Tadej Pogačar broke the Alpe d’Huez record on stage 19 of the Tour de France, winning solo in yellow after a decisive attack at the foot of the climb.
The Slovenian completed the famous ascent in 35 minutes and 27 seconds. His ride surpassed Marco Pantani’s 1997 benchmark of 37 minutes and 35 seconds, a time that had stood for 29 years.
Pogačar launched his move on the first of the climb’s 21 bends. At that point, the breakaway still held more than three minutes over the yellow jersey group.
Sepp Kuss, Lenny Martinez and Richard Carapaz were among the riders ahead. Carapaz had won stage 18 and entered the day targeting more King of the Mountains points.
Pogačar quickly reduced the gap through dense crowds on one of cycling’s defining roads. He first linked up with teammate Adam Yates, who had dropped back from the break.
Yates had been slowed by a virus earlier in the week. Still, he helped set a tempo for Pogačar during the early part of the final climb.
Pogačar later said it was “very cool to win up here” after a stage shaped by atmosphere and team support.
Alpe d’Huez record falls after 29 years
The comparison with Pantani comes with one important detail. Pantani’s record came on a slightly longer official climb of 14.5km.
The modern Alpe d’Huez climb measures 13.8km. Even so, Pogačar’s time rewrote the reference point for the ascent during the Tour.
After leaving Yates with 9.5km remaining, Pogačar continued alone toward the leaders. The front group understood the danger and began lifting the pace.
Carapaz attacked with 8.5km still to climb, and only Martinez initially followed. Kuss then fought back to restore a leading trio.
Carapaz made another move before Kuss countered. The three riders regrouped, but their advantage continued to collapse.
At the start of Alpe d’Huez, the break held 3 minutes and 25 seconds over Pogačar. With 5.6km remaining, that margin had fallen to one minute.
One kilometre later, the lead stood at just 34 seconds. Pogačar was passing riders rapidly and riding through packed roadside support.
The accelerations from Carapaz and Kuss briefly suggested the leaders might survive. By 4km to go, Pogačar could see them ahead.
He caught Kuss and Martinez first, with both able to hold his wheel briefly. Carapaz remained alone in front until 1.6km from the finish.
Once Pogačar made the junction, the stage win became a tactical contest. Martinez and Carapaz resisted at first, but Pogačar still had another acceleration.
Inside the final kilometre, he attacked again and opened the winning gap. He crossed the line alone, adding a stage victory to his Alpe d’Huez record.
Carapaz takes polka dots from Pogačar
Martinez finished second on the stage, with Carapaz third. Kuss and Tobias Johannessen completed the top five.
Carapaz also left the day with a major reward from the mountains classification. His stage 18 victory and third place on Alpe d’Huez moved him into the polka dot jersey.
The Ecuadorian now leads that competition with 91 points. Pogačar sits just behind on 90 points.
That narrow margin sets up another important climbing battle on stage 20. The Tour heads to Alpe d’Huez again before the peloton travels to Paris on Sunday.
For Pogačar, the stage added another landmark to a dominant race. The defending champion is now two days from a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory.
He said he knew early on the climb that his legs were strong. Once committed, he chased relentlessly and finished the job against Carapaz and Martinez.