Tadej Pogacar Joins Elite Club with Fifth Yellow Jersey

Tadej Pogacar has become the youngest rider to win five yellow jerseys, joining an elite club of riders including Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. He will officially join this club when he completes the Tour de France in Paris on Sunday. Pogacar had increased his lead with victories on stage 10 and 14, and again at the Alpe's summit on Friday. On Saturday, the Tour de France returned to Alpe d'Huez via the rarely used eastern back route, the Col de Sarenne. And although Pogacar couldn’t catch the breakaway to claim another stage, his name was already inscribed beside a new feat. When he completes the race in Paris on Sunday, Pogacar will officially join an elite club of riders-Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain-to have won five yellow jerseys, leaving Chris Froome alone on four. At 27, Pogacar is the youngest to reach the tally, and on this evidence it would take something extraordinary-a freak injury, chronic boredom, perhaps an early retirement to take up stoneware pottery or tend to a smallholding-to prevent him winning a record-setting sixth and several more beyond. This backdoor run up the Alpe was officially the queen stage of the 2026 Tour, featuring 5,000m of elevation gain over four Tour behemoths: the Croix de Fer, the Col du Telegraphe, the Col du Galibier and finally the Col de Sarenne. Pogacar led the hunt of the breakaway up the brutal hors categorie Sarenne, but the 3min 30sec gap was too much. A wild and often chaotic day of racing was brought to a close with a thrilling finish on the Alpe d'Huez. The stage was capped off by another masterful ride from Tadej Pogacar, who powered to his fifth stage victory of this Tour. The day's first significant challenge arrived at the Category 2 climb up Col Bayard. French climber Valentin Paret-Peintre maintained his aggressive form in the hunt for the polka dot jersey, snatching key points. The peloton then faced the Category 1 ascent of Col du Noyer. Once again, Paret-Peintre launched a determined sprint to the summit and narrowly beat Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz for another crucial 10 points. However, the effort appeared to take its toll; in a surprising twist, Paret-Peintre faded from the breakaway, suggesting he had reached his limit for the day. With less than 50 kilometers remaining, a determined group of attackers set the pace, at one point building a gap of over four minutes on the chasing peloton. In the final kilometers of the Alpe d'Huez, Pogacar launched a decisive attack, surging past the leaders to claim the Stage 19 victory. Here is how the leaderboard looks ahead of Stage 20 of the 2026 Tour de France. 1 / 8 Scenes from the 2026 Tour de France: Picturesque ride from Barcelona to Paris July 5: Stage 2 - Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard wearing the yellow jersey. The 2026 Vuelta a España is just around the corner, and Tadej Pogacar is looking unbeatable. Can anyone find a way to beat him? That's the inevitable question as the Slovenian superstar saddles up for La Vuelta a Espana less than a month after winning his fifth Tour de France. Pogacar has competed in the Vuelta just once before, placing third in the general classification in 2019 as a 20-year-old. His countryman Primoz Roglic took the maillot rojo that year for the first of his four Vuelta wins and is back in 2026 hoping to recapture past glory two years after his most recent triumph. It will be a tall task for Roglic and other GC hopefuls like Wout van Aert and Richard Carapaz, as Pogacar simply looks unbeatable at the moment. A brutal route packed with climbs and about 58,000 meters in total elevation gain should only help Pogacar, who always seems to find a way to attack as his rivals crack on the ascent. Who will emerge on top after three weeks on the road? Here's when and where to watch every stage. The 2026 Vuelta won't air on traditional television but fans in Canada can stream every stage live on FloBikes. Purchasing a FloBikes subscription gives sports fans access to live streams, event replays and FloSports Originals. The Vuelta will consist of 21 stages in 23 days, beginning in Monaco, France and Andorra before moving to Spain for Stage 5. This year's route includes two individual time trials, in Stage 1 and 18, and just four flat stages, two of them in the final week. Times listed below. ## Will Tadej Pogacar Win the 2026 Vuelta a España? The 2026 Vuelta a España is just around the corner, and Tadej Pogacar is looking unbeatable. Can anyone find a way to beat him? That's the inevitable question as the Slovenian superstar saddles up for La Vuelta a Espana less than a month after winning his fifth Tour de France. Pogacar has competed in the Vuelta just once before, placing third in the general classification in 2019 as a 20-year-old. His countryman Primoz Roglic took the maillot rojo that year for the first of his four Vuelta wins and is back in 2026 hoping to recapture past glory two years after his most recent triumph. It will be a tall task for Roglic and other GC hopefuls like Wout van Aert and Richard Carapaz, as Pogacar simply looks unbeatable at the moment. A brutal route packed with climbs and about 58,000 meters in total elevation gain should only help Pogacar, who always seems to find a way to attack as his rivals crack on the ascent. Who will emerge on top after three weeks on the road? Here's when and where to watch every stage. ## What's Next for Tadej Pogacar? The 2026 UCI Road Cycling World Championships are being held in Montréal, Canada, a city that previously hosted the event in 1974 (when the Worlds left Europe for the first time ever). The event features time trials and road races for men and women at junior, under-23 and senior level. There is also a mixed relay time trial. The first world championship was held in 1921 and having for many years run in the summer, soon after the Tour de France, now runs late in the season, following the Vuelta a España. They are held in a different country every year and the courses can change dramatically. Most hosts aim for a challenging course with a technical circuit that includes some climbing, meaning that classics style riders usually start as favourites. Italy top the metal table, with 52 golds since the race was conceived. The most successful rider was Italian Alfredo Binda who won the race three times and took home Bronze once. More recently Óscar Freire matched this achievement. Peter Sagan is the first rider to take the honours three years in a row. ## Key Takeaways - Tadej Pogacar has become the youngest rider to win five yellow jerseys, joining an elite club of riders including Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. - The 2026 Vuelta a España is just around the corner, and Tadej Pogacar is looking unbeatable. - The 2026 UCI Road Cycling World Championships are being held in Montréal, Canada, a city that previously hosted the event in 1974. - The event features time trials and road races for men and women at junior, under-23 and senior level. - The first world championship was held in 1921 and having for many years run in the summer, soon after the Tour de France, now runs late in the season, following the Vuelta a España. - Italy top the metal table, with 52 golds since the race was conceived. - The most successful rider was Italian Alfredo Binda who won the race three times and took home Bronze once. - More recently Óscar Freire matched this achievement. - Peter Sagan is the first rider to take the honours three years in a row.