Tadej Pogacar, the yellow jersey holder, matched a Tour de France record on Saturday and stands poised to equal another on Sunday. Pogacar’s dramatic win in the 20th stage, held at Col de la Couillole, extended his lead and marked his fifth stage victory of the month.

The Slovenian cyclist’s triumph at the top of the climb came with a decisive seven-second gap over defending champion Jonas Vingegaard. This win places Pogacar alongside Gino Bartali as the only cyclists to have claimed five mountain stages in a single Tour de France, a record set in 1948.

Pogacar’s exuberant celebration saw him raise his arms and display his fingers to signify his stage victories. “If you had told me this before the Tour, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Pogacar remarked. “It’s truly incredible. I’m so happy. (Five stages) is more than enough. One would be enough. Just the yellow jersey would be enough. But this is how it is, you don’t hold back in cycling.”

With just one stage remaining, Pogacar’s lead over Vingegaard has surged to 5 minutes and 14 seconds, making the final podium positions all but certain. Third-placed Remco Evenepoel fell further behind, finishing fourth on the day, 8 minutes and 4 seconds adrift of Pogacar.

The Tour will conclude on Sunday with a 34-km time trial from Monaco to Nice, replacing the traditional Paris finale due to the upcoming Olympic Games. Unless an unexpected turn of events occurs, Pogacar is set to reclaim the Tour de France crown and potentially achieve a rare Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double. The last rider to achieve this feat in the same year was the late Marco Pantani in 1998.

Pogacar expressed his satisfaction with the stage win, despite a challenging route featuring three difficult category 1 climbs. “I really enjoyed today’s stage,” he said. “It didn’t go as planned, but I couldn’t be happier with another stage win. Just one more day… and I think I’m going to enjoy it as well.”

The stage unfolded with Pogacar sticking close to the leading group until Vingegaard made his move. Pogacar tracked Vingegaard, eventually catching up to the breakaway riders and setting up a thrilling final kilometre. Pogacar’s decisive sprint left Vingegaard trailing.

Immediately after crossing the finish line, Pogacar waited to embrace Vingegaard, who had spent nearly two weeks in the hospital in April following a high-speed crash in the Tour of the Basque Country. Vingegaard’s return to competitive racing has been a remarkable story of resilience.

“In some way, I was hoping he would let me win,” Vingegaard said. “But I already knew that I had been riding so hard, and if he sprinted, I would have no chance since I was already at my limit. But you can always hope. That’s just cycling, that’s how it goes. I don’t blame him at all; I would probably do the same. I’m just happy with how I performed today and how I was able to come back from yesterday.”