Pogacar on verge of fifth Tour after Alpe d'Huez win - BBC

What the report says

BBC Sport reported that Tadej Pogacar moved to the brink of a fifth Tour de France title with a decisive stage 19 victory on Alpe d’Huez on 24 July 2026. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider, already the defending champion, won the summit finish after closing down a large breakaway on the final hors category climb to the Alpine ski resort.

Pogacar finished the stage in 3 hours, 17 minutes and 57 seconds, six seconds ahead of France’s Lenny Martinez of Bahrain-Victorious, with Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost third at nine seconds. The BBC said Pogacar set a new Alpe d’Huez climbing mark of 35 minutes 27 seconds, improving on Marco Pantani’s 1997 time. He now leads the general classification by 7 minutes 11 seconds from Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, while teammate Isaac del Toro is third at 9 minutes 42 seconds and continues to lead the young rider standings.

The win puts Pogacar, 27, close to matching the Tour record of five overall victories, a mark shared by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. The BBC also highlighted the role of British teammate Adam Yates, who had struggled with illness earlier in the race but helped pace Pogacar during the final climb.

The race is not yet over: the peloton is scheduled to tackle Alpe d’Huez again on Saturday in the mountainous “queen” stage, which the BBC said includes an additional 2,000 metres of climbing. Carapaz also took over the polka-dot mountains jersey, while Mads Pedersen retained the green points jersey.