Tadej Pogacar won the 14th stage of the 2026 Tour de France on Saturday, a 155,3-kilometer race between Mulhouse and Le Markstein-Fellering. The Slovenian attacked on the steepest slopes of the Haag Pass, 1,500 meters from the summit and 7,4 kilometers from the finish, before taking a solo victory. This is his fourth win in this edition and extends his overall lead to 4 minutes and 30 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard.
A relentless stage in the Vosges
The day featured a series of climbs, including the Grand Ballon, the Col du Page, the Ballon d'Alsace, and finally, the Col du Haag. This last climb, 11,2 kilometers long, included several sections with gradients exceeding 10% and a very narrow stretch built on a former forest track. Its summit was located approximately six kilometers from the finish line at Le Markstein.
A strong breakaway formed, including Richard Carapaz, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ben Healy, Einer Rubio, and Tobias and Anders Halland Johannessen. Paret-Peintre took advantage of the various climbs to accumulate points in the mountains classification, while Carapaz continued his attack all the way to the Haag Pass. The Ecuadorian was finally caught 2,5 kilometers from the summit after holding off the chasing favorites for a long time. He received the combativity award.
Pidcock cracks, Evenepoel loses ground
As they approached the final climb, the pace set by the favorites' teams quickly whittled down the yellow jersey group. Tom Pidcock, fourth overall at the start in Mulhouse, was dropped 14 kilometers from the finish. Lenny Martinez and Mattias Skjelmose also lost contact, and then Remco Evenepoel was dropped as the gradient steepened.
Florian Lipowitz and Paul Seixas tried to accelerate, but couldn't immediately break away. Jonas Vingegaard then took the lead of the group, with Pogacar tucked in behind him. Ahead of them, Carapaz's lead dwindled until they were caught.
Pogacar's decisive attack
Pogacar chose the toughest section of the Haag climb to launch his attack. 1,500 meters from the summit, on a gradient approaching 12%, the yellow jersey wearer suddenly accelerated. Vingegaard tried to follow for a few seconds before dropping back. The Slovenian crested the summit alone, 21 seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Seixas. He then maintained his effort over the final kilometers, despite the road becoming easier. His lead continued to grow all the way to the finish.
Seixas holds off Vingegaard and climbs onto the stage podium
Behind Pogacar, Paul Seixas managed to catch Jonas Vingegaard in the final part of the climb. Isaac Del Toro, who had been dropped for a time, also joined the two leaders with about 3,5 kilometers to go. Pogacar ultimately crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 00 minutes, and 07 seconds. Del Toro won the sprint from the chasing group to take second place, 38 seconds behind, just ahead of Seixas, who was credited with the same time. Vingegaard finished fourth, 44 seconds back, ahead of Evenepoel, 48 seconds behind. Juan Ayuso and Florian Lipowitz followed, 50 seconds back, while Carapaz took eighth place, 1 minute and 18 seconds behind. Tobias Halland Johannessen and Mattias Skjelmose completed the top ten, 1 minute and 40 seconds back.
Pogacar now has a 4-minute, 30-second lead.
Thanks to this latest victory, Pogacar remains firmly in the lead of the Tour with a total time of 51 hours, 18 minutes, and 28 seconds. Jonas Vingegaard retains second place, but is now 4 minutes and 30 seconds behind. Remco Evenepoel remains third at 5 minutes and 04 seconds after losing further ground in the finale.
Paul Seixas made the biggest move behind the yellow jersey. The Frenchman climbed to fourth place, 5 minutes and 19 seconds behind, and is now only 15 seconds behind Evenepoel. He now leads Juan Ayuso, fifth at 5 minutes and 22 seconds, and takes the white jersey of best young rider by just three seconds over the Spaniard. Florian Lipowitz is in sixth place at 5 minutes and 44 seconds, ahead of Isaac Del Toro at 5 minutes and 50 seconds. Mattias Skjelmose moved up to eighth place, 7 minutes and 35 seconds back. Tom Pidcock, who was still in fourth place at the start of the stage, dropped to ninth place, 7 minutes and 59 seconds behind. Lenny Martinez completes the top 10, 8 minutes and 25 seconds back.
Fourth victory and 25th success on the Tour
Pogacar secured his fourth stage victory since the start in Barcelona and the 25th of his Tour de France career. He also strengthened his lead in the mountains classification with 52 points, ahead of Valentin Paret-Peintre with 43 points and Richard Carapaz with 38. The race will remain in the mountains on Sunday with the 15th stage between Champagnole and the Plateau de Solaison. Another challenging finish awaits the favorites before the second rest day.
