Tadej Pogacar is the new record-holder on the Col du Tourmalet - But many more have broken the previous top time
CyclingSaturday, 11 July 2026 at 10:30
Florian Lipowitz delivered one of the strongest climbing performances of his career on stage six of the Tour de France 2026. The German clearly smashed the existing record on the Col du Tourmalet and was part of an exceptionally powerful lead group that repeatedly rewrote the legendary benchmark.
Pogacar sets record time on the Tourmalet
The previous Tourmalet record - climbed through Campan, not Luz Saint-Sauver - was previously held by by Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard who in 2023 climbed it at a time of 45:35 minutes - at the time, also in the Tour's first week, with a similar stage profile and similar attack from the Dane.
The famous 1993 time by Tony Rominger and Zenon Jaskula was also clearly improved. Rominger and Jaskula needed 45:50 back then. That record stood for 30 years.
Comparación de los tiempos históricos en el Tourmalet
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Tadej Pogacar y Jonas Vingegaard Tour de Francia 2023 – anterior récord45:35 min
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Tony Rominger y Zenon Jaskula Tour de Francia 199345:50 min
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David Gaudu y Pierre Latour Tour de Francia 202147:35 min
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Rafal Majka Tour de Francia 201848:36 min
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Riccardo Ricco Tour de Francia 200849:04 min
Ten riders under the previous mark
The scale of this stage is reflected not only in Pogacar’s ride. According to the available climbing data, as many as ten riders went under the previous 45:35 record. Pogacar has ridden it at 43:13 minutes, setting the new time record and putting in an estimated power of 6.38W/Kg throughout this potentially race-deciding effort.
Jonas Vingegaard posted an extraordinary 43:45 despite his crisis. He finished almost two minutes under the former record, even though he could not follow Pogacar at the front.
Even more eye-catching was Paul Seixas’s ride. With 44:39 he set the third-best time of the day and confirmed he now ranks among the race’s strongest climbers. Isaac Del Toro arrived only seconds later. Lipowitz operated at virtually the same level and was part of that small group that clearly distanced the rest of the Tour elite.
Lenny Martinez stopped the clock at 44:58, Remco Evenepoel at 45:01, and Sepp Kuss at 45:02. Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose also posted performance values that point to times just under the former record; all of them going through the summit together.
The old benchmark was therefore not toppled by a single rider. An entire lead group shifted the historical reference on the Tourmalet.
For Lipowitz, Ayuso and Skjelmose, these are partly inferred times, as the summary did not display the full ascent time. However, their power, speed and VAM indicate they too would have come in under the previous record.
Full list of the new marks on the Col du Tourmalet
| Position | Rider | Ascent time | Estimated power |
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar | 43:13 | 6.38 W/kg |
| 2 | Jonas Vingegaard | 43:45 | 6.29 W/kg |
| 3 | Paul Seixas | 44:39 | 6.14 W/kg |
| 4 | Isaac Del Toro | 44:44 | 6.13 W/kg |
| 5 | Florian Lipowitz | approx. 44:44 | 6.13 W/kg |
| 6 | Lenny Martinez | 44:58 | 6.09 W/kg |
| 7 | Remco Evenepoel | 45:01 | 6.08 W/kg |
| 8 | Sepp Kuss | 45:02 | 6.08 W/kg |
| 9 | Juan Ayuso | approx. 45:02 | 6.08 W/kg |
| 10 | Mattias Skjelmose | approx. 45:02 | 6.08 W/kg |
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- It’s a long race - lots can happenCrashjames11-07-2026
- Projection - “if I was JV, I’d probably climb off” - but, Wiggins, you aren’t even in the same league as JV.Crashjames11-07-2026
- There should be a survey of TV ratings as well as the size of crowds at cycling events, ever since Pogacar burst onto the scene - especially for those races in which he is participating. That would give you the correct picture.Cooldude11-07-2026
- There's a reason why he's a champion and they're not. Hate him or not he's racing to win or get damn near close instead or trying just to settle for 3rdbruins3011-07-2026
- In retrospect he (and the chasing group) might have minimised the gap if they'd worked together right after the descent. Visma had planned to place Jorgensen ahead there to pull Jonas, so at the start of the day he had been expecting help there. Then he could have ridden away in the last kilometres.Hills3311-07-2026
- At last we see the name of the great MVDP mentioned in the news.. How can this guy perform when he himself says he finds it boring? He already knows he can't win before the race even started. So disappointing, for someone who's always in the conversation when talking about great cyclists. Good advice though.. great riders race to win, or stay at home.. For me, he's very good.. but is somewhat like a spoiled brat (rides around in a Lambo, flies to races in his own jet..) Just kidding.. he's okay..FredMan11-07-2026
- Reduced to doing anything to attract attention. How the mighty have fallen.Renz11-07-2026
- Not sure how he'd have "gotten in the way" of the sprint and then ended up 9 seconds back, but it's not impossible, I guess.acem8211-07-2026
- Some one needs to drug test Wiggins with that comment!frieders311-07-2026
- You are aware of how much time they gained on him as he faded, yes? He went from being a minute ahead to being all of 20 seconds ahead. It was a bad day for him.RidesHills11-07-2026
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