Any hope that a post-rest-day peloton might ease into the second week of the Tour de France evaporated on the jagged roads of Cantal. Over 166.6 kilometers from Aurillac to Le Lioran, Stage 10 packed a vertical punch of 3,800 meters across seven categorized climbs.
After a 36-kilometer solo cameo from Javier Romo crumbled on the lower slopes of Puy Mary, Richard Carapaz launched a calculated counter-attack. The Ecuadorian climber prised open a one-minute advantage heading into the penultimate obstacle of the day, the Category 1 Col de Pertus. Team Visma hit the front with Davide Piganzoli to up the ante, but their domestic resources were completely localized the moment Tadej Pogačar launched his acceleration. The Maillot Jaune blew past a defenseless Carapaz one kilometer from the summit, immediately carving out a 20-second gap over an elite chasing trio consisting of Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Paul Seixas.
Pogačar kept the throttle pinned over the final ascent of the Col de Font de Cère, soloing into Le Lioran to secure his 24th career Tour stage win and his third victory of this year’s edition. Evenepoel crossed the line in second place at a 32-second deficit, a performance that elevates the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe leader onto the overall podium. Decathlon CMA CGM’s rising star Paul Seixas completed the stage podium, climbing into the top five of the general classification.
The afternoon proved costly for Pogačar’s young teammate Isaac Del Toro, who leaked 1 minute and 31 seconds on the final ramps to slide down to seventh overall.
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