Tadej Pogacar opened a commanding two-minute lead over Jonas Vingegaard after a dominant solo performance in Stage 6 of the Tour de France on Thursday, July 9, 2026.
The 186-kilometer mountain stage from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre featured the iconic Tourmalet climb, where the Slovenian world champion made his decisive move.
Decisive Attack on the Tourmalet
Pogacar and his teammate Isaac Del Toro accelerated 43 kilometers from the finish, fracturing the elite lead group.
On the upper slopes of the Tourmalet, Pogacar went solo, reaching the summit with a 30-second gap over Jonas Vingegaard.
He extended that advantage to over two minutes on the final 18.7-kilometer ascent to Gavarnie-Gèdre.
A chasing group featuring Remco Evenepoel, Del Toro, Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso, Mattias Skjelmose, Joao Seixas, Daniel Martinez, and Sepp Kuss fell more than two and a half minutes behind Pogacar.
Vingegaard remained isolated between Pogacar and the chasers, maintaining a 35-second cushion over the pursuit group.
Yellow Jersey Changes Hands
Previous yellow jersey holder Torstein Traeen crashed during the treacherous descent of the Tourmalet.
Traeen quickly fell out of contention, trailing the front of the race by 15 minutes during the final kilometers.
Earlier in the stage, Belgian rider Cian Uijtdebroeks of the Movistar team officially abandoned the competition due to illness.
