Updated July 19, 2026 11:52AM
Remco Evenepoel delivered a stunning victory Sunday at the Tour de France on a brutal day that ended with two-time champion Jonas Vingegaard crashing out.
Evenepoel hit the red kite on the HC Plateau de Solaison climb with UAE’s Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro in a dramatic stage that shook up the 2026 Tour.
After marking two attacks from Del Toro, Evenepoel countered and Pogačar did not come around him as the Belgian star won his first Tour mountain stage of his career.
Vingegaard’s exit vaulted him into second overall, and he also dropped podium challengers Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso, and Paul Seixas.
“It’s been a hell of a day. I am racing with the best rider ever, and he’s been doing a hell of a climb to win the stage with Isaac. For me it’s a big step forward to follow this pace,” Evenepoel said. “I always get so many critics that I cannot survive steep climbs. It feels amazing. It means a lot.”
It’s a massive breakthrough for Evenepoel, who won a road stage at the Tour for the first time.
Vingegaard’s exit will have major implications in the race for the yellow jersey with one left still to go.
Evenepoel bounces into second, and Del Toro moved ahead of Seixas into third and the white jersey.
Vingegaard hit the deck coming out of a traffic circle with about 20km to go as speed built toward the base of the final climb.
The two-time Tour winner clutched his shoulder and it was obvious that he was not going to be able to continue. Other riders also went down, including Isaac del Toro, but when doctors put a brace on the Dane’s shoulder, his Tour was over.
His brutal exit turned the Tour upside down, and the implications will play out for the final week of the 2026 Tour.
There was still a stage to finish.
Riders up the road from an early break battled it out for the win on the final climb. Quinn Simmons was about 20 seconds clear of a chase group that includes Adam Yates and Tom Pidcock with 8km to go.
The GC group seemed stunned by Vingegaard’s exit and did not immediately take up the chase.
Behind, UAE’s Yates could not keep pace for the win, so Pogačar went to the front to set a rhythm for Del Toro up the hors-categorie climb.
That split the remaining GC group, with Del Toro and Evenepoel hanging tough on Pogačar’s wheel, and Seixas, Ayuso, and Lipowitz getting gapped.
Simmons put up a brave fight, but an advantage of nearly a minute shrank to zero within two kilometers, and the U.S. national champion was reeled in at about 5km to go. He later linked up with Lidl-Trek teammate Ