers long.
35: A FAST VETERAN
At 35 years, 8 months, and 20 days, Primoz Roglic is the oldest rider to finish on a stage podium this year. The five other thirty-somethings to have achieved this are Simon Yates (32), Tim Merlier (32), Phil Bauhaus (31), Wout van Aert (30), and Mathieu van der Poel (30).
9-8: VINGEGAARD AND ROGLIC'S STREAKS
Jonas Vingegaard (2nd) is on a run of 9 stage podiums without a victory, closing in on Alexander Kristoff's 10 between 2014 and 2018. The Dane has not won since his success at Le Lioran last year. Finishing 3rd, Primoz Roglic is on a run of 8 stage podiums without a victory. The last one dates back to Orcières-Merlette 2020.
203: POGI THE SPRINTER
Second in the points classification behind Jonathan Milan, Tadej Pogacar has already scored 203 points, his personal best after 13 stages. The Slovenian is doing better than in 2022 (164 points after 13 stages), when he achieved 250 points at the end, his best mark in the points classification.
2: BACK-TO-BACK AT PEYRAGUDES!
In Peyragudes, Tadej Pogacar succeeds to... Tadej Pogacar! He already won here during the last Tour visit in 2022. It is called a "back-to-back," and he is the first to do so since... himself at La Planche des Belles Filles! The Slovenian won a time trial there in 2020, then a road stage in 2022, with the slight difference that it ended at La Super Planche des Belles Filles. Before him, the last "back-to-back" referred to Mark Cavendish's successes at Châteauroux (2008, 2011, 2021).
