"Those boos give us more strength" - Tadej Pogacar untouchable despite Tour de France criticism and loss of fan favourite status
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar again showed why he is the dominant force at the Tour de France 2026. The Slovenian took stage 10 with a blistering attack on the Col de Prtus to further consolidate his overall lead, capping a day in which UAE Team Emirates-XRG turned a moment of apparent weakness into another show of strength from their leader.
After the finish, the reigning yellow jersey admitted the win carried special meaning. Not only because he had long targeted this summit finish, but also for the memory of the defeat he suffered on the same climb to Jonas Vingegaard two years ago.
UAE Team Emirates - XRG worked throughout the stage to make a stage win possible in an otherwise brutal rolling day through the Massif Central. Every member from the breakaway was caught before the decisive climbs of the day, but the team then slowed down amidst a difficult day for Isaac del Toro.
Pogacar attacked late on the penultimate climb of the day, allowing Isaac del Toro to not lose ground early on amidst a bad moment in the race; but having enough time to catch and drop Richard Carapaz still on the climb itself. Like on the sixth day of the race, Pogacar then extended his gap through the final categorized climb of the day and the technical descents.
“It was an incredible day, the team rode incredibly. I’ve wanted to win here for a long time. Two years ago Jonas beat me in the sprint, and today my legs felt similar at the end, completely smashed, but I enjoyed the day. I didn’t know I would win until the final kilometre,” Pogacar said.
The Tour leader also recalled the symbolism of a stage raced on France’s National Day.
“Then I remembered it was Bastille Day. I wanted to honour the yellow jersey, so thanks to all the fans who came out on the road. The atmosphere was incredible, even if some booed us. Those boos give us more strength,” he stated.
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Radio issues during the stage
Pogacar also revealed he rode virtually blind in the finale due to communication problems with the team’s new technology.
“Today we were testing new radios. There were huge crowds and I couldn’t hear anything. In the last kilometers I didn’t know the gaps or who was doing what. The only thing in my head was to give everything to the top".
However this issue in communication was no obstacle for the Slovenian, who once again won based on being the strongest in the field by a large margin. Two years ago he was caught by Jonas Vingegaard on the road to Le Lioran, something he did not want to see happen again this Tuesday.
"Something inside me took me back to two years ago, when Jonas beat me and I was empty in the sprint. I had that in my head until the final metres,” he explained.
32 seconds to Remco Evenepoel at the line make for another successful day for the UAE Team Emirates - XRG leader; as well as the 44 second-win over Jonas Vingegaard plus 10 bonus seconds.
Praise for Isaac del Toro
The Slovenian also highlighted UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s collective work and offered support to Isaac del Toro, who lost time on GC after suffering on the final climb.
“I think so far the Tour has been perfect for me and for the team. Everything has gone perfectly. Today’s stage suited all our riders, so everyone could do their job and I could finish it off. Isaac del Toro rode well, too. He’s a fighter and he’s battling for a high position,” he noted.
Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro have kept Jonas Vingegaard under pressure so far
Despite his dominance, Pogacar reflected on the moment he is living, aware that days like this do not last forever.
“We have to be great while we can. We don’t know how long it will last, so I have to enjoy these moments,” concluded the Tour de France leader, who continues to build his legend with another exhibition and looks ever closer to securing another yellow jersey in Paris.
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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- Congrats! It is done so now is time for CX.averagecyclist15-11-2026
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026
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