Tadej Pogacar’s Big Win in the Tour de France: A Super Simple Guide

What Happened on Stage 10?

The Tour de France is a giant bike race around France, split into daily chunks called stages (think of them as separate race days). On the 10th stage, riders biked to a place called Le Lioran in a hilly area named Massif Central.

A rider from Slovenia named Tadej Pogacar did something amazing: he rode away from everyone else and won the stage all by himself. This is called a solo victory (like being the only kid to cross the finish line first with no one next to you).

• The stage had seven categorised climbs – these are seven hills or mountains ranked by how hard they are to ride up.
• Two of the toughest (“first category”) were called Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol and Col de Pertus, and they came in the final hour of racing.
• Pogacar made a surprise push (called an attack) on the second-to-last climb, leaving the big group of riders (the peloton – imagine a bunch of bikes riding together as a pack) behind.

Important: Because of this win, Pogacar now leads the whole race by more than three and a half minutes! That’s a huge head start. His long-time rival Jonas Vingegaard (from Denmark) struggled and lost even more time to other top riders hoping to finish on the podium (the top three).

Related: Tour de France 2026: Pogacar underlines dominance with stage 10 win on Bastille Day – as it happened

The Booing Crowd and Pogacar’s Response

Even though Pogacar won, some people watching on the roadside booed him. This kind of negativity hasn’t been seen since a team called Team Sky and rider Chris Froome dominated almost ten years ago.

Pogacar shrugged it off. He said:

• “I have haters and haters gonna hate.”
• To the booers: “they just give more boost to my teammates. They put wood on the fire.” (Meaning the negativity actually motivates his friends.)

He later explained that 99% of fans are cheering and that cycling fans are the greatest in all sports. He looks up to tennis player Novak Djokovic, who also got booed despite being one of the greatest, as a way to stay strong.

Callout: Pogacar says he thinks of Djokovic when someone boos, because the tennis star faced similar unfair hate and kept winning. He said Djokovic had “one of the toughest careers [with] getting boos and unnecessary hate because he is the greatest.”

Changes in the Top Three (Podium Fight)

Finishing in the top three of the whole race is called getting on the podium (like stepping onto a box to get a medal).

• Pogacar’s teammate Isaac del Toro lost some time in the fight for the podium.
• Remco Evenepoel, an Olympic champion, moved into third place instead.

So the top three are now looking like:

1. Tadej Pogacar (leader)
2. Jonas Vingegaard (second, but far behind)
3. Remco Evenepoel (third)

Jonas Vingegaard’s Tough Times

Jonas Vingegaard is Pogacar’s biggest rival. On this stage, he had a hard day:

• He finished 12 seconds behind Evenepoel.
• He said, “I always struggle on short climbs like this.”

But there’s a bigger story. Recently, Vingegaard admitted he almost quit bike racing entirely in 2025 (last year). He felt burned out (super tired in body and mind). He told Danish TV on the race’s first rest day that:

• After a scary crash in April 2024 that nearly killed him, the life of a cyclist felt too hard.
• “You feel like you’re constantly on a diet… always think about your weight… always out training.”
• His wife Trine Hansen also said at the start of the 2025 Tour that the travel and long season (from February to end) is a really difficult life.

His team (Visma Lease-a-bike) didn’t make a big deal of it then, but Vingegaard still finished second to Pogacar in Paris in 2025. He said they changed some things this year to make life easier: “If it is hard to be away for such a long time, then you have to do something else, and that is what we have done for me this year.”

Important: Even though Vingegaard won some other big races earlier this year (Paris-Nice and Giro d’Italia), he says he is “much more” motivated now, but he faces a double challenge: fighting Pogacar AND the faster Evenepoel behind him. We don’t yet know if his motivation will last against Pogacar’s strong team in the second half of the Tour.

Figure: Vingegaard was on Pogacar’s tail for much of stage 10 before getting dropped at the finish. Photograph: Luca Betinnii/GodingImages/Shutterstock

What’s Next?

On Wednesday, the riders have the 11th stage from Vichy to Nevers. This is a calmer day, giving:

• The main contenders (like Pogacar and Vingegaard) a chance to rest and take stock.
• The sprinters (riders who are super fast at the very end) a rare chance to win a stage.

Figure: Pogacar expresses his joy after a fine Bastille Day display. Photograph: Luca Betinnii/GodingImages/Shutterstock

Summary

To wrap it up simply:

• Tadej Pogacar won stage 10 alone and now leads the Tour de France by over 3.5 minutes.
• Some fans booed him, but he stays positive using Djokovic as inspiration.
• His rival Vingegaard is struggling and almost quit last year due to burnout.
• The podium’s third spot now belongs to Remco Evenepoel.
• Next stage is a flat-ish day for sprinters and rest for leaders.

FAQ

Q1: What is the Tour de France?
A: It’s a famous multi-day bicycle race around France. It’s split into stages, and the rider with the lowest total time wins the whole thing.

Q2: Who is Tadej Pogacar?
A: A Slovenian cyclist who is currently the strongest rider in the world. He rides for UAE Team Emirates-XRG and keeps winning big.

Q3: Why did people boo Pogacar?
A: Some fans might be tired of one person winning so much, similar to how tennis fans sometimes booed Djokovic. But Pogacar says 99% of fans cheer for him.

Q4: What does “peloton” mean?
A: It’s the big pack of riders cycling together during a stage. When someone attacks, they leave the peloton behind.

Q5: Why was Vingegaard unhappy with cycling life?
A: He felt constant pressure to train, diet, and travel, which hurt his mind and body. He almost stopped racing in 2025 but changed his routine to feel better.