Pogacar put time in on all of his competitors in the general classification with an explosive attack on the first large mountain stage of the Tour, which took place 800 meters from the top of the famous Col du Galibier. He then increased his lead on the 20 km descent to the finish line.
On the 139.6-kilometer course from Pinerolo to Valloire, Remco Evenepoel finished second, almost 35 seconds behind, with the reigning winner Jonas Vingegaard finishing sixth, 37 seconds behind.
“We pretty much followed the strategy, and I’m really thrilled with how well we executed it. It was like a dream stage, which I completed.
I knew this stage extremely well, and I intended to attack hard today. This seemed like a home stage, and I’ve trained here a lot. I started off with confidence and strong legs.
In the overall standings, Pogacar, 25, of Slovenia now leads Evenepoel by 45 seconds, with Vingegaard in third place five seconds further back.
After losing over five minutes, Richard Carapaz, who had been leading the race last night, is now 22nd overall.
