5 records Tadej Pogačar set during the 2026 Tour de France – and one he’s yet to beat - BikeRadar

What the report says

BikeRadar reported that Tadej Pogačar won the 2026 Tour de France by more than six minutes over runner-up Remco Evenepoel, taking five stage victories on the way. The 27-year-old Slovenian, riding for UAE Emirates-XRG, entered as the strong favourite and still delivered a dominant race despite illness among teammates and disruption linked to nighttime doping controls, according to the article.

The win gave Pogačar his fifth Tour title, after victories in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025. BikeRadar said that made him the youngest five-time Tour winner, surpassing Eddy Merckx’s age mark, and placed him alongside Jacques Anquetil, Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin in the group of five-time champions. His result also extended his run to seven straight Tour podiums, described as a new record, and kept intact his record of reaching the podium in every Grand Tour he has entered.

The report highlighted two major climbing marks. On stage 19, Pogačar broke Marco Pantani’s long-standing Alpe d’Huez record with a time of 35 minutes and 27 seconds after catching the breakaway and attacking in the final kilometre. Earlier, on stage six from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre, he set a new Col du Tourmalet best of 43 minutes and 12 seconds, improving on the time he had shared with Jonas Vingegaard in 2023.

BikeRadar also noted that the 2026 Tour was the fastest edition on record, with Pogačar completing it in 73 hours, 56 minutes and 26 seconds at an average of 43.326kph. Records still out of reach include Merckx’s 111 days in yellow; Pogačar has 71. He also remains behind Mark Cavendish’s record of 35 Tour stage wins.