Evenepoel wins stage 15 as Vingegaard crashes out and Pogacar tightens his grip on the Tour
Remco Evenepoel out-kicked Tadej Pogacar atop the Plateau de Solaison, but the day belonged to the exit of Jonas Vingegaard, who abandoned with a fractured collarbone.
The Tour de France lost much of its remaining suspense on stage 15. Remco Evenepoel won atop the Plateau de Solaison, but the day was defined by the departure of Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time champion and Tadej Pogacar's last credible rival, who crashed out of the race.
Vingegaard went down hard on a bend as his Visma-Lease a Bike team drove the pace to reel in the day's breakaway, bringing down four other riders in the process. His team later confirmed a fractured collarbone that will need surgery, ending his 2026 Tour and, with it, most of the intrigue around the yellow jersey.
Up the road, Evenepoel produced the ride of his race. On the brutal final climb, an 11-kilometre haul averaging around 9 per cent, the Belgian absorbed two late attacks from Pogacar's teammate Isaac del Toro inside the closing 800 metres, then out-kicked Pogacar himself to the line. It was his first road-stage win of this Tour, after two earlier time-trial victories. "I'm literally trembling from emotion," he said.
The general classification reshaped around Vingegaard's absence. Pogacar kept the yellow jersey and a commanding overall lead, was gracious about his rival's misfortune ("without him the Tour will not be the same"), and now stands as the overwhelming favourite for a fifth title that would put him alongside Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Anquetil. Evenepoel moved up to second overall, while del Toro climbed to third and took the white jersey of best young rider from Paul Seixas.
With a rest day on Monday before the race enters its final week, Pogacar's biggest remaining opponent is misfortune. On current form, a fifth crown looks his to lose.
