They will say that Tadej Pogačar dealt a blow on stage six of the Tour de France. But really it was a pummelling – a beatdown so strong that, even by Pogačar’s standards, it took people by surprise.
Never in the world champion’s 22 previous stage victories at the race had he won so resoundingly, both in terms of distance and time. His 43km solo, over the Col du Tourmalet and on to Gavarnie, was his furthest ever at the Tour. The two minutes and 38 seconds he won by was his biggest single-day margin. Entire Tours have been decided by less.
