Tadej Pogacar continued his commanding grip on the 113th Tour de France on Tuesday, winning stage ten solo at the ski resort of Le Lioran in the Massif Central — his third stage victory of this year's race — to further extend his advantage at the top of the general classification. The Slovenian champion, also the reigning world champion, attacked with 15.5 kilometres remaining on the steep Col du Pertus, quickly overhauling Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz, who had been out front as a lone breakaway, and crossed the finish line 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel and 34 seconds ahead of young Frenchman Paul Seixas.

The result leaves Pogacar with a lead of 3 minutes and 36 seconds over his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark, who finished seventh on the stage and lost a further 44 seconds. Belgian rider Evenepoel, who briefly struggled in the valley section before recovering impressively, moves up to third overall, now only 30 seconds behind Vingegaard. UAE Emirates teammate Isaac del Toro, previously third, slipped to seventh after losing over a minute and a half to Pogacar. The 166-kilometre stage from Aurillac through the hilly terrain of the Massif Central — France's ancient volcanic plateau in the country's centre — was raced in temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius, with seven categorised climbs packed into the final 100 kilometres.

The scale of Pogacar's superiority was not lost on his rivals' team management. "We have to be realistic," said Marc Reef, sports director at Visma-Lease a Bike, Vingegaard's team. "Pogacar is making a very strong impression. Jonas is very good, but this is the situation." Steven de Jongh, sports director for Juan Ayuso at Lidl-Trek, was similarly blunt: "Nobody can follow him. And if you try, you realise it after ten or twelve seconds — and you lose even more time." Vingegaard himself acknowledged that short, explosive climbs do not suit him as well, but insisted his team would keep fighting until Paris.

The statistics underline Pogacar's historic form: Tuesday's win was his 24th career stage victory at the Tour de France, and it earned him his 60th yellow jersey, equalling the tally of five-time Tour winner Miguel Indurain and placing him third on the all-time list, behind Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault. Behind Pogacar, the race for the remaining podium places remains genuinely competitive, with positions two through seven separated by less than a minute and a half. Evenepoel and Ayuso are both targeting the runner-up spot, while 19-year-old Seixas, finishing third on the stage and fifth overall, is emerging as one of the revelations of this edition. As Reef summed up the mood in the chasing pack: the rest, for now, appear to be racing for second place.