More than the time for revenge, these are Tadej's days
There goes 20. Making only his sixth appearance in the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar is ever closer to making history... or continuing to make it. In the first of three decisive stages in the Pyrenees, the Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG performed at a stratospheric level that not even the previous day's crash could deter him. On a Hautacam that had proved decisive in his loss of the 2022 Tour, the world champion attacked at the start of the climb and unloaded Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) a few meters ahead, setting off on his 20th victory in Grande Boucle history. It's increasingly certain that Pogacar will break Mark Cavendish's record of 35 victories in the coming years, but it remains to be seen when he will do so. For now, the best cyclist in the world is the leading candidate to retain his title in Paris and appears to have settled his score with... ten days to go.
“I knew from the first time I did Hautacam, in reconnaissance, that it was a really cool climb. I was looking forward to doing it. I was looking forward to today [Thursday], and everyone told me, 'This is the time for revenge.' As we approached the start of the climb, the story of 2022 reversed. There was a Belgian in front [Tim Wellens, referring to Wout van Aert's work], and so was our team. I'm super happy to have won this climb. We did an excellent job. The team performed very well. It was a difficult day for everyone, but in the end, we were very strong. We had this stage in mind for a long time, and we made it. This stage is for Samuele [Privitera] and his whole family, because it was very sad. It was the first thing I read this morning, and I kept thinking about him during the last kilometer, about how difficult this sport can be and how much pain it can cause,” shared Pogacar after the triumph, remembering the 19-year-old Italian who died the day before during a race in Italy.
Emirates Sports Director Matxin admitted that the victory was "more" than the team dreamed of. "Jonas has always finished first or second in the last four Tours. He's our main rival. Beating him by more than two minutes wasn't part of our best-case scenarios. Our teammates worked perfectly, and we had the perfect plan. When we heard [Matteo] Jorgenson on the radio saying we needed to slow down, we already knew he or Jonas weren't doing well, but we stuck to the plan. We didn't change anything. We knew everything would be decided on Hautacam. It's a difficult climb, and a natural selection would happen. Visma taking the initiative was perfect for us. When they stopped, we took over the technical descent towards Hautacam. Time trial? It will be a natural selection. It's purely a question of power," he added.
For Robbie McEwen, a former cyclist and Eurosport commentator, the Tour is practically over, and no one will be able to challenge Pogacar's dominance. "Pogacar has a very strong lead, and if all goes well, he won't give up. I think he'll win two or three more stages, including today's [Friday], and he'll win the Tour in a dominant fashion. I honestly don't think there will be a comeback. Unfortunately, crashes are part of the sport, we don't wish that on anyone, but you're never completely safe in the Tour de France, no matter how big of a lead you have. He seems to be approaching the greatest of all time. If you take out Tadej and Jonas, we have an incredible battle to win the Tour. If you look at what the guys have done, there's very good competition; they're great champions. He's very good. So, yes, we're talking about one of the best of all time, and he's not far off. There are definitely arguments to be made that he's the best," the Australian told Observador.
⏱️ 2nd episode of the Pyrenean triptic with a short, intense TT and the terrible climb to the Peyragudes altiport to finish it off.
⏱️ 2ème épisode du triptique pyrénéen avec un chrono court, intense et la terrible montane de l'altiport de Peyragudes pour en terminer. #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/7dVBRq78XZ
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 18, 2025
After the first high-mountain stage, the men in the general classification had another decisive day this Friday, with a short but intense time trial in the Pyrenees. Just 10.9 kilometers long, the individual effort began in Loudenvielle, near the Spanish border. With the first three kilometers proving easy, the climb to Peyragudes was eight kilometers at an average gradient of 7.9%. On a mountain with gradients rarely below 8%, the final kilometer was the toughest, where the cyclists encountered a 16% gradient. It was there that, in 2022, Pogacar and Vingegaard had a memorable battle for the 17th stage, with the Slovenian coming out on top in the sprint .
1⃣6⃣ % ???????????? #TDF2025 | @TISSOT pic.twitter.com/hCrPu3yHjC
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 18, 2025
As usual, the first stage of the time trial was relatively uneventful, with Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) bowing out of the Tour de France with a broken finger and Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla) emerging as the frontrunner for the lead. The Australian was the first to break the 25-minute time limit, shaving almost three minutes off his previous time (24.58). Before the favorites, there was even time for Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) to pass the second intermediate point to the sound of… Quim Barreiros, in a moment that promises to go viral. Jorgenson and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) were the first to enter the battle for the stage, equaling first place at the first intermediate point. Even so, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) came out swinging, taking almost ten seconds off the duo's time.
Quim Barreiros on the Tour. I can now die in peace. pic.twitter.com/4SWkKSRH2r
— José Carlos Mota (@jcmota00) July 18, 2025
Behind came Vingegaard, who was at his best in the flat stage, losing only 3.50 seconds to Evenepoel. Interestingly, both men competed in the time trial on their specialty bikes, with Visma also opting for a helmet. Even so, Pogacar was much stronger and, at the first point, immediately gained 4.66 on the Belgian and 8.16 on the Dane. At kilometer 7.6, Roglic began by taking 30 seconds off Jorgenson's time, and the specialty world champion didn't do any better, losing 26 seconds. Conversely, Vingegaard improved and, two minutes later, set the fastest time. The yellow jersey was still to come, but he once again crushed the competition, gaining almost 24 seconds on Jonas.
At the finish line, Primoz Roglic first displaced Luke Plapp from the lead with a time 37 seconds faster. Jonas Vingegaard entered the final kilometer very close to Remco Evenepoel, overtook him in the final 100 meters, and beat the Slovenian's time by 44 seconds, providing a good example after Thursday's stage. Behind him came the rocket Tadej Pogacar, who claimed his fourth victory in this edition of the Tour with a time of 23:00.19. With this triumph, the Slovenian reached 21 victories in the history of the Tour de France and moved into sixth place in the gold medals, surpassing Luxembourg's Nicolas Frantz.
observador
