The GOAT? Tadej Pogacar sets new Tourmalet climbing record with estimated 6.39w/kg in astonishing Tour de France 2026 display
CyclingThursday, 09 July 2026 at 18:19
Tadej Pogacar’s brutal Stage 6 demolition at the 2026 Tour de France has now been given a staggering statistical edge, with the Slovenian setting a new climbing record on the Col du Tourmalet during his race-shaping ride to Gavarnie-Gedre.
Pogacar attacked after a huge UAE Team Emirates – XRG lead-out on the Tourmalet, dropped Jonas Vingegaard, took the Souvenir Jacques Goddet at the summit and continued alone to his 23rd career Tour de France stage victory. By the end of the day, he was back in yellow, leading Vingegaard by 2:42 overall, and also top of the mountains classification.
Pogacar sets new Tourmalet benchmark
According to climbing data from Stage 6, Pogacar completed the Col du Tourmalet in 43:12, covering the 17.00km climb at an average speed of 23.61km/h.
The climb, listed at 7.46% average gradient with 1,268 metres of elevation gain, produced a reported 1761 VAM and an estimated 6.39w/kg. That was enough to mark the ride as a new climbing record on one of the most famous mountains in Tour de France history.
The record came at the point where UAE finally broke the race open. Tim Wellens, Felix Grossschartner, Brandon McNulty and Adam Yates had already reduced the front group before Isaac del Toro accelerated five kilometres from the summit, taking Pogacar clear.
Once Del Toro had finished his work, Pogacar pushed on alone. Vingegaard settled into his own rhythm behind, but the gap grew from around half a minute at the summit to a heavy defeat by the finish in Gavarnie-Gedre.
6.39w/kg on the first high-mountain stage
The reported 6.39w/kg figure came on the first true high-mountain stage of the race, after a hot and attritional day in the Pyrenees. Pogacar’s effort was not a short final kick or a controlled marking ride; it was a full Tourmalet assault that carried through the descent and onto the final climb.
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Vingegaard still rode strongly enough to move into second overall and second in the mountains classification, but Pogacar’s Tourmalet record created the decisive split of the stage. Behind them, Isaac del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso, Paul Seixas, Florian Lipowitz and Lenny Martinez were left fighting in a separate GC battle.
The result leaves Pogacar with the yellow jersey, the polka dot jersey lead, a 23rd Tour stage win and a near three-minute advantage over his biggest rival. On a day already likely to stand as one of the key moments of the 2026 Tour, the Tourmalet record gives Pogacar’s Stage 6 performance another historic marker.
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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- Jonas can rest easy knowing that he's the second-best rider in the TdF. Del Toro or Seixas can't match him just yet. Second place will be easy to defend.
PogiFan2Day09-07-2026 - What stage did you watched? Remco was behind Lipo. He is the one closing gaps on his own teammate...MajorPayne09-07-2026
- I don't think Vingegaard believes in himself. He didn't continue pushing to the finish line and wasn't bothered to pursue every second, as he has done in the past. But he also didn't specify whether he believes he can beat Pogačar later in the race or whether he can stay ahead of the chasing pack. And Pogačar's insensitiveness is nothing new. At the Dauphiné last year, on stage 6, he commented that "I had to hurry up to watch the finish of Urska" which many deemed insensitive as it trivialised his rivals who'd given their all. It is, however, extraordinary that he isn't an arrogant pratt like Roger de Vlaeminck, considering his greatness. I think there is a correlation between the number/severity of setbacks a rider has suffered and whether they come across as arrogant or not. Why is Wout always praised for having never lost his dignity?
Rafionain-Glas09-07-2026 - What’s the Mike Tyson phrase? Everyone has a plan until the first punch? What a huge gap to open on a single day.RidesHills09-07-2026
- Damn...To soon.... I preferred that UAE didn´t atack so strong this stage...an so early in the grad boucle ! Now theres no to little competition foi maillot jeune in thenext weeks..... Beside that, i was expecting Seixas to go with Vingegard... But not bad for him! He is only 19... Go SEIXAS!!!Alexcavalera09-07-2026
- I'm not claiming he doesn't have the right to be angry, but the way he spills his beans in public hurts his public image.Ride197409-07-2026
- I was thinking the same! Could we have 2 Place tight competition this year? Or in the third week, in the Alps, we will see a Premium VIngagard??Alexcavalera09-07-2026
- JV finished 20 seconds ahead of 6 riders. A younger JV would have had at least 1 minute or more on them. I think we saw peak JV 2 years ago.Cyclingnut09-07-2026
- I do see the comparisons with de Lie.Rafionain-Glas09-07-2026
- In Lipo's defence he already knows there's going to be big beef between him and Remco one way or another and doesn't want to lose time.Rafionain-Glas09-07-2026
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#TourdeFrance, Stage 6 🇸🇮 TADEJ POGACAR Col du Tourmalet (17,00km; 7,46%; 1268m) 43'12min 23,61km/h 1761 VAM 6,39ᵉw/kg 654 aSLP CLIMBING RECORD
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