The storm broke on the descent of the Col de Page, allowing Pogacar and his team to briefly distance Vingegaard on the slick bends before the Visma-Lease a bike team responded.
By the time the sun emerged, the advantage of a small five-rider group that included Ben Healy and Carapaz dwindled before being caught halfway up the final climb.
Speculation linking the Tour leader to competing in this year's Vuelta a España appears well founded, as the Spanish race remains the only Grand Tour he has yet to win.
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The 2026 race stages its Gran Salida in Monaco, where Prince Albert commented on the potential participation of the current Tour de France leader.
"Pogacar said he would be at the start, so I hope that happens," Prince Albert said on Friday.
"If the prince said, it's a high chance," Pogacar said.
Luke Rowe, the lead sports director at the Decathlon team of Seixas, struck a pragmatic note regarding the possibility of thwarting the current race leader.
"It's nice to be optimistic, but sometimes you have to be realistic.
The realistic situation is that there is one guy substantially better than the rest of the GC leaders and the rest of the peloton," Rowe said.
The former Team Sky road captain also emphasized that those choosing to challenge Pogacar on the road should do so with extreme caution.
"How many times have we seen a guy follow Pogacar, explode and lose time?" Rowe said.
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"If you're racing GC, then a lot of days it's about getting from A to B, being patient and conservative, which some people think is being boring, but that's what it takes to be on the podium in the Tour," Rowe added.
