Tadej Pogačar won stage 5 of the 2026 Tour de Suisse in Villars-sur-Ollon, catching Lenny Martinez inside the final kilometre before riding clear to take both the stage victory and the overall title. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider completed a dominant week with his third stage win of the race, adding the final mountain stage to his opening-day solo raid and stage 4 time-trial victory.
Martinez came desperately close to salvaging the day for the breakaway, but the Bahrain Victorious climber was caught with around 800 metres remaining after a long, punishing ride over repeated ascents of the Col de la Croix. Bart Lemmen finished third for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, while Jarno Widar, Matthew Riccitello and Enric Mas came in behind after a final climb that split the race open.
Pogačar sealed the final general classification by 6:32 over Richard Carapaz, with Mathias Vacek taking third at 6:53. After taking control on the opening stage in Sondrio, the Slovenian never looked seriously under threat and finished the race with another demonstration of climbing power on the final day.
A brutal final stage in the heat
The final stage of the Tour de Suisse covered 150.7 kilometres from Villars-sur-Ollon to Villars-sur-Ollon, with more than 4,000 metres of climbing and repeated ascents of the Col de la Croix. It was the queen stage of the race and the last opportunity for anyone to reshape the podium behind Pogačar.
The overall lead itself looked close to untouchable. Pogačar had built a huge advantage with his stage 1 attack, protected it through the following days and then extended it further in the Aarburg time-trial. The closer fight was behind him, where Carapaz started the day second overall, only 5 seconds ahead of Vacek, with Andrea Bagioli and Brandon McNulty also in the wider podium picture.
The weather made an already severe stage harder. Temperatures were high in Villars-sur-Ollon and even hotter in the valley, with reports later putting the lower roads around 37 degrees Celsius. That heat, combined with the climbing, quickly turned the day into a war of attrition.
Several riders did not start, including Matthew Brennan, Julian Alaphilippe, Alec Segaert, Lucas Hamilton and Sjoerd Bax. The abandons then kept coming once the race began.
Early attacks on the Col de la Croix
Racing began with UAE Team Emirates-XRG immediately close to the front, refusing to let the opening moves go easily. The first ascent of the Col de la Croix brought repeated attacks, and the race became difficult to control almost at once.
A group of around 15 riders briefly formed near the top before being reduced to 11 over the summit. Louis Vervaeke, wearing the mountain jersey for Soudal Quick-Step, made it into the move and took the first KOM points ahead of Bauke Mollema, Martinez, Mauro Schmid and Paul Double.
The first descent did not calm the race. Schmid pushed clear from the break for a spell before the group reformed on a plateau, and by 130 kilometres remaining, the gap had grown to 1:25. By 110 kilometres to go, the confirmed front group was Afonso Eulálio, Martinez, Andrew August, Mollema, Nairo Quintana, Finn Fisher-Black, Vervaeke, Schmid, Double, Mattia Gaffuri and Lemmen.
August was the best placed rider in the break, but he was more than 7 minutes down on Pogačar, so the move was never a direct threat to yellow. It did, however, contain enough climbing quality to make the stage win possible if UAE allowed the gap to grow.
Vervaeke secures mountains classification
The second ascent of the Col de la Croix began with the break holding around 2 minutes. It was a full climb of 19.6 kilometres at 7 per cent, with a maximum gradient close to 18 per cent, and it immediately exposed the cost of the heat and repeated climbing.
The break reached the summit with a similar advantage to the previous lap. Vervaeke took maximum points ahead of Mollema, Double, August and Schmid, extending his lead in the mountains classification. That effectively secured the green KOM jersey as long as he reached the finish inside the time limit.
Behind, riders were already leaving the race. Menno Huising, Dion Smith, Markel Beloki, Marijn van den Berg, Davide De Pretto, Clément Russo, Oscar Riesebeek and Felix Ørn-Kristoff were among those to abandon during the early and middle phases. Later, Artur Kluckers, Jonas Rutsch, Milan Vader, Colby Simmons, Domen Novak and Ben Swift also left the race.
