Tadej Pogacar, the 25-year-old Slovenian cyclist from UAE Team Emirates, has all but secured his third Tour de France victory with a dominant performance in the 19th stage on Friday, July 19, 2024. The stage, a grueling 144.6 km mountain route from Embrun to Isola 2000, featured a challenging 16.1 km climb to the finish line.Pogacar launched a powerful attack with approximately 8-9 kilometers to go, leaving his main rivals Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel unable to respond. He crossed the finish line almost two minutes ahead of his closest competitors, marking his fourth stage victory in this Tour and his 15th career Tour de France stage win.This victory has dramatically reshaped the general classification. Pogacar now leads Vingegaard by 5 minutes and 3 seconds, with Evenepoel in third place, 7 minutes and 1 second behind the leader. Vingegaard, the defending champion, has conceded that the fight for first place is over, acknowledging Pogacar’s superior strength.Pogacar’s dominant performance in the mountains has effectively ended any suspense before the final two stages. His impressive showing puts him on track for his third Tour de France victory and a historic Giro-Tour double, a feat not achieved since Marco Pantani in 1998.The Tour concludes on Sunday with a time trial from Monaco to Nice. While Pogacar’s victory seems assured, the battle for second place between Vingegaard and Evenepoel remains a point of interest in the final stages.
Key points
- Tadej Pogacar won stage 19 of the Tour de France, extending his overall lead to over 5 minutes.
- Jonas Vingegaard, the defending champion, has conceded that the fight for first place is over.
- Pogacar is on track to achieve a historic Giro-Tour double, not accomplished since 1998.
