A gasping Jonas Vingegaard collapsed wearily over his bike on yet another sweltering Pyrenean afternoon, after Tadej Pogacar delivered another devastating loss in the mountain time trial to the altiport at Peyragudes.
The second time trial in the 2025 Tour was anticipated to solidify Pogacar’s dominance over the peloton, and that expectation was met, as the reigning champion widened his advantage to more than four minutes with his fourth stage victory in this year’s race and the 21st Tour stage win of his career.
Using a regular road bike instead of a time trial configuration, Pogacar was the quickest at each time check on the 10.9km ascent, resembling Thursday’s climb to Hautacam, where he similarly won. His consistency across the mountain stages has turned this Tour into a showcase of his control, tactical intelligence, and remarkable endurance.
Due to his current supremacy, Pogacar was questioned if he might ever contemplate easing up during the Tour, to let his competitors share the rewards.
“I’m not here to create adversaries,” he stated, “but it’s the Tour; you can’t just withdraw when there’s a chance for a stage victory.”
“You can never tell when it might be your final day on the Tour. I will speak truthfully. The team compensates you to succeed, and a large group stands behind me, supporting me and dedicating every single day of their careers to reach the Tour and achieve victory in it. When an opportunity arises, you seize it. You cannot refuse a stage in the Tour.”
He further added, “Once I conclude my career, I will likely not communicate with 99% of the peloton. I will concentrate on my closest friends and relatives. You achieve victory, and others immediately begin to consider the next triumph, or you’re succeeding too often. You must savor the present, what you’re giving up for, and not worry excessively about others’ opinions.”
The Slovenian has now created a significant gap between himself and the other riders due to consecutive mountain-top finishes. At Hautacam, he gained two minutes and 10 seconds on Vingegaard over 12km; upon finishing at the Pyrenean altiport, he had increased his advantage over the Dane and now has a total lead of four minutes and seven seconds.
With Vingegaard three minutes in front of third-placed Remco Evenepoel, just six cyclists are now within 10 minutes of Pogacar. The top of the general classification has turned into a one-man show, with the fight for the remaining podium spots now taking center stage.
“I didn’t have the strength I desired,” a fatigued Evenepoel admitted at the finish. “Just a few minutes in, I suddenly felt hollow. I’m quite let down.” His words summed up the mood among many of Pogacar’s rivals, who are struggling to keep up with his relentless pace across these mountainous stages.
Scotland’s Oscar Onley stays firmly in the race for a strong finish, moving up to fifth place after placing seventh in the stage. “I experienced some discomfort after yesterday,” Onley stated, “but we’re all in the same boat.” He continued, “Due to the steep incline of the runway at the finish, you truly needed to restrain yourself somewhat. It was a challenging time trial to oversee.”
With Pogacar nearly out of view, the true contest now could be for the podium. Primoz Roglic, who began this Tour with the modest goal of reaching Paris to celebrate with a glass of champagne, is now steadily climbing in the general classification.
The 35-year-old Slovenian, famously defeated by Pogacar in the last time trial of the 2020 Tour while close to overall victory, recorded the best time on the 10.9km test until Vingegaard surpassed him—and then, inevitably, Pogacar did as well.
Roglic’s effort shows he still has plenty left in the tank and might pose a threat to the podium places in the final week. His experience and resilience have made him one of the most admired riders in the peloton, and he will no doubt aim to take advantage of any weaknesses shown by the riders ahead of him.
In the meantime, French sprinter Bryan Coquard, who was involved in a collision with Jasper Philipsen on stage three—an incident that led to Philipsen’s withdrawal from the race—has now exited the Tour himself. Coquard fractured bones in his right hand while attempting to collect his food bag from a team support member during Thursday’s brutal stage to Hautacam.
Despite completing the time trial with his right hand tightly bandaged, Coquard ultimately dismounted and announced his departure. “I planned to compete in the time trial today, but out of concern for safety, I can’t begin tomorrow,” he explained. “I can’t use my right hand to brake, which isn’t a problem when I’m racing by myself in an uphill time trial, but in the peloton, that’s clearly risky.”
His withdrawal reduces the number of sprinters left in the race and may affect the competition for the green jersey in the flat stages ahead.
With Pogacar in such dominant shape, Tour organizers continue to stress that everything is still up for grabs. But the reality on the road tells a different story: if Vingegaard or anyone else is to pull back the four-minute gap, it will require a miracle or a major mishap.
Pogacar claimed victory in the 2024 Giro d’Italia by nearly 10 minutes and secured six stage wins in that race. Now, at the Tour, with the time trials complete and four more summit finishes remaining, this could very well be the most commanding Grand Tour performance of his career so far.
His team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, has been virtually flawless, providing the perfect support system as Pogacar delivers repeated blows to his competitors in the mountains. Their tactical execution and discipline have left little room for the other teams to mount meaningful resistance.
As the race heads into its final stages, focus shifts to the tactical battles for the remaining spots on the podium, where riders like Evenepoel, Roglic, Onley, and Carlos Rodriguez will all be eyeing opportunities to gain time.
At the same time, Roglic isn’t the only one who has Paris on his mind. The Moulin Rouge dancers have declared that they will perform the can-can in the streets as the peloton goes through Montmartre during the last stage. Perhaps Roglic will leap in, lift a flute, and participate.
But unless something dramatic unfolds in the Alps, the 2025 Tour de France looks increasingly certain to be remembered as the race where Pogacar turned dominance into legend.