The stage was becoming less about tactical patience and more about survival. Even so, UAE kept the break within reach. The gap hovered around 2 minutes, suggesting Pogačar’s team did not intend to gift the final stage away.
Breakaway survives into the final lap
As the race came through Villars-sur-Ollon with one lap remaining, the break still had a workable advantage. Eulálio and August were dropped from the move, and others began to struggle on the repeated climbing and descents, but the core of the break remained dangerous.
Vervaeke and Schmid shared the Tissot Kilometre points, while Double worked for Schmid in the break. The gap reached 2:34 at one point, the largest margin of the day, even with UAE Team Emirates-XRG continuing to push behind.
Aleksandr Vlasov crashed after a touch of wheels, another incident on a day already marked by heat and attrition. In the peloton, riders continued to drop under the pace, while Nils Politt and Domen Novak worked for Pogačar before eventually swinging off.
By the final full ascent of the Col de la Croix, the front group had changed again. Martinez, Mollema, Quintana, Fisher-Black, Vervaeke, Schmid, Gaffuri and Lemmen were still ahead, while the peloton remained close enough to keep the stage in play.
Decathlon CMA CGM turn up the pressure
With around 50 kilometres remaining, Decathlon CMA CGM moved to the front of the peloton for Riccitello. Callum Scotson and Tiesj Benoot lifted the pace, cutting the gap to the break and putting several riders under pressure.
Bagioli, who had started the day fourth overall, was dropped on the climb. That changed the GC fight behind Pogačar, especially with his Lidl-Trek teammate Vacek still present on Carapaz’s wheel. The Czech rider had begun the stage in third overall and was now defending his podium place in terrain that was not naturally suited to him.
Martinez led over the final full ascent of the Col de la Croix, taking the maximum 20 points ahead of Mollema, Vervaeke, Quintana and Schmid. The ascent had been dedicated to Gino Mäder, who died after crashing at the Tour de Suisse in 2023, giving the final passage over the climb an emotional layer beyond the race situation.
On the descent and plateau that followed, the break’s gap moved back towards 2 minutes. Everything was set for the final climb to Villars-sur-Ollon.
Lemmen launches before the final climb
With 20 kilometres remaining, the gap was still around 2 minutes. The leaders were approaching the intermediate sprint in Ollon, at the base of the final climb, and the break suddenly began to hesitate.
Lemmen sensed the moment and attacked as the group sat up. Martinez and Quintana followed, creating a dangerous trio ahead of the rest of the break. Lemmen took the sprint in Ollon, while the chase group behind initially reacted too slowly.
Behind, Tim Wellens returned to the front for Pogačar, keeping the peloton under pressure. Decathlon CMA CGM also remained active, with Benoot again working for Riccitello. Vervaeke attacked from the chase group, trying to close the gap to the leaders, while the final climb began to sort the race for good.
The break’s hopes briefly looked alive. Lemmen, Martinez and Quintana had created separation, and with the peloton still nearly 2 minutes back, the stage win seemed possible if they could keep the rhythm.
Pogačar attacks and changes the race
The decisive move from the peloton came with around 10 kilometres remaining. Pogačar attacked, with Carapaz initially trying to follow. The Ecuadorian was quickly gapped, leaving the yellow jersey alone in pursuit of the stage.
That immediately changed the race from a breakaway contest into a countdown. Pogačar began catching and passing riders from the earlier move, sweeping past Mollema, then closing on Schmid, Gaffuri and Fisher-Black. Ahead, Martinez attacked from the front group, dropping Lemmen and leaving Quintana to ride his own tempo.
For a brief period, Martinez looked as though he might hold on. He extended his gap to Pogačar and was still around a minute ahead with 6 kilometres remaining. Pogačar appeared to be suffering in the heat, pouring a full bidon over his back as he chased.
