On his way to claiming an emphatic win at the Tour de France, stifling any talk that the momentum could swing to his rival Jonas Vingegaard, yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar crushed the Plateau de Beille record held by Marco Pantani to deliver a stunning blow in the GC.
The UAE Team Emirates rider climbed the 15.8km ascent in a time of 39:41, besting Pantani’s record by 3:40. A record that had stood since 1998 when Pantani set it on the climb's first appearance at the Tour.
In 2007, Alberto Contador came close to setting the fastest pace with a time of 44:08 en route to his first overall Tour victory.
The Plateau de Beille has been used as a summit finish six times at the Tour since 1998 when 'Il Pirata’ gained time on his rivals and went on to claim the elusive double of the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. A feat that Pogačar is trying to emulate this year, in his first time racing two Grand Tours in the same season.
"I'm too young to remember Pantani when he was alive but I'd love to achieve what Pantani did. I know how important he was for cycling in Italy and around the world," Pogačar said earlier this year.
Pogačar stamped his authority on the second weekend of racing at the Tour, taking consecutive wins in the Pyrenees, on Pla d’Adet on Saturday and then on Plateau de Beille on Sunday. And just like Pantani, the Slovenian covered an attack by and then dropped his closest rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), to take a solo win on stage 15, his third stage victory - so far - in the three-week race.
Another win at the Tour de France also drew him level on Tour stage wins at 14 with the great sprinter Marcel Kittel, one behind Freddy Maertens and only two behind legends like Charles Pélissier and Jacques Anquetil at the age of 25.
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