Ayuso: 'Pogačar is having another match'

After crossing the finish line in Le Loiran, Juan Ayuso joined Tadej Pogačar on the podium, wearing the prized white jersey for best young rider. But the Spanish Lidl-Trek talent is under no illusions: the Slovenian is competing in a completely separate race from everyone else, and Ayuso knows it well.

On stage 10 of the 2026 Tour de France, Pogačar secured his third stage victory and further extended his lead in the overall standings, bringing it to 3 minutes and 36 seconds over an increasingly struggling Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). UAE Team Emirates set a blistering pace on the final climb, initially chasing Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and then launching Pogačar toward another solo triumph.

In this tactical chaos, Isaac del Toro cracked in the final stages, dropping to seventh place in the overall standings. Ayuso capitalized, climbing to fourth overall, 4 minutes and 22 seconds behind the yellow jersey, simultaneously snatching the white jersey from the young Mexican.

" Tadej is on a completely different level, he's riding a different race than us, " Ayuso declared at the end of the stage, amid the hairpin bends of the Massif Central. These were words of absolute realism, not of surrender: the Spaniard has a very clear idea of ​​where the real battle lies in this Grande Boucle.

" I'm quite satisfied with how the day went: it was very tough. UAE had an extraordinary day, the whole team pushed hard. It was a really intense and selective stage. " He then added: " I'm happy that Skjelly (Mattias Skjelmose) and I managed to stay in the leading group, gain time on some rivals and reach the podium group. The group that will fight for second and third place finished together, and it's nice to be back in the white jersey. "

Also worth keeping an eye on is Paul Seixas , who is just 13 seconds behind Ayuso in both the general classification and the race for the white jersey. Del Toro, on the other hand, has lost ground: his difficult day could signal a certain vulnerability on the toughest climbs.

Six riders are within 90 seconds of each other in the battle for second and third place, and Ayuso is fully aware of this: " You have to give your all every day because we see that there are five or six riders aiming for just two podium places. It will be a very tough battle to get to the podium in Paris. We have to focus on ourselves day by day. Today we put in a great performance. "

Regarding the lack of help in the chase for Pogačar, Ayuso was honest: " I would have liked to cooperate, but I didn't have the legs. In the valley we were already at the limit when Jonas was pushing hard. Even before the climb he was already giving me problems: I was in his slipstream at 450, 460 watts. I was giving everything I had just to keep the wheel. " These are shocking numbers that tell the story of the level of this race better than any analysis.