{"id":205596,"date":"2026-06-22T11:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205596"},"modified":"2026-06-22T11:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:09:39","slug":"surprise-surprise-pogacar-wins-tour-de-suisse-by-a-country-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/06\/22\/surprise-surprise-pogacar-wins-tour-de-suisse-by-a-country-mile\/","title":{"rendered":"Surprise, Surprise: Poga\u010dar Wins Tour de Suisse by a Country Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"

You didn\u2019t need a crystal ball to know that there was never going to be any winner of the 2026 Tour de Suisse not named Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG). The only questions were how many stages would he would win, what would be the final margin, and who would complete the final podium. The answers are three, 6:32, and Richard Carapaz (EF Education\u2013EasyPost), and Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), at 6:53.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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There was the same certainty that the four-time Tour de France winner would win Sunday\u2019s final stage, the only mountain stage of the race and a big one, with more than 4,200 metres of climbing over parts or all of the rugged Col de la Croix, 19.1 km @ 7% from foot to summit. The stage would have little bearing on the outcome of the race as Poga\u010dar\u2019s lead at the start of the day was 4:22.<\/p>\n

A breakaway and a gruelling chase<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 11-rider breakaway that had dominated most of the race was down to eight when they hit the final climb, the mysteriously uncategorised bottom half of the Col de la Croix, a bear at 9.6 km @ 8%, especially in temperatures of up to 33\u00b0C. Bart Lemmen (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) broke away from the break at the foot of the ascent, with Poga\u010dar and the peloton 1:49 away.<\/p>\n

It was only a matter of time before the world champion would attack, which he did at 8.5 km from the finish. Shortly thereafter, perhaps because he had been informed of that move, Martinez left his companions of fortune and went climbing on his own. His lead over Poga\u010dar was 1 minute. That was the start of a long and gruelling duel between the best cyclist on the planet and the 22-year-old Frenchman still trying to become a full-fledged Grand Tour rider.<\/p>\n

Martinez dug in, but the gap began to slowly shrink: 0:42 with 5 km left to ride, 0:35 at 4 km, 0:17 at 2 km. Though Martinez gave him more work than Poga\u010dar had bargained for, the result was inevitable. He caught the French rider with 870 metres left to ride and won going away. Martinez finished 7 seconds adrift, with Lemmen coming third, at 1:22.<\/p>\n

It was Poga\u010dar\u2019s third stage win of the five-stage race and the first Tour de Suisse victory of his career. Another blank in his palmar\u00e9s was filled in. \u201cIt was a super hard day,\u201d he said afterwards. \u201cThe parcours was really tough, and with the team we did a super good job. It was getting harder and harder every lap that we did, and in the end, it was an all-out effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martinez was understandably disappointed after such a huge effort. \u201cWe tried, but he was just too strong in the end,\u201d he said. \u201cTadej wins a lot of races, and he keeps wanting to keep winning, so it’s difficult. I knew he wasn’t going to let me win.\u201d<\/p>\n

We all knew, Lenny. Everybody knew.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Tour de Suisse Men & Women (@tourdesuisse_official)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n