Tadej Pogacar wins Alpe d’Huez stage, extends Tour lead

Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar launched a solo attack on the final 12 km of the iconic Alpe d’Huez climb in Stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France. Starting over three minutes behind the breakaway, he caught Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and Frenchman Lenny Martinez within the last kilometre and held on to claim his fifth stage win of the race and 26th overall. Pogacar’s time of 35 minutes 27 seconds shattered Marco Pantani’s 31‑year‑old record by more than a minute. He said, “It’s very cool to win up here,” praising the “crazy atmosphere” on the climb.

The victory widened his overall advantage to 7 minutes 11 seconds over Belgian contender Remco Evenepoel, securing a strong position for a possible fifth Tour title. Carapaz took the polka‑dot (mountains) jersey by a single point, while Martinez finished second and Carapaz third. The stage also highlighted safety concerns after a crash involving Movistar rider Einer Rubio, but the race will continue to the penultimate mountain stage on Saturday.

Overall classification after Stage 19: Pogacar leads, Evenepoel remains second, Isaac del Toro third, Paul Seixas fourth, and Martinez fifth. The battles for the white (young rider) and green (points) jerseys also remain open heading into the final days of the Tour.