Imperious Pogacar wins his fourth stage of 2024 Tour
- Published
Tadej Pogacar continued his dominance at the Tour de France as he won his fourth stage and substantially extended his overall lead.
The Slovenian attacked in the Alps with nine kilometres to go, making up almost three minutes to catch and pass stage leader Matteo Jorgenson of the United States.
His yellow jersey rivals Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel were unable to respond and ultimately lost one minute and 42 seconds to the Giro d'Italia winner.
Pogacar's lead over defending champion Vingergaard now stands at an imposing five minutes and three seconds with two stages remaining.
Simon Yates finished third, with Jorgenson holding off the Briton to claim second.
- Published21 July
After his win Pogacar, 25, described the stage as "100% perfect" and added he could "enjoy tomorrow" after extending his lead in the yellow jersey.
The two-time winner raced conservatively until the final climb into the resort of Isola 2000, where his blistering attack was too much for both his rivals around him and those up the road.
"We were here training for a whole month between the Giro and Tour," he added. "I knew this climb super well. I was speaking with team-mates in the training camp how we wanted to race and we did it exactly how we wanted."
Two stages stand between Pogacar and a third Tour de France title.
On Saturday, the peloton stays in the mountains and finishes on the Col de la Couillole. The tour ends with a time trial into Nice on Sunday.
But such is Pogacar's dominance this season, it seems as if Friday's stage 19 may go down as the day the 2024 tour was won.
He won the Giro d'Italia in May and could become the first man since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the two tours in the same year.
Stage 19 results
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 4hrs 4mins 3secs
Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) +21secs
Simon Yates (GBR/Team Jayco AlUla) +40secs
Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education - EasyPost) +1min 11secs
Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal- Quick Step) +1min 42secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) Same time
Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +2mins 00secs
Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) Same time
Wilco Kelderman (Ned/Visma-Lease a Bike) +2mins 52secs
Derek Gee (Can/Israel- Premier Tech) +3mins 27secs
General Classification after stage 19
Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) 78hrs 49mins 20secs
Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +5mins 03secs
Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal- Quick Step) +7mins 01sec
Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates) +15mins 07secs
Mikel Landa (Spa/Soudal-Quick Step) +15mins 34secs
Carlos Rodriguez (Spa/Ineos Grenadiers) +17mins 36secs
Adam Yates (GB/UAE Team Emirates) +19mins 18secs
Derek Gee (Can/Israel- Premier Tech) +21mins 52secs
Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) 22mins 43secs
Giulio Ciccone (Ita/Lidl-Trek) +22mins 46secs