The best climbing performance in cycling history? Tadej Pogacar puts in 7W/Kg for the entire Alpe d'Huez and beats Marco Pantani's record
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar has won the Alpe d'Huez for the first time in his career this Friday, and his power output was one of the highest in cycling's history when it comes to the Tour de France. Aside from that, he also beat Marco Pantani's historic ascent of the climb back in 1998.
Pogacar beats Alpe d'Huez time record
It was a day where many expected interesting statistics. Despite being late in the Tour, the stage up to the final ascent was rather short, and was also not raced at full speed. It was a day where records could come down, and they did.
Pantani's record of the climb was of 36:40 minutes, one that held for decades, despite the many ascents of the climbs in the 21st century. Most recently, that had happened in 2022; but in comparison, 2026 was a climb ridden at much higher speed.
35:27 is the time Pogacar put in on the climb, attacking the peloton almost at the very base of it, and riding the entire climb by himself. Through the crowded roads, dozens of breakaway escapees and the 21 switchbacks of the mythical ascent, he put in a stellar ride - the fastest anyone has ever ridden a bike up it.
He won the stage, catching up with Lenny Martínez and Richard Carapaz; and put in over 2:30 minutes over his most direct rival Remco Evenepoel. Evenepoel's time (as well as that of the likes of Isaac del Toro, Paul Seixas, Mattias Skjelmose...) were close to previous records, and are also amongst the best times ever on the climb.

Tadej Pogacar won at Alpe d'Huez
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7W/Kg for 35 minutes on Alpe d'Huez
What was perhaps most impressive was the power estimate. In 2024, Pogacar put in the most impressive climbing performance in the sport's history, riding 6.98W/Kg for 39 minutes on Plateau de Beille.
The 2024 Tour is widely regarded as the Grand Tour with the highest level ever, with Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel also amongst those who put in the best in-race climbing performances of their career.
This year the numbers have been very high once again. Pogacar had been building up towards it, and according to 'Naichaca', an X user with high credibility when it comes to power output estimates, Pogacar rode 6.99W/Kg for 35:27 minutes.
The 7W/Kg barrier for a climb of over 30 minutes is a barrier that no longer stands effectively, with the Alpe d'Huez being the location for Pogacar's best climbing performance of the year.

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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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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