Pogačar Goes Solo, Sets Records, and Delivers 2.5 Minute Performance That Will Define This Tour
Stage 6 belonged entirely to Tadej Pogačar. In one of the most dominant individual performances in recent Tour de France history, Tadej went solo on the Tourmalet, set a new record up the climb, and won by over two and a half minutes over Jonas Vingegaard. This wasn't a typical stage win. This was a statement. This was revenge. This was Tadej saying to the entire cycling world that he's operating on a different level.
Why Go Solo This Early?
The first question everyone asks: why would you take such a massive risk only six stages into the race? Why go solo so far from the finish line on a hot day after an already brutal start to the Tour?
It's actually one of the hardest times to do such a thing because all the riders don't have the cumulative fatigue yet. There are still a lot of riders in the race who think they're going to contest the GC. Later in the race, you don't even have to deal with them because they've already been dropped. Your team has been on edge, working for stage wins, positioning you. You don't necessarily need to ride as aggressively or take the risks that Tadej took.
But he threw all his chips on the table. He went for the biggest jugular he could possibly get in Jonas Vingegaard and in the history books. He set a new record up the Tourmalet. And this might be the biggest gap in six stages in Tour de France history made by one GC rider to another GC rider on a mountain stage. Tom has never seen anything like it.
How It Happened: Team Execution and Strategic Dominance
Going into the race, Visma tried to launch their riders into the breakaway. Matteo Jorgensen, Jai Hindley, and other elite riders were jumping on moves, trying to get up the road as satellite riders. This made the race hard, but it also made it easy for UAE to control it and keep the pace fast.
When they reached Col d'Aspin, there was only one rider off the front. UAE got on the front and set a crazy pace. Then at Col de Tourmalet, it got even more insane. Brandon McNulty did an incredible pull up the climb. Stellar performance. This team is on fire.
Then Adam Yates lifted the pace to ludicrous speed. Del Toro launched off the top. All the GC favorites, Jonas included, were unable to follow.
They dropped so fast that Tadej asked Del Toro to stop. Tadej rode up alongside him. Then Tadej set the pace himself. Del Toro went on his wheel for a bit but couldn't follow any longer. Tadej asked, "Hey, how are you doing?" Del Toro said, "I'm out." Tadej took off and put 30 seconds on Jonas just from the top of the climb onward.
Then came the descent. Another 40 seconds, almost a minute. Then he extended that gap over the last climb and the rolling stuff to the finish. Over two and a half minutes by the finish line.
The Del Toro Attack and What It Reveals
When Del Toro attacked, Jonas could not follow. Did he choose not to follow? It sure seems like it. There was a clip at the finish line where you could hear Tadej talking to Del Toro. Tadej said, "Dude, you went too hard. That was crazy." Jonas let go right away. Del Toro said, "Yeah man, I was smoked. I went a little too hard." Tadej said, "Yeah, I was almost at my limit."
Scary for everyone to hear that, but that's the reality. These two riders are a dynamic duo. Del Toro could probably have stepped it down just a little bit, and the same result could have been achieved. Maybe Del Toro would have been able to follow Jonas in the fall and maybe in the coming days.
Some people on Twitter asked if Tadej was setting it up for Del Toro to pull him around for a one-two finish. Tom doesn't think that's the case. Tom thinks it came so easy for Tadej at the top that he asked Del Toro if they could go over the top together, maybe even together. That could have been a backup plan. Two riders working in the valley after the descent. But when Tadej saw how easily it came, he checked out that option. It wasn't even there to begin with.
Del Toro was so blown from that he couldn't get on the back of Jonas, but he was able to catch Lipowitz and battle for third place on the stage. Look for Del Toro to continue this approach. His resilience to do the work, go all in for Tadej, and still finish with that group and finish third on the stage shows his depth, his ability, his level is super high.
