The Tour de France is accustomed to Tadej Pogačar masterclasses. He’s been coming here for seven years now, and each and every year – even in 2022 and 2023 when he was beaten to the yellow jersey – he delivers an exhibition or six (as in 2024).

Almost all of his 23 stage wins have been greeted with a sense of inevitability – the best bike rider of all time just doing best bike rider of all time things – but his stage six win in the Pyrenees produced a different reaction to what has come before.

Just beyond the finish line stood soigneurs, managers and communications staff from all 23 competing teams, as well as a few dozen journalists and camera operators. Except for the winning team’s personnel, only in exceptional circumstances do those present audibly react to a race result. Still, there’s always chatter, always noise.

This time there was nothing. Silence. And a deafening one at that.

It’s only day six of a race that is meant to be backloaded to prevent Pogačar from running away with the yellow jersey, but on the first real mountain day that didn’t even finish up a steep climb he’s practically, avoiding any unforeseen circumstances, wrapped the race up, possessing a lead of 2:42 to Vingegaard. How on earth is the Dane, or anyone else, meant to reduce such a big deficit, let alone overturn it?

This article was published by Cycling Weekly in July 2026. To read the full article click here.