By Vincent DaheronSlovenian four-time champion Tadej Pogacar sped away from his rivals during the punishing climb to Alpe d’Huez to claim victory on stage 19 of the Tour de France on Friday, further consolidating his overall lead.Pogacar climbed Alpe d’Huez in 35 minutes and 27 seconds, more than a minute quicker than the record set by Marco Pantani three decades ago.The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider now leads his nearest general classification rival Remco Evenepoel by seven minutes and 11 seconds, with one more mountain stage left before the race ends in Paris on Sunday.“That was epic, what Tadej did there was pretty special and anyone who witnessed that should be very happy,” former cyclist Chris Froome, a four-times Tour de France winner, told TNT.Another masterpiece from Tadej Pogacar, this time on Alpe d’Huez. 🙌Première victoire à l’Alpe d’Huez, nouveau chef-d’œuvre signé Tadej Pogacar. 🌟Hear today’s winner 🎙️#TDF2026 pic.twitter.com/yToCVd9At1— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 24, 2026
“Tadej just destroyed everyone, what he did there was nothing short of remarkable.”Frenchman Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) finished second while Ecuadoreanstage 18 winner Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) came in third.Pogacar, who had not challenged for any of the last three stages, broke out of the peloton ahead of the Col d’Ornon, the penultimate climb of the day, as his teammate Felix Grossschartner set the pace.Most of Pogacar’s challengers in the general classification, including Evenepoel, stuck with him as riders approached the 13.8km climb to Alpe d’Huez, with an average slope of 8.1%.🔄 Distinctive jerseys rankings update: an actual update this time! 👀Richard Carapaz is our new leader in the climbers ranking. 🔴⚪🔄 Update des classement des maillots distinctifs : un vrai update cette fois ! 👀Richard Carapaz est notre nouveau leader du classement de la… pic.twitter.com/8OUMkgPEVi— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 24, 2026
