Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) almost won a 5th stage on this Tour de France 2025! Indeed, the yellow jersey wanted to win this stage, the last high mountain at the top of La Plagne. Dialed teammates in this last ascent, the world champion had to try to control everything by placing multiple attacks without making large differences. Led by Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe) in the last kilometers, who wanted to resume time on his distant rival Oscar Onley (Team PicNic PostNL), le leader de la formation UAE Team Emirates-XRG finished 3rd in this stage, preceded by Thymen Arensman (Ineos grenadiers), the winner of the day, and by Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease A Bike), which remained on a series of 9 mountain stages without being in front of the Slovenian. Tadej Pogacar expressed himself in the cold of La Plagne at the microphone of the organization.
“I pulled the group counting the remaining kilometers to Paris …”
The Komanda ogre arrived almost exhausted when the 19th stage arrived: “We did a very good job until the last climb. Then, some believed that they could sprint during the 19 kilometers of ascent and printed a very high pace from the foot. I attacked as soon as Decathlon stopped rolling, but it was a little too early. I thought Jonas wanted perhaps to win the stage, like me, but in reality, he was content to follow my wheel. When Arensman attacked, I decided not to follow him and to wedge myself on a defensive rhythm in which I felt comfortable. No one else participated in the pursuit, and Arensman was too strong for my comfort tempo. We did not go far from taking it back, but we did not do it, and it deserves this victory. I pulled the group counting the remaining kilometers to Paris. I had to lead almost all the climb and I arrived very tired on the line “explain “Pogi”.
“These last three days have been trying, and I am happy that it is finished for today. The Tour de France is starting to seem really long. With this weather today, and the ceremony then … I just want to go on the bus and take a good hot shower. That's it, the Tour de France: you never know what can happen. We have to stay concentrated for two days”concludes Tadej Pogacarat the microphone of the organization.
