Arensman Wins Queen Stage in the Pyrenees, Pogačar Extends Overall Lead

🏆🇳🇱 Thymen Arensman, man of the day!

🏆🇳🇱 Le grand numéro de Thymen Arensman !#TDF2025 | @Continental_fr pic.twitter.com/57XbxBuhJ0

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 19, 2025

The toughest stage in the Pyrenees featured a brutal 4,950 meters of climbing and a summit finish on the legendary Luchon Superbagneres, returning to the Tour after 36 years. This 12.4 km climb with an average gradient of 7.5% saved its steepest ramps for the final five kilometers, where the gradient hit double digits.

Thymen Arensman started the climb with a three-minute lead over the favorites. Though he doubted this would be enough for victory, the Dutchman dug deep and secured his first win since the fourth stage of the Tour of the Alps in April.

In the general classification, Tadej Pogačar continues to dominate, leading by 4:13 over his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard. Florian Lipowitz is third, trailing by 7:53.

Evenepoel Cracks on the Tourmalet

After a calm start, the first climb of the day — the iconic Tourmalet (19 km at 7.4%) — delivered a shock. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who started the day in third overall, once again struggled on the climbs. About 15 km from the summit, he cracked and soon lost contact. Despite his efforts, he slipped back and abandoned the race, ending his Tour prematurely. The Belgian had earlier won the Stage 5 time trial but was never as convincing on the climbs as last year, when he claimed the white jersey as the best young rider.

Evenepoel wasn’t the only casualty of the day. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) also withdrew after a crash during Saturday’s stage, where he collided with a traffic sign and could not continue.

Vingegaard Left Without Support

The stage proceeded calmly until the decisive final climb. Arensman of Ineos Grenadiers was in the best position for the stage win, holding a three-minute advantage over the favorites at the foot of Luchon Superbagneres. Meanwhile, Pogačar had the support of three UAE teammates, while Vingegaard was isolated. Simon Yates briefly joined the Dane with 10.5 km to go but dropped back after only three kilometers of pacing.

Arensman Holds On, Favorites Fight for Second

With 7 km to go, only Adam Yates remained with Pogačar, setting a hard tempo at the front of the peloton. At 3.3 km from the top, Vingegaard attacked. Pogačar and Lipowitz followed, while Primož Roglič lost ground. The Slovenian and the Dane exchanged fierce accelerations, reducing Arensman’s advantage to 1:30 with 2 km left.

Arensman, however, dug deep and survived the hardest section to claim the biggest victory of his career. Behind him, Vingegaard and Pogačar sprinted for second place, with the Dane narrowly edging out the Slovenian. Thanks to bonus seconds, Pogačar increased his overall lead by six seconds, now standing at 4:13.

Roglič Climbs to Sixth Overall

Primož Roglič (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) finished eighth on the stage, 2:46 behind the winner. With Evenepoel’s withdrawal, Roglič has moved up to sixth overall. He is now 2:41 behind his teammate Florian Lipowitz, who sits in third place.