Three years ago, Tadej Pogačar won atop Le Markstein at the end of a brutal Tour de France for him. The stage 20 win, sprinting to the line ahead of yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, was an act of defiance, two fingers up to those who thought the age of Pogačar was already over, a reminder of his power. He lost that Tour by well over seven minutes, but his 11th stage win set the scene for what to come.
Three years on, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider won atop Le Markstein again, this time at the end of stage 14. This time, there was no loss of face to make up for, or scores to be settled. No, this time in the Vosges, Pogačar proved again that he will win this race, without misfortune getting in the way. For the third year running, it looks like the Slovenian will vanquish Vingegaard by minutes.
This was Pogačar’s 25th Tour stage win, a number no other active rider will even get close to, his fourth of this race, and his 125th career victory on his 500th day of racing as a pro. That’s a win every four days.
He now leads the race by 4:30 over Vingegaard, with seven stages still to go. His margin of victory last year was 4:24. He appeared to enjoy stage 14, which he described in his TV interview as a “perfect day”, partly because of the hordes of enthusiastic fans that were on the Col du Haag, creating a one rider-wide corridor, perfect for the world champion.
His decisive attack came 1.6km from the top of the bike path climb, 7.5km to the finish on top of Le Markstein, but had been set up by his team controlling the day, pulling the break back in order for the Pogačar attack to happen. It might feel predictable, but the power is still impressive.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
“We knew that today was one of the hardest mountain stages, but I think we benefit in these stages with the team that we have,” Pogačar said in his post-race press conference. “We grabbed the opportunity, we grabbed the chance, we made it hard. Also the breakaway made it hard for us in the front. A lot of guys felt good and showed a big fight, that’s how I saw it. Big respect to all the rivals, they did a really strong fight.
“I couldn’t waste good legs today, I wanted to finish it off and finish off the work of the team. Also I enjoyed the atmosphere of the Markstein. It was one of the craziest atmospheres of my career.”
The jeopardy does appear to have been sucked from this race – at least in the battle for yellow, anyway. For a second day running, Pogačar was asked what he would say about his rivals who are now racing for second. Interestingly, he recalled the Tour where he last raced up Le Markstein.
“If you remember, in 2023, I lost two minutes to Jonas in the time trial [in Combloux on stage 16] and the next day I lost eight minutes [to Courchevel on stage 17, where he lost over five minutes to Vingegaard], I think it’s quite obvious that anything can change in one day,” he said.
Of course, anything could happen, but a bad day does not feel around the corner, especially not after yet another dominant performance.
“I think for now I’m more confident,” Pogačar said. “I must admit that yesterday and two days ago, when [Lidl-]Trek were going full gas, I was not feeling the greatest. Then yesterday I felt a bit better, and it was these kind of days you have to get through.
“Today in the morning I spoke with Urška [Žigart, his partner] and she gave me a moral boost also. I was feeling great today, after today, so far, this Tour has been amazing for me. Tomorrow’s stage I will be confident, then it’s rest day and a time trial, and I have to do it like a one-day race and do the best I can do because I’ve put a lot of effort into in. Then we’ll see for Alpe d’Huez what is left in the tank.”
(Image credit: Getty Images)
By then, it’s plausible that Pogačar will have won another stage or two, so it won’t particularly matter what he has left in the tank, although he will hope to have a better final week than last year, when he suffered through it, with a knee issue, and also seemingly close to burnout.
“I don’t like to repeat myself too much, but last year the last week was not the greatest for me,” he explained. “I managed it with my grinta to survive really good. With the knee pain, and also just… This year, we still haven’t finished the second week. I’m in the same morale. Last year I had good morale until La Plagne when I was freezing in this room after the stage. My knee was painful, and I didn’t know, I was just happy it was over more or less. Maybe I was a bit grumpy in the media zone. I would say that morale is good this year, and was good last year also.”
One reason Pogačar has been able to look so dominant is the lack of a concerted challenge from Vingegaard. Perhaps because of his efforts in winning the Giro d’Italia, he is a level below, and was beaten to the line by both Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
“I think honestly, he’s missing a little bit compared to the last few Tours, but maybe the bigger, longer mountains like Alpe d’Huez he will get this extra boost,” the yellow jersey said. “Maybe he will drop me there, you never know. He’s there, he’s really strong, and he knows this, but he also knows that he misses a bit of a punch maybe. A bit more grinta. It’s a small percentage, and he’s there with me. I would not count him out for the next day, tomorrow is a good day for him also, and both Alpe d’Huez stages.”
Pogačar is winning comprehensively, but that doesn’t mean he’s not hurting. Asked why he was smiling on the Col du Haag, he replied: “It’s my suffer face. Some people might think I’m smiling. When you suffer, but in a good way. That’s maybe why it seems a bit more like a smile.”
Unfortunately for his rivals, the Slovenian is rather good at suffering. Three years on from his last defeat at the Tour, the end of his victorious era feels further away from ever.
