Job done,” Tadej Pogacar said with satisfaction after the first stage of the third week in the Tour de France. The Slovenian of UAE Team Emirates-XRG was able to respond to all attacks by the eager Jonas Vingegaard and even grabbed two bonus seconds on him in the sprint at the summit.

The 26-year-old is well on his way to a fourth Tour de France title, pedaling himself into the rarefied air occupied by the sport’s all-time greats.

The two-time champion was frustrated as he was brought down in the finish area at the top of the legendary climb

XRG stormed up the “Bald Mountain,” initiated by rival Jonas Vingegaard’s attack, and still managed to sprint two seconds clear of the Dane at the summit. With this blistering climb, Pogacar smashed the long-standing record of Iban Mayo.

Three-time champion Tadej Pogacar will spend Monday's rest day of the 2025 Tour de France savouring his feats in the Pyrenees of southern France that have helped him establish a four-minute lead over his arch rival and two-time victor Jonas Vingegaard.

The battle for the Tour de France’s yellow jersey lasted 12 days, but really it lasted about five minutes. That’s how long Tadej Pogacar waited before attacking Jonas Vingegaard on the Hautacam, the first hors-categorie mountain of the Tour,

Tadej Pogacar set a new record time on Mont Ventoux, resisting a wave of attacks from Visma | Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard and even sprinting away from the Dane by two seconds at the top. “Job done,