"On every climb I have to try to attack" - Tadej Pogacar ready to hunt yellow jersey in final week of Tour de France
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is heading to the decisive week of the Tour de France in second place, 2:22 minutes behind Jonas Vingegaard. It will be a tough task to bring that time back, however the defending champion is eager for the mountains to arrive to try and deal some damage once again.
“I will have to seize every opportunity. On every climb I have to try to attack. The motto is quite simple: climb all the climbs as fast as possible and try to take a little time back every day from now on," the Slovenian told Wielerflits. "It will be difficult, but I believe it is possible to succeed in my mission. I will give everything and hopefully afterwards I will not regret what I did. If I had gone deeper and had more confidence at Alpe d'Huez, I could have gained time there already," he says confidently.
With both UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma down to six riders, it will be a rather more equal battle in the Pyrenees. However, there is less room to surprise with flat starts to all three stages. Pogacar and Vingegaard have both been involved in breakaway attempts throughout the last two stages, and neither seems to fear each other.
“Everyone is starting to get a little tired, both physically and mentally. If you're having a bad day, you're done... We had to ride with six riders for too long and that will not be easy for Jumbo-Visma now. That makes the race more difficult for them," he added. The time he has to take back was mostly lost on the Col du Granon where Pogacar cracked after a flurry of attacks from Jumbo-Visma.
Into the last three mountainous stages, he will try and take back time: "... I will do everything I can to win back from Vingegaard half a minute to two minutes before the time trial. The hole should be as small as possible on that day. If you put everything on the last time trial, it won't work."
The race dynamics will be complicated to manage for Jumbo-Visma who lost two important support riders on the final day of the final week. “Jumbo-Visma will race defensively next week. That makes sense, because I have to attack them. In the Pyrenees we still have very difficult rides ahead of us. I therefore also expect hand-to-hand combat. Everyone will give everything, I expect a race from kilometer zero every day," he expects.
“Obviously I will give 100% of myself. Everything in my power I will try in the race to win back yellow. I will attack and hopefully gain time. If I end up finishing second or third in Paris, it's not the end of the world," he points out.
"I've already entered Paris twice in yellow. A second place is still very good, automatically including the white jersey of the youth classification. But until then, I'm thinking yellow. I do not give up," the Slovenian concluded. Tomorrow's stage into Foix will be another opportunity to make the difference.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Where Merckx just rode every single race he could and won all the time, Hinault won less often (percentage wise) because he was more judicious in what he raced. His palmares are nuts. He had amazing rivals, one to start his career and another to end it in the grand tours. His classics were solid. What sets him apart from Merckx and Pogačar are that he basically dabbled in the classics while the other two love(d) them. I used to compare Pogačar to Hinault for his grand tour record and occasional classics win, until I realized that the comparison was wrong. Pogačar loves the classics - ah, the memory of his reaction to finishing fourth in a 2 person sprint in Flanders in ‘22: utter domination in any one day race since then, even when he doesn’t win. Hinault lived for the grand tours and I don’t think anyone else will ever reach his record. 10 wins in 13 attempts? Good lord. An amazing rider. Wish there was more footage to watch.RidesHills11-11-2026
- I had no idea about that either.
santiagobenites10-11-2026 - great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
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🤍 @TamauPogi after the stage 15 #TDF2022: “It was very hot out there today and quite hectic with a few crashes which you never want to see. We’re just glad to be home safe and tomorrow we will enjoy the rest day.” #UAETeamEmirates #WeAreUAE
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