This Friday, a radiant Tadej Pogacar, after clinching the 2025 Tour de France in his favour in the first mountain finish, faces a time trial in Peyragudes that could see him assert his dominance again.
The Slovenian has two fond memories to draw on and spur him on. One is the last finish of the Grande Boucle in Peyragudes three years ago: a clear victory over Jonas Vingegaard, the only joy in a final week in which he suffered a heavy defeat, for which he took revenge on Thursday in Hautacam. The other is the last uphill time trial of the Tour, five years ago at La Planche des Belles Filles: the day that changed the rules of cycling as we knew it and ushered in the “Pogacar era”, which is also the era of UAE Team Emirates-XRG as the dominant force.
The challenge for all his rivals, starting with Jonas Vingegaard, is to resist the irrepressible. But the Dane will also be forced to look behind him in the standings. On Thursday, Florian Lipowitz only lost 11 seconds to the 2-time winner of the Tour. Pogacar still has nine days of racing to navigate in order to clinch a fourth overall victory. And the battle behind him is in full swing.
