This Thursday, July 17, 2025, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) may have already knocked out the Tour de France. After his fall, some uncertainties hovered around the leader in Emirati training. On this first mountain stage which took the 171 runners of this Large loop Towards the Hautacam station, the world champion only needed one acceleration to distance his rival Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease A Bike) at the foot of the pass. Upon arrival, “Pogi” wins this stage and relegates the team leader Visma | Lease a Bike more than 2 minutes. The Komanda ogre spoke after arriving at the microphone of the organization.
“It is a victory dedicated to Samuele and all his family …”
“I knew, the first time I recognized Hautacam, that it was a superb climb”begins the world champion. “I have always been looking forward to climbing it, and then the Tour de France 2022 arrived … I was back in the general race, I was fighting body and soul to resume the yellow jersey. But Visma (Jumbo) was too strong at the time. I had almost forgotten all that. I only thought of today. Many people came to tell me: 'It's time of revenge.' When we arrived at the foot of the climb, it was the inverted story a few years ago: another Belgian at the front, and our team in mind.
I only feel my hip if I do acrobatics, but there I just bike, so it's not too restrictive. I sweat a little more, but maybe it's a good thing. Everything happened as planned today. We did exactly what we had decided. We did a superb job. The team rolled up really well. Hats also in Ben Healy and EF. They tried to defend the jersey. They showed a beautiful spirit. One-X too, they fight for their general classification. It was a difficult day for everyone. But in the end, we were really very strong. We had this step in the lead for a long time, and we did it. It is a victory dedicated to Samuele and all his family … because it is really sad. This is the first thing I read this morning. In the last kilometer, I thought of him, how hard this sport can be, and how much it can make suffer “concludes Tadej Pogacar at the microphone of the organization.
