{"id":644132,"date":"2026-06-17T21:05:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644132\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:05:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T21:05:11","slug":"this-was-definitely-not-the-plan-tadej-pogacar-sends-tour-de-france-warning-with-70km-stage-winning-attack-at-tour-de-suisse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/644132\/","title":{"rendered":"‘This was definitely not the plan’ \u2013\u00a0Tadej Poga\u010dar sends Tour de France warning with 70km stage-winning attack at Tour de Suisse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a> made a 70km solo attack look like a coffee ride on Wednesday, when he sailed to victory on stage one of the Tour de Suisse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The world champion peeled off the front of the peloton on an uncategorised climb, set up by his UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Brandon McNulty, with 71.7km to go. He then stretched out his advantage to more than two minutes to claim the leader\u2019s jersey and his tenth win of the season.<\/p>\n

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Richard Carapaz<\/a> (EF Education-EasyPost<\/a>) finished second, Andrea Bagioli (Lidl-Trek<\/a>) third.<\/p>\n

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“This was definitely not the plan, but somehow it worked, thanks to my team-mates, I think,” Poga\u010dar<\/a> said afterwards. “Without them blocking at the back, setting the pace before, this wouldn\u2019t be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

At points, Poga\u010dar seemed almost confused by how effortlessly he drew the gap out. He checked regularly over his shoulder, perhaps expecting to see a group in pursuit, but all he saw was open road.<\/p>\n

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“I didn\u2019t have a radio [at the time of the attack], so I didn\u2019t know what was going on in the back, so I just kept riding hard,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Once I knew the gap was quite big, I could settle into the rhythm and try to hold it to the finish, which was super long and really hard, but was also, at the same time, quite technical, so it was really nice to be alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The victory, and the seemingly offhand nature of it, sent a warning message to Poga\u010dar\u2019s rivals at next month’s Tour de France<\/a>: this is a rider who can win at will, and with ease. He has now collected 10 victories in just 12 race days this season, the lion\u2019s share coming at May\u2019s Tour de Romandie<\/a>, his last race, where he won four stages and the general classification.<\/p>\n

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\"Tadej\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Tour de Suisse has been reduced from eight stages to five, bringing it in line with the women\u2019s race, which is taking place concurrently. Visma-Lease a Bike<\/a>\u2019s Femke de Vries won stage one<\/a> on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

The opening stage of the men\u2019s race took place entirely in northern Italy, on a thin loop tracing the Adda river, starting and finishing in Sondrio.<\/p>\n

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Uno-X<\/a>\u2019s Fredrik Dversnes began the day with a solo jaunt. That ended when the Norwegian was tagged and passed by Poga\u010dar, who rode away comfortably, like Gozilla destroying a city, then wondering where all the rubble came from.<\/p>\n

It would take another 20km before a rider dared to chase the world champion. Carapaz, whether he believed he could catch him or not, sprung out of the chase group, where Poga\u010dar’s lieutenants Felix Gro\u00dfschartner, Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez, and McNulty patrolled the pack.<\/p>\n

The Ecuadorian went on to earn second place for his effort, but not without the fright of Bagioli behind him, who finished just 15 seconds adrift. The rest of the GC favourites, including Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d (Red-Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) and Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon<\/a> CMA CGM), all lost more than four minutes to Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

Thursday’s second stage of the Tour de Suisse will see the race return to Switzerland, on an undulating route out of and back into Locarno.<\/p>\n

Asked for his plan for the day, Poga\u010dar said: \u201cStay safe and keep the jersey. We have a strong team, so we can try and go for the stage with Jonny, Brandon, Felix or anybody else. We\u2019ll see how the guys feel.\u201d<\/p>\n

ResultsTour de Suisse 2026, stage one: Sondrio > Sondrio (144km)<\/p>\n

1. Tadej Poga\u010dar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:28:51
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:14
3. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:29
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step<\/a>, +4:02
5. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, all at same time
8. Felix Gro\u00dfschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +4:05
9. AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos), +4:30
10. Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez (Ecu) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, at same time<\/p>\n

General classification after stage one<\/p>\n

1. Tadej Poga\u010dar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 3:28:51
2. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +2:22
3. Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +2:39
4. Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +4:16
5. Mathias Vacek (Cze) Lidl-Trek
6. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike, all at same time
8. Felix Gro\u00dfschartner (Aut) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +4:18
9. Matthew Riccitello (USA) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:43
10. AJ August (Netcompany-Ineos<\/a>), +4:44<\/p>\n

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\nTadej Poga\u010dar
\n<\/a>
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\nTour de Suisse
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