Tadej Pogačar’s stranglehold on the Tour de France was reinforced on Saturday when he won his fourth stage increased his advantage at the top of the general classification to more than four minutes, with a week’s racing still to go.

In pursuit of a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey, the Slovenian’s domination of the Tour has caused dejection throughout the rest of the peloton, with his lead after 14 stages the largest since 2014.

Pogačar’s desire to win all four of the mountain stages so far, coupled with his UAE Team Emirates-XRG dictating the rhythm and flow in almost every stage, has led to allegations from rivals that he and his team are too greedy and that they are making the sport uncompetitive.

Tim Wellens, Pogačar’s teammate, further riled opposing teams after stage 13 when he said: “Everybody wants to be in UAE Team Emirates-XRG because you can decide a little bit how the race happens,” he said. “It’s super fun to decide the race.”

Asked if UAE – the richest team in the world with a reported budget of around €60m per annum, more than triple the budgets of the smallest WorldTour teams  – were crushing the spirits of their rivals, a slightly irritated Pogačar said: “If you only go for second place, then it’s a pity.”

This article was published in The Observer in July 2026. To read the full article click here.