Tadej's Race Strategy: Beating Jonas at His Own Game
Here's what's important to understand about how they raced the Tourmalet. This is a climb that favors a rider like Jonas. It's a style where Jonas has set up attacks in the past. Traditionally, Tadej hits the bottom of climbs nuclear, blows it all apart, drops Jonas in the process, gets a big gap, and then slows down and feathers the gap.
But today, Tadej took on this climb in a scorch the earth manner. A very hard threshold pace right from the bottom all the way to the top. This is how Jonas typically attacks. This is redemption. Going back to maybe the Veneto last year, and definitely going back to 2024 when he went for a similar stage win, he was able to get a small gap on Jonas, but Jonas came back and beat him in the sprint.
This time, Tadej wanted to beat Jonas in his own game. And he probably knows there's residual fatigue and not 100% form from the Giro in this first part of the tour. So he's looking to capitalize on the blows he's already given, the hits he's already delivered. Today was an example of that where he made the pace threshold city all the way to the top with his teammates. Then he smashed him right off that threshold pace.
He was able to see exactly where Jonas's limit is right now. And his limit is below Tadej's limit. Tadej was able to see that clear as day.
The Zones Analysis: Checkmate
This is critical to understanding what just happened. Tadej has higher explosive zones than Jonas right now. He also has higher threshold zones. In CINCH, we call it the "fall to factor," which is above zone two, above fat max. Tadej has a higher zone there too.
Checkmate. He's got all the zones higher at this point in the race.
Does Jonas have the potential to get better? Maybe. But the way Tadej has brought this race into a boxing match at this point, he knows he's stronger in every zone. He's already landed multiple jabs, punches, and even knocked Jonas down a little bit today. That's devastating psychologically.
The question now is: can Jonas recover from that? Can he put on a really strong middle part of this Tour and regroup? Is he even going to stay in the race?
The Yellow Jersey's Crash
Race leader Traeen crashed on the descent coming down from the Tourmalet. It was a brutal crash. He was on his teammate's wheel, probably looking down in the moment. A lot of times when you're trying to relax or you're feeling fatigued, you look down. It's a way to kind of reset when there's so much stimulation around you.
In this case, Traeen was probably looking down. His teammate braked and started turning. Traeen probably wasn't ready for it. His reaction was strange. He slammed on the brakes hard. It was a left hand turn. He was on the inside of his teammate. Normally, if your teammate slows and starts turning the same direction you're on the inside, you just cut on the inside of your teammate.
But Traeen reacted by seeing the wheels were overlapped and tried to get out of there instead of just turning in. He basically tried to eject from that situation. He hit his brakes going really fast. You could see it threw his weight forward on his front wheel. At the same time, the teammate hit his front wheel and Traeen kind of flipped over and landed.
Those are the worst kinds of crashes. If he had just slid out, he would have lost skin and maybe not had too many major problems. But because he high sided, he pancaked on the pavement. Broken collarbone. Broken ribs. Concussion. He tried to get back in the race, tried to finish, but he's out due to the concussion and broken bones.
Super bummer for him. Really awesome guy. Really cool story. But mission accomplished: he got the yellow jersey and wore it for two days. He really can't complain about that. Now he can go home, reset, get ready for the rest of the season, and carry that yellow jersey momentum and success from this Tour de France.
What's Next?
The big questions now: Will Jonas recover? Is the Giro fatigue catching up with him? Did Tadej's punches and jabs knock him down enough to seriously impact his chances?
What is Tadej going to do next? Will he work for Del Toro? Will he try to help Del Toro solidify his podium position? Will he continue on a rampage? Will he do both? Could Del Toro and Tadej do a two up breakaway at some point?
These are all great questions. And that's why the mid mountain stages are worth tuning in for. Tom wouldn't be surprised if they try some crazy stuff there.
The Bigger Picture
Tadej's performance today wasn't just about one stage win. It was about establishing dominance. It was about showing that he's operating at an unprecedented level. It was about redemption for past setbacks. And it was about delivering a boxing match where every zone matters and he has the advantage in all of them.
Thanks for reading. Looking forward to tomorrow's stage.
