Pogacar wins stage 19 record, poised for fifth Tour de France title

Tadej Pogacar moved closer to a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title after winning stage 19 on Alpe d'Huez on Friday, setting a new climbing record in the process. The 27-year-old Slovenian rider, competing for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, completed the legendary 13.8-kilometre climb in 35 minutes and 27 seconds, breaking Marco Pantani's 1997 record by more than one minute. The commanding victory extended Pogacar's overall lead to more than seven minutes over Belgian rival Remco Evenepoel.

On Saturday's mountainous stage 20, Pogacar secured his position by protecting teammate Isaac Del Toro's third place overall. Del Toro, a 22-year-old Mexican making his Tour debut, is set to become the first rider from Mexico to finish on the Tour podium. Ecuador's Richard Carapaz won the stage, his second victory of the race, as American Sepp Kuss crashed twice in the final kilometres. Pogacar and Del Toro crossed the finish line together on Alpe d'Huez, cementing their positions heading into Sunday's final stage.

Heading into the race finale on Sunday, Pogacar holds a lead of 6 minutes and 26 seconds over Evenepoel. Barring a crash, he will join Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil, and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to win five Tours. The final stage has been shortened from 133 kilometres to 89 kilometres due to wildfires in southwestern France near Arcachon and Biscarrosse, which have destroyed over 36,000 hectares of forest. Security forces have been redeployed to assist in affected areas. The finale will start on the Champs-Élysées and include circuits of Montmartre before finishing on the famous cobbles.

Pogacar's dominant performance comes amid broader challenges facing the race. Friday's stage on Alpe d'Huez was marked by dangerous crowd behaviour, including incidents where spectators fell in front of vehicles and engaged in unruly conduct. Movistar climber Einer Rubio crashed into a team car after an unruly fan fell in front of it, requiring helicopter evacuation and 20 stitches for facial injuries. Earlier in the Tour, Pogacar's biggest rival Jonas Vingegaard, a two-time defending champion, crashed out on stage 15 after both riders underwent anti-doping tests in the early hours of that morning.

Pogacar has won five stages at this year's race and 26 stage wins overall in Tour de France history. Beyond the Tour, he won the Giro d'Italia by a large margin in 2024 and has secured victories at the Tour de Suisse and Tour de Romandie this year, along with several one-day classics. Unlike Vingegaard and Merckx, Pogacar has not yet won the Spanish Vuelta to complete a Grand Tour triple.