Cycling · Villars-sur-Ollon
Tadej Pogacar sweeps Tour de Suisse with final stage win and overall title by six minutes
The Slovenian won the mountain stage to Villars-sur-Ollon on Sunday, capping a week that brings his 2026 win tally to 11 in 16 race days and his 21st career stage-race general classification.
AI text based on reports by Le Figaro.fr, Blick.ch, Ouest France and other publishers. Published . How it is made
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In brief
Pogacar won stage one via a 70 km solo breakaway, the stage four time trial by 0.31 seconds, and the stage five mountain finish.
He finished 6 minutes and 32 seconds ahead of Richard Carapaz, the widest winning margin in the race’s recent history.
Lenny Martinez was the last breakaway rider caught, at 850 metres to go, and finished second on the stage, 7 seconds behind.
The victory, Pogacar’s 21st stage-race GC, arrives two weeks before the Grand Départ of the Tour, where he targets a fifth title.
- 17 JunWins stage 1 after a solo breakaway of over 70 km, taking the first yellow jersey.
- 20 JunWins the individual time trial (stage 4) by 0.31 seconds ahead of Mathieu van der Poel.
- 21 JunTakes the final mountain stage, catching Lenny Martinez 850 m from the line to seal overall victory.
A flawless week in the Swiss mountains
Tadej Pogacar arrived at the 89th Tour de Suisse as the overwhelming favourite and delivered three stage wins across five days of racing. He opened with a solo raid of more than 70 kilometres on stage one, then snatched the stage-four time trial by 31 hundredths of a second ahead of Mathieu van der Poel. The sequence of victories extended his season record to 11 wins in just 16 days of competition.
The final mountain test
The queen stage around Villars-sur-Ollon offered 152 kilometres and 4,200 metres of vertical gain, featuring three ascents of the Col de la Croix. Pogacar had warned before the start that this would be a brutal day.
“This will be a brutal stage, very different from what we’ve experienced the last few days. I’m eager to test my legs in the mountains.”
Riding with the yellow jersey and a 4’22″ cushion, the UAE Team Emirates rider let a breakaway containing Swiss champion Mauro Schmid roll clear, then launched his acceleration 8.3 kilometres from the finish. He reeled in the escapees one by one, finally catching the lone survivor, Frenchman Lenny Martinez, 850 metres from the line. Martinez fought back with a counter-attack but could not resist and crossed seven seconds behind. The performance underlined Pogacar’s readiness for the Tour de France, which starts in two weeks.
General classification gaps
Pogacar’s final time of 15 hours 8 minutes and 43 seconds left him 6 minutes 32 seconds clear of runner-up Richard Carapaz. Mathias Vacek completed the podium at 6’53″, while former Grand Tour winner Primoz Roglic finished eighth, more than nine minutes back.
- T. Pogacar
- 0 seconds
- R. Carapaz
- 392 seconds
- M. Vacek
- 413 seconds
- T. Foss
- 454 seconds
- I. Van Wilder
- 471 seconds
- B. McNulty
- 473 seconds
- M. Riccitello
- 528 seconds
- P. Roglic
- 563 seconds
- S. Higuita
- 566 seconds
- B. Lemmen
- 584 seconds
Data from the article text
The margin is the largest of any WorldTour stage race this season and marks the 21st time Pogacar has won the overall classification of a multi-day event. At 27, the double world champion and four-time Tour de France winner is now the clear favourite for a fifth maillot jaune in Paris.
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Sources and context
- Le Figaro.frCyclisme : vainqueur de la dernière étape, Tadej Pogacar s'offre son premier Tour de Suisse
- Blick.chAu Tour de Suisse, il y avait Pogacar et les autres
- Ouest FranceTour de Suisse. Le classement général final de l'édition 2026, remportée par Tadej Pogacar
- FranceinfoTour de Suisse : à quinze jours de la Grande Boucle, Tadej Pogacar remporte en solitaire la dernière étape et s'adjuge le général
- Tadej Pogacar
- Slovenian cyclist, winner of the 2026 Tour de Suisse overall and three stages.
- Richard Carapaz
- Ecuadorian cyclist, second overall in the 2026 Tour de Suisse.
- Mathias Vacek
- Czech cyclist, third overall in the 2026 Tour de Suisse.
- Lenny Martinez
- French cyclist, second on the final stage of the 2026 Tour de Suisse, caught 850 metres from the line.
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