Pogacar triumphs on Bastille Day at Plateau de Beille, consolidates lead before 2nd rest day

Tadej Pogacar Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar cemented his dominance in the mountains with a commanding win on the 15th stage of the Tour de France, held on Bastille Day. The gruelling ascent to Plateau de Beille saw Pogacar take his third stage win of this yearโ€™s Tour, extending his overall lead in the yellow jersey.

The nearly 200-kilometre stage featured four major climbs before the final push to Plateau de Beille. The race began with an immediate climb up the Col de Peyresourde, splintering the peloton. A breakaway group, including Richard Carapaz, Laurens De Plus, and Enric Mas, set a fierce pace but were eventually reeled in as the decisive moments approached.

Photo Credit: ASO-Billy Ceusters

Temperatures soared close to 35 degrees Celsius on the final climb. Pogacar attacked with 5 kilometres to go during the last “hors catรฉgorie” climb, reinforcing his position as the king of the mountains. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, with the help of his teammate Matteo Jorgenson, attempted to respond but couldn’t match Pogacar’s relentless pace, finishing more than a minute behind. Remco Evenepoel, another top contender, also struggled to keep up, finishing third on the stage at 2:51.

Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay retained the green jersey as the best sprinter, showcasing his consistency across the stages.

Pogacarโ€™s time of 39:41 on the 15.8km ascent shattered Marco Pantaniโ€™s record by 3:40, a record that had stood since 1998. The race swung through Tarascon-sur-Ariรจge and began the 16km haul to the line. Vingegaardโ€™s inevitable attack came with 10.5km to go, but Pogacar matched his pace closely. When Vingegaard showed signs of fatigue, Pogacar seized the moment, accelerating past him to take a solo win.

On his victory, Pogacar said, โ€œIโ€™m super happy with my shape right now. I usually struggle with the heat but today the team did a really good job with cooling me down. It was an incredible day.โ€

He added, โ€œHe set a super good pace, but when he finally attacked again โ€“ the final attack from him, just before my attack โ€“ I saw that maybe I could do some difference from him if I tried. It was really hard to break him and to make the bigger gap. I was going all-out to the finish line.โ€

Reflecting on his performance, Vingegaard remarked, โ€œActually Iโ€™m proud of how I rode and how the team rode, the guys rode really strongly and we rode super hard. On the last climb I was feeling super strong, I think I did one of the best performances of my life. But Tadej was super strong – so I cannot really be disappointed.โ€

Photo Credit: ASO-Charly Lopez
Jonas Vingegaard

Pogacar’s recent performance also brought him level on Tour stage wins with Marcel Kittel, with 14 victories. He stands just one behind Freddy Maertens and two behind legends like Charles Pรฉlissier and Jacques Anquetil, at the young age of 25.

Remco Evenepoel, who finished third, acknowledged Pogacarโ€™s extraordinary form, saying, โ€œTadej is on another planet this year. Right now he is the best in the world. There is absolutely no doubt about that.โ€

Monday marks the second rest day of the race, with Stage 16 set to be a flat route between Gruissan and Nimes in the south of France.

2024 Tour de France Stage 15 result

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All photo credits: ASO – Charly Lopez & Billy Ceusters