DEFENDING champion Tadej Pogacar tightened his grip on the Tour de France after winning the 10th stage Wednesday, July 15, 2026 (PH time), to extend his commanding overall lead, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
The four-time Tour winner launched a decisive attack just over 900 meters from the summit of the Col de Pertus, the penultimate climb of the hilly stage, leaving chief rival Jonas Vingegaard behind before reeling in Richard Carapaz and surging to another dominant victory.
“You never know how long it lasts,” Pogacar said. “We just need to be grateful for this moment to be riding in the biggest race of the world.”
The 27-year-old Slovenian is now on course to match the record of five Tour de France titles held by Eddy Merckx, Miguel Indurain, Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
According to AP, Pogacar reached the summit of the Col de Pertus with a five-second lead over Carapaz and an 18-second advantage over Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso and Paul Seixas before extending the gap on the descent.
Pogacar crossed the finish line 32 seconds ahead of Evenepoel to claim his 24th career Tour stage victory, his third on France’s Bastille Day and his third stage win in this year’s race.
French hopeful Paul Seixas finished third, 34 seconds off the pace.
Vingegaard crossed the line 44 seconds behind Pogacar, allowing the yellow jersey holder to stretch his overall advantage to 3:36 after 10 stages — the biggest lead he has held at this point of any Tour.
The AP reported that UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlled the race throughout the day, neutralizing early breakaway attempts, including one featuring previous stage winner Mathieu van der Poel.
Javier Romo briefly rode alone at the front before being reeled in by the peloton, while Carapaz launched an attack that ultimately proved futile when Pogacar accelerated away on the Col de Pertus.
“The team did a super good job. We targeted this stage a long time ago,” Pogacar said, recalling his defeat to Vingegaard at Le Lioran two years ago.
“Today I had similar legs in the finish, completely destroyed,” he added. “I didn’t know I was going to win until the last kilometer.”
Pogacar also shrugged off boos from some spectators.
“To all the guys that were booing, they give us more power,” he said. / LBG