But the gap then began to fall quickly. At 5 kilometres to go, Lemmen was 28 seconds behind Martinez, with Pogačar at 48 seconds. By 4 kilometres, Pogačar had closed to 34 seconds. By 3 kilometres, it was 28 seconds. Martinez was grimacing and moving heavily on the bike, while Pogačar continued to grind closer.
Martinez caught inside the final kilometre
Martinez reached the final 2 kilometres with only 15 seconds left on Pogačar. The Frenchman had ridden a phenomenal stage from the break, but the yellow jersey was closing too quickly.
At the flamme rouge, Pogačar accelerated again. The gap was down to 7 seconds, and the catch was inevitable. He reached Martinez with around 800 metres to go and went straight past, dropping him almost immediately.
From there, the stage was decided. Pogačar rode the final metres alone to take his third stage victory of the race and seal the overall title in the most direct way possible. Martinez crossed soon after, almost collapsing across the line after coming so close to holding off the race leader.
Lemmen took third on the stage, capping an excellent ride from the break. Widar, Riccitello and Mas followed at 1:53, with Carapaz seventh at 2:00. Foss, Ilan Van Wilder and Quintana completed the top 10.
Pogačar completes dominant overall victory
Pogačar finished the Tour de Suisse with three stage wins and a final overall margin of 6:32 over Carapaz. Vacek held on to third at 6:53, preserving his podium place despite the brutal final mountain stage.
The stage result underlined the scale of Pogačar’s control. He had already won from long range on stage 1, then took the time-trial by the smallest of margins on stage 4. On the final day, he did not need to attack for the overall, but still had the strength to catch a high-quality breakaway rider inside the final kilometre.
Carapaz retained second overall, even though he could not follow Pogačar on the last climb. Vacek’s podium was one of the stronger GC stories of the race, particularly given the way the final stage should have suited pure climbers more than him.
There were major shifts further down the standings. Lemmen gained eight places to finish 10th overall, Riccitello climbed three spots to seventh, while Foss and Van Wilder both moved up two places to fourth and fifth. Bagioli was the major loser, dropping from fourth to 20th after struggling on the big mountain stage.
Breakaway heartbreak after a brutal day
The final stage was harsh on the breakaway. The move had the right names, worked through repeated climbs, survived the heat and still reached the final climb with a real chance of victory. Martinez then looked capable of finishing it off when he attacked from the front group and held a minute on Pogačar with 6 kilometres left.
But Pogačar’s chase was relentless. Even on a day where he briefly looked uncomfortable in the heat, he was still able to take time back on every kilometre of the final climb. Martinez’s ride deserved a stage win, but the race leader’s final acceleration turned it into another demonstration of dominance.
Lemmen’s third place and final GC jump were strong rewards for Team Visma | Lease a Bike, while Quintana, Vervaeke, Schmid and the rest of the break helped shape most of the stage. Vervaeke also sealed the mountains classification after a day spent collecting points across the repeated Col de la Croix ascents.
The day was also marked by the number of riders forced out by the conditions. Heat, climbing and repeated accelerations made the final stage one of the hardest of the race, and the abandon list grew steadily through the afternoon.
Pogačar heads to July in command
The Tour de Suisse ended with Pogačar in complete command. He won the opening stage by more than 2 minutes, controlled the race through the middle days, edged Van der Poel in the time-trial, then closed the race by catching Martinez on the final climb.
For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the week delivered the ideal Tour de France preparation race. Pogačar won three stages and the overall, Narváez won stage 3, and the team controlled several different race situations across the five days.
The opposition did have moments. Grégoire won from the break on stage 2, Van der Poel came within fractions of the time-trial win, Martinez nearly stole the final mountain stage, and Carapaz at least held second overall. But the race always returned to Pogačar.
The final podium reads Pogačar, Carapaz and Vacek. The final impression is even simpler: the strongest rider in the race took control on day one, tightened it in the time-trial, and then chose to finish the week with one last mountain-stage win.
Tour de Suisse 2026 stage 5 result
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Tour de Suisse 2026 GC result
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