When Mark Cavendish, well supported by five of his Astana teammates, crossed the finish line at Plateau de Beille, at almost 1,800 meters of altitude, 51 minutes and 35 seconds had passed since Tadej Pogacar did. The British rider was not the last. Shortly after, Fernando Gaviria entered, and at 52:37, at the same time limit that Bran Welten did not surpass, the last sprinter, Arnaud Démare, arrived, completely shattered.
They were the remains of a memorable day, of a memorable ascent. The Slovenian, whom his teammate Adam Yates had warned that this climb, "is the toughest he has ever done in his life" (more than 15 kilometers at almost 8% average gradient, after the four previous climbs), shattered all records. Taking advantage of Jonas Vingegaard's wheel first, then solo. He stopped the clock at 39:58, three and a half minutes faster than how Marco Pantani climbed in 1998 (43:28). In 2007, Alberto Contador did it in 44:08.
Like Pantani and like Eddy Merckx, Tadej won a stage in the Giro with the maglia rosa (five times) and in the Tour with the yellow jersey (twice), something never seen in the 21st century.
His beloved Pyrenees, like the green mountains of his native Slovenia. It is Pogacar's 14th stage victory in the Tour (matching Marcel Kittel), and more than half of them have come on these climbs. From that inaugural one in Laruns in 2020, ahead of Roglic, to the two over the weekend where he practically sealed the Tour. "I have won many stages in the Pyrenees. In a way, I love these mountains... and it's mutual!" expressed the leader, who faces the rest day with a lead of 3:09 over Vingegaard.
The Dane could not have been braver. He gave it his all, perhaps risking too much with the Alps still on the horizon. "If he maintains this level, I have nothing to do. The Tour is very difficult," he confessed at the top, already with the mandatory mask on for the entire peloton. "I suffered a lot in his first attack, but then I noticed that it was him who was struggling. He tried to drop me one last time, and I saw that I didn't have the legs for it, so I decided to attack despite the risk of blowing up. Luckily, it worked out for me," admitted Pogacar.
The day had positive and negative news for the Spaniards. Finally, Enric Mas was seen, present in the breakaway of the day alongside his teammates Oier Lazkano and Javier Romo. The Balearic rider held on with the five chosen ones but was swallowed up by Pogacar and Vingegaard at Plateau de Beille. "I was able to enjoy it. I knew the stage quite well, being close to where we reside, and I had a great time like a little kid. It was 'a whole new world' for me. This is by no means the best version of Enric Mas, and the feelings are not very good, but we will keep trying," he admitted.
A great performance was also seen from Mikel Landa, who finished fourth, 3:54 behind Pogacar. He outpaced Joao Almeida by almost a minute and more than Adam Yates and a Carlos Rodríguez whom he surpassed for fifth place in the general classification. The Ineos rider suffered "a lot." "I overdid it, and I paid for it," he admitted.