Pogačar Debriefs Del Toro After Stage 6 Win, Saying Tourmalet Leadout Was Too Fast

Q: Did Jonas Vingegaard truly crack on the Tourmalet, or is he luring his rival into a three-week trap?

Vingegaard appears to have genuinely cracked on the Tourmalet, even if it is still too early to rule out a later rebound over three weeks. The evidence from Stage 6 is hard to soften. Pogačar attacked 4.1km from the summit, dropped Vingegaard decisively, and reached the top with about 30 seconds in hand before extending that to 2min 38sec by the finish. In the general classification, Vingegaard is now 2min 42sec down. That is not the profile of a controlled, tactical concession; it is a substantial loss on the race’s first major mountain test. The post-race exchange between Pogačar and Isaac del Toro reinforces that reading. Del Toro’s acceleration was so hard that Pogačar told him he had gone “too fast” for his own sustainable effort, and still Vingegaard was dropped before that move was even finished. Pogačar’s reply — “he knows we do this” — suggests Visma expected UAE’s aggression, not that Vingegaard was calmly baiting them. That said, the wider context matters. Vingegaard came into this Tour off a different build-up, having won the Giro in May, and his camp had argued that approach would allow him to improve deeper into July. He has also built his reputation on resilience in attritional racing rather than explosive early-stage responses. So the fairest reading is this: on the Tourmalet, he was beaten clearly and for real. If there is a “three-week trap,” it now looks less like a plan than a necessity.

3 articles · Updated · Cyclingnews · Jul 10

Broadcast footage from Gavarnie-Gèdre showed Tadej Pogačar telling teammate Isaac del Toro his decisive Tourmalet acceleration in Stage 6 had been "too fast".
Pogačar quickly clarified he meant too fast for Del Toro, suggesting the Mexican's pull was so hard that another kilometre at that pace might also have put him in difficulty.
The exchange came after Del Toro served as UAE Team Emirates-XRG's final mountain domestique, launching the move that helped Pogačar drop the field and seize the yellow jersey.
Del Toro also said Jonas Vingegaard "don't even try," with Pogačar replying that the Visma-Lease a Bike leader "knows we do this"—a rare public glimpse into UAE's tactical debrief and view of its main rival.