Pogačar demolishes Pantani's historical record on Alpe d'Huez

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has rewritten cycling history. On stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France, the Slovenian champion shattered the Alpe d'Huez climb record, shattering a record that had stood for nearly thirty years: the legendary one set by Marco Pantani in 1995.

According to the data, Pogačar took 35:26 to climb the legendary French pass, beating the time of 36:40 that most history books attribute to the Pirate by a full 1 minute and 14 seconds . A margin so vast that it leaves no room for doubt: the record is his, without any ifs or buts.

Alpe d'Huez is classified as a hors category climb, measuring 12.02 km with 1,047 meters of elevation gain and an average gradient of 8.8%. The ascent proved to be an absolute spectacle. Despite some health problems that had affected some members of UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the previous days, the team worked admirably to keep the breakaways under control, in collaboration with other teams. Then, on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez, Pogačar stepped on the accelerator with a devastating progression.

The Slovenian champion burned through the breakaway riders one by one, literally leaving them speechless: he caught and dropped Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious). Carapaz and Lenny desperately tried to hold off, but in the final kilometer, Pogačar sprinted to a historic victory.