"He showed everyone who's the boss" - Valentin Paret-Peintre applauds Pogacar's phenomenal ride
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar stole the show on Col du Tourmalet. The Slovenian claimed the Souvenir Jacques Goddet prize for himself with a relatively modest lead over his rivals, but continued to push on in descent and towards Gavarnie-Gèdre to finish with two and a half minutes of lead to seemingly seal the general classification. At least for the first racing block.
His UAE Team Emirates - XRG colleagues made sure there was no dangerous breakaway up the road during the run-in to Col d'Aspin, and then blew up the race on Tourmalet. Already at the foot of the Pyrenean mountain pass, there was a very reduced group in the contention.
Even strong climbers such as Valentin Paret-Peintre have quickly given up. As it became apparent there was no hope left for them in face of Pogacar's imminent offensive.
"On the Tourmalet, I really took it easy right from the start," Paret-Peintre admitted his deliberate decision at the finish. "Anyway, it was obvious that Pogacar was going to attack. So I wasn't going to be able to follow him or be in the top 10 at the summit. So I just took it easy on the Tourmalet until the finish."
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In a league of his own
The stage finished for the young Frenchman there, as he cruised to the finish line in company of fellow compatriot Joris Delbove in a 53rd position, more than half an hour behind the Slovenian phenomenon.
Speaking about Pogacar's performance, he said: "It's incredible. The work of his team is incredible. From the start, it was really difficult. They managed to hold the peloton together, so hats off to them. He's really on another level, and today, I think he showed who's boss."
For Paret-Peintre, the next few days will be rather uneventful, with a long shot from a breakaway on stage 9, but a much better opportunity in a notably more challenging medium mountain stage 10 from Aurillac to Le Lioran with nearly 4.000 meters of climbing.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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