Results Tour de Suisse 2026 Stage 5 | Tadej Pogacar seals overall victory after hunting down Lenny Martinez in brutal Alpine finale
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has won the 2026 Tour de Suisse in emphatic style, sealing overall victory by hunting down Lenny Martinez on the final climb to take stage 5 in Villars-sur-Ollon.
The UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader began the final day with yellow already firmly under control, but the closing kilometres turned into one of the race’s most dramatic chases. Martinez had gone clear from the breakaway and still led deep into the final climb, only for Pogacar to launch from the GC group with eight kilometres remaining and begin closing the gap rider by rider.
Nairo Quintana was caught first, then Bart Lemmen, and Martinez was left alone up the road as Pogacar continued to claw back time. The Frenchman still had 31 seconds with four kilometres to go and 20 seconds with two kilometres remaining, but the yellow jersey kept coming.
Inside the final kilometre, Pogacar finally made contact, ending Martinez’s brave solo bid before riding on to complete the stage and overall double.
Pogacar turns final climb into decisive chase
The final stage around Villars-sur-Ollon had been built around repeated ascents of the Col de la Croix, with long climbs, descents and temperatures around 36C turning the last day into far more than a controlled procession.
UAE managed the yellow jersey group for much of the afternoon, with Tim Wellens prominent before the final climb. The team kept Pogacar protected while a strong breakaway fought for the stage ahead, but the race changed once Martinez, Lemmen and Quintana split clear from the front group before the final 10 kilometres of climbing.
Martinez then pressed on alone, dropping both Lemmen and Quintana and briefly looking capable of denying Pogacar one final stage win. The gap began to fall rapidly once Pogacar attacked, with Richard Carapaz unable to follow the first acceleration from the yellow jersey.
From there, the finale became a direct pursuit. Pogacar cut through the remains of the breakaway, caught Quintana with five kilometres to go, then swept past Lemmen soon after. Martinez held on longest, but the final kilometre proved too much against a rider who had already controlled the race from the opening stage.
Pogacar has dominated the 2026 Tour de Suisse
Vervaeke secures mountains jersey
Before the stage-winning battle exploded, Louis Vervaeke had already settled the mountains classification. The Soudal - Quick-Step rider used the breakaway to take maximum points on the Col de la Croix twice, building an advantage that put the KOM jersey beyond Pogacar’s reach.
The break had featured several strong climbing names, including Martinez, Quintana, Lemmen, Mauro Schmid, Finn Fisher-Black and Bauke Mollema, but the repeated climbs gradually stripped the group down before the final ascent.
The heat also shaped the day, with several riders leaving the race as the Alpine finale took its toll. Mikel Landa was among those to abandon during the stage, while a number of riders had already failed to start before the final mountain test began.
Pogacar’s victory completes a dominant Tour de Suisse for UAE Team Emirates - XRG. He won the opening stage with a long solo in Sondrio, took the stage 4 time trial in Aarburg by four hundredths of a second ahead of Mathieu van der Poel, and then finished the race by chasing down Martinez on the final climb.
UAE also won stage 3 through Jhonatan Narvaez, leaving the team with four victories from five stages and Pogacar with the overall crown before the Tour de France.
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Carlos Silva is a writer for CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- as we all like the david-style rebels, he will leave a gap.Ketterechts12-11-2026
- Oy, don't insult girlsHills3312-11-2026
- lol yeah. this is a good onemij12-11-2026
- Mads is the best: I didn’t even know there were rules in cyclocross. I just thought it was a matter of: ‘Go, three, two, one, ride.’ It’s like a street fight, a kind of underground brawl. It’s the MMA of cycling he gives the best quotes.mij12-11-2026
- he's too young. he's 23, so not really a fair call yet.mij12-11-2026
- and don't forget Pidcock's departure. maybe he will never win a GT, but he knows how to light up a race.mij12-11-2026
- Bingo...I was going to say a 12 year obsessed Pogi fan girlie ! Like she's chasing a teen boy band! All glossy eyed about tadej!frieders312-11-2026
- That stint in the Pink was so good. If memory serves he struggled with the champagne cuz he'd never been on the podium before. I feel like it gave him some self-belief, and yeah - then the move to Visma to be one of their lieutenants has really brought him to the best version of himself.wrsty12-11-2026
- So, you never really compared Paul Seixas with his main rival Isaac Del Toro why jump to Pogačar? They've (Paul & Isaac) raced together here and there, and they've both shared in wins and losses, I think they should be compared to each other, even with Vingegaard and Remco first before even touching Pogačar. From your writing it's like he's better than Vingegaard, Remco and Del Toro already that his main target is now Pogačar 🤔Sadick11-11-2026
- gee i hope its a minor injury. a great rider and ambassador for the sport. get well soon Lucinda.
Davide11-11-2026
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