Pogacar Wins Stage 14 by 38 Seconds as Tour de France Lead Reaches 4:30

Q: Is teenage phenom Paul Seixas's explosive debut a bigger story than Pogacar's historic dominance?

No. Paul Seixas is the freshest and most intriguing subplot of this Tour, but Tadej Pogacar’s dominance remains the bigger story. Pogacar is not just winning stages; he is shaping the race historically. His victory at Le Markstein was his fourth stage win of this Tour and the 25th of his Tour de France career, while extending a commanding overall lead with only Jonas Vingegaard still within five minutes. He is also openly hinting at riding the Vuelta a España in pursuit of a Grand Tour slam, a milestone that would place him in rare company. That scale of achievement makes his campaign the defining headline. Seixas, though, is the most important emerging story. At 19, the youngest rider in the Tour since 1937, he has gone from promising talent to genuine contender. On the Col de Haag he helped blow apart the race, matched Vingegaard on the descent, beat him in the sprint, took over the young rider classification and rose to fourth overall, only 15 seconds off the podium. Given his 2026 wins at Itzulia Basque Country and La Flèche Wallonne, this is not a fluke but a breakthrough at the sport’s biggest event. What makes Seixas significant is that he may be the clearest sign of what comes after the Pogacar-Vingegaard era. But for now, he is still reacting to a race being dictated by Pogacar. Seixas is the story of the future; Pogacar is still the story of the present.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 18

Tadej Pogacar stretched his overall Tour de France advantage to 4 minutes 30 seconds after winning stage 14 from Mulhouse to Le Markstein in 4hr 7min.
An attack with about 8km left on the mountain stage broke Jonas Vingegaard, who finished fourth at 44 seconds, unable to match Pogacar's cadence and sustained power.
Isaac del Toro took second at 38 seconds and 19-year-old French rider Paul Seixas was third on the same time, moving into the white jersey by 3 seconds over Juan Ayuso.
Remco Evenepoel stayed third overall at 5:04, while Pogacar now has four stage wins in this Tour and also holds the King of the Mountains jersey.
The result strengthens Pogacar's bid for a fifth Tour title, which would tie the all-time record, as huge crowds again packed the Vosges climbs.