In any major sporting event, the sportsbooks’ betting odds are sometimes wrong, but Tadej Pogačar continues to prove that the 2026 Tour de France isn’t one of those cases.
Pogačar, the Slovenian superstar cyclist, was the clear pre-race favorite for the general classification title in the betting markets, and he’s been dominant with four stage wins, the latest coming on Saturday in Stage 14.
Durango’s Sepp Kuss had a strong performance on Saturday, finishing 17th, but Kuss’ help in the mountains wasn’t enough for his Visma-Lease a Bike team leader, Jonas Vingegaard. Pogačar increased his GC lead over Vingegaard once again on Saturday, and it looks like Vingegaard will be fighting for second.
Stage 13 on Friday was a hilly 205.8 kilometers from Dole, France, to Belfort, France. It was the longest stage in this year’s Tour. It was flat in the beginning with a sprint before two category climbs at the end, leading to a descent into Belfort.
There was an early lead group of 57 riders, with the peloton full of the GC riders over six minutes behind, with 92 km left. Three of the top sprinters separated with 67 km left as sprint points were up for grabs, with Jasper Philipsen taking first over the sprint line.
The massive lead group split as the leader started the first climb. A lead group of 10 riders got a gap on the rest with 30 km left, with the peloton 8+ minutes behind. Mauro Schmid and Harold Tejada broke away with 15 km left and did just enough to hold off the chasers at the end. Schmid took the win in four hours, six minutes and 58 seconds, with Tejada finishing in second with the same time.
Durango’s Quinn Simmons finished in 33rd, 7:32 behind. Pogačar finished 38th, Vingegaard 41st and Kuss 44th, all with the same time as Simmons.
“We came through the day well”, Visma Leading Race Coach Marc Reef said in a Visma press release. “(Tom) Pidcock was in the breakaway, which meant several teams were at risk of losing positions in the general classification. They controlled the race because of that, so the pace on the final climb was fairly controlled.”
Saturday’s Stage 14 was in the mountains, starting in Mulhouse, France, and finishing in Le Markstein, France, after 155.3 km. There were four categorized climbs, with three of those being Category 1s, the toughest.
Simmons was active early on Saturday, trying to lead his sprinter teammate, Mads Peterson, into the early sprint finish. Peterson didn’t take the win, but picked up some sprinters’ points.
A group of 28 riders separated at the front before the first climb and mountain finish, looking to pick up mountain points. The peloton with Pogačar and Vingegaard were about 1:14 behind after that first climb with about 118.7 km.
The peloton was almost three minutes behind the different lead groups as the riders went over the first three climbs. Kuss and Simmons were in the GC group as it closed down the gap to the front, with Kuss managing the pace at the front of that group with about 14 km left, and Simmons was off the front group at that point.
Only a few kms later, Kuss had done his job and dropped off the front with Vingegaard in front of Pogačar as they were rapidly cutting the gap to the leaders.
The GC group easily caught the leaders on the last climb, and Pogačar made his move with 7.5 km left in the stage and 1.7 km to the top of the final climb. Pogačar’s climbing is unmatched, and by the time he got to the top of the climb, he had a 22-second lead on Vingegaard.
Pogačar cruised to the finish, and Vingegaard didn’t have anything left to hold second. Pogačar won in 4:00:07, with his UAE Team Emirates – XRG teammate Isaac del Toro in second, 38 seconds behind. Paul Seixas was third with the same time, and Vingegaard was fourth, 44 seconds behind.
“Jonas rode a very strong climb,” Reef said in a Visma press release. “It was good to see that we had three riders in the breakaway … Sepp put in a very strong effort on the final climb, after which Jonas accelerated. When Pogačar went, it was every man for himself, and Jonas, just like in the previous mountain stages, fought for everything he was worth.”
Kuss finished 17th, 3:30 behind, and Simmons finished 24th, 11:47 behind.
Pogačar now has a 4:30 lead over Vingegaard in the GC. Vingegaard is only 34 seconds up on Remco Evenepoel for second, and there’s only a 1:20 between second and seventh in the GC standings. Kuss is 19th in the GC, 24:32 behind, and Simmons is 30th in the GC, 1:21:08 behind.
Stage 15 on Sunday is another mountain stage, so expect another strong day from Pogačar, Vingegaard and Kuss. Monday is a rest day, and Tuesday is an individual time trial.