“I could see Tadej Pogacar was angry” – Rolf Sorensen saw a new side of Tour de France leader during Alpe d’Huez annihilation
CyclingSaturday, 25 July 2026 at 13:30
Former Tour de France stage winner and TV2 cycling expert Rolf Sorensen believes frustration helped drive Tadej Pogacar towards his record-breaking victory on Alpe d’Huez.
Pogacar began the final climb more than three minutes behind the remaining breakaway riders, with UAE Team Emirates – XRG weakened by illness and Brandon McNulty already out of the race. Sorensen felt the yellow jersey was increasingly unwilling to watch one of the Tour’s most prestigious stages disappear up the road.
“I could tell from looking at him that Pogacar was frustrated and angry today,” Sorensen said on TV2. “The victory was beginning to slip away from him.”
Rather than settle for protecting an overall lead of more than seven minutes, Pogacar attacked with over 11 kilometres remaining and immediately began cutting into the advantage held by Richard Carapaz, Lenny Martinez and Sepp Kuss.
Sorensen sees frustration behind Pogacar attack
The difficulties inside UAE had been visible across the previous days. McNulty had abandoned, Adam Yates was still recovering from illness and several teammates had struggled to provide Pogacar with the support normally available in the mountains.
“His teammates have been ill and still are,” Sorensen said. “McNulty abandoned yesterday, and he has really been struggling with the team around him.”
Felix Grossschartner still produced a powerful turn before Pogacar’s attack, while Yates briefly helped after dropping back from the breakaway. Most of the chase, however, was completed by the Tour leader alone.
Pogacar passed Thymen Arensman before reaching the closing kilometres, where Carapaz and Martinez were still fighting for the stage. The gap that had looked sufficient at the foot of Alpe d’Huez had almost completely disappeared.
“So today it was all or nothing,” Sorensen said.
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Anger turns into Alpe d’Huez history
Pogacar caught Carapaz and Martinez inside the final two kilometres before attacking again beneath the flamme rouge. Neither could stay with him as he completed one of the most striking victories of his Tour.
His reported ascent time of 35:27 surpassed the long-standing benchmark associated with Marco Pantani’s 1997 ride by more than a minute. Pogacar also became only the second rider after Geraint Thomas to win on Alpe d’Huez while wearing the yellow jersey.
“A huge performance,” Sorensen said. “Pogacar was very, very happy and proud today.”
The stage had offered Pogacar little reason to take risks for the general classification. His advantage was already overwhelming and his team was operating below full strength.
Sorensen instead saw a rider irritated by the prospect of losing the stage, willing to attack near the foot of Alpe d’Huez and chase down more than three minutes almost entirely under his own power.
By the summit, the frustration Sorensen had detected had been replaced by a fifth stage victory of the Tour and the fastest reported ascent in the history of Alpe d’Huez.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- A few times yesterday I thought the crowd was going to take out a few riders. And, the same could happen today as well as they are returning to the Alpemd197525-07-2026
- Sensational headline with little substance.
KerisVroom25-07-2026 - Madeleines or haribos.... more a comedy scrap. It's funny but when you let alcohol take over this happens and I suspect the old chap in the white had been refreshing himself in the heat.slappers6625-07-2026
- Some things I didn't foresee. But I was sure about Ayuso...MajorPayne25-07-2026
- I watched this stage on Eurosport 1 (Portugal) and the commentators said the organization had announced barriers throughout the last 5km, but it was clear that was not true. There were some barriers around 4km and then in the last 1,5km to the finish line, but wherever there were ropes "guarding" the spectators, they were pushed easily to the middle of the road, leaving a single track corridor and sometimes not even that much! That's not supporting, that's just caring about your own 3 seconds of fame when the camera motos go by... Very dangerous and annoying for the riders.Lobz7725-07-2026
- The riders they need for gc are all locked in to other teams. I can't see these additions making much difference.Cyclingsbestfan25-07-2026
- History in the making!Lobz7725-07-2026
- I'm not sure who started it, or what it was about. Sadly it esculated and the older man took a big left hook to the jaw that nearly put him over the armco. Been on the alpe a few times with my family and it always has been peace and love with folks just having a great time.Cyclingsbestfan25-07-2026
- Making a sticky bottle mistake at the tender age of 22 is far easier to forgive, I'd say.
Rafionain-Glas25-07-2026 - A rider even more easy to dislike than armstrong or Jasper Philipsen.
Andrew25-07-2026
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