Tadej Pogacar struck a decisive blow on France’s national holiday, riding clear of his rivals on the final climb of the Col de Pertus to win the tenth stage of the Tour de France in Le Lioran. The UAE Team Emirates leader attacked with 15 kilometres remaining, swiftly overtaking the lone escapee Richard Carapaz and crossing the line 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel. Paul Seixas took third, a further two seconds back, while Jonas Vingegaard, the defending champion’s closest challenger, conceded 44 seconds and finished seventh.

The stage, a 166.6-kilometre loop from Aurillac through the Massif Central with nearly 3,000 metres of climbing, had been animated by Carapaz’s long-range move on the Puy Mary-Pas de Peyrol. The Ecuadorian’s aggression forced UAE Team Emirates into a rare moment of disarray: Isaac del Toro, third overall at the start of the day, cracked and lost over a minute and a half, while Pogacar himself had to launch his winning acceleration without the usual phalanx of teammates. French observers noted that Seixas, the 19-year-old Decathlon rider, once again rode with composure to claim his first Tour podium, reinforcing his fifth place overall.

Pogacar’s third stage victory of this edition – and his 24th career Tour stage win – extended his general classification lead to 3 minutes 36 seconds over Vingegaard. Evenepoel moved into third at 4:06, displacing Del Toro, who slumped to seventh. German reports highlighted Florian Lipowitz’s strong ride to fourth on the stage, lifting him to sixth overall and narrowing the gap to his Red Bull-Bora teammate Evenepoel. Latin American coverage focused on Carapaz’s combative performance, which earned him the day’s most aggressive rider prize, and on the struggles of Del Toro and Colombia’s Egan Bernal, who slipped to eleventh at 12:15.

The victory carried historical weight: Pogacar became the first rider to win three Tour stages on Bastille Day, breaking a tie with Jacques Anquetil. With the race now heading into a flat 161.3-kilometre transition stage from Vichy to Nevers, the sprinters are expected to return to the fore before the general classification battle resumes in the Alps.