Bike World News’ regular Tour de France coverage will resume on July 18. Until then, enjoy this one from the news wires.
Producing one of the finest displays of his career, Tadej Pogačar put his rivals to the test on the Hautacam, winning stage 12 of the 2025 Tour de France and reclaiming the Yellow Jersey. Putting more than two minutes into the next-best rider, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pogačar now leads the Tour de France by three and a half minutes.
On the first summit finish of the 2025 race, Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleagues produced a vintage show of teamwork, with every rider stepping up to the mark to help the Slovenian pick up his 20th stage victory at the Tour de France. In doing so, the Emirati squad put their rivals on the back foot and ensured that Pogačar is now the man to beat heading into the final nine stages.
With his all-conquering efforts on Hautacam, Pogačar made history by becoming the first reigning world champion to win a Tour de France summit finish since the great Bernard Hinault in 1981.
Coming less than 24 hours after the tragic death of the promising Hagens Berman Jayco rider, Samuele Privitera, Pogačar dedicated his victory to the young Italian who sadly passed away after a crash at the Valle d’Aosta.
Pogačar: “I think this stage can go for Samuele, and to all his family. It was really sad. It was the first thing I read this morning.
“I was thinking about him in the last kilometre and how tough this sport can be.”
Having watched his teammates step up to the mark on the first true day in the mountains at this year’s Tour, the world champion also reserved credit for those who had helped him to a third stage victory of this year’s race.
“I knew from the first time I rode Hautacam in a recon, that it was a super nice climb,” Pogacar added. “I was always looking forward to riding this climb and then it came in the 2022 Tour de France. There, I was trying with my head through the wall to get back the Yellow Jersey, but Jumbo-Visma was too strong back then.
“I almost forgot about this, I was just looking forward to today. But all the people were telling me that this was revenge time, and then when we approached the bottom of the climb, it was the reverse story of a few years ago. One Belgian guy was again on the front, Tim [Wellens], and our team was in the front, I am super happy to take time and to win on this climb.
“For sure, you don’t know how the body reacts after the crash [of stage 11]. It was not too bad. I feel my hip only when I do acrobatics, but here I am just riding the bike so there’s not a lot of flexing.
“We did a super job. The team rode super well, chapeau also to Ben Healy and EF. They were trying to defend the [Yellow] Jersey, they show a really big spirit and also Uno-X, they fight for their own GC so it was a hard day for everybody. In the end, we were super strong, we had this stage in mind for a long time and we did it.”
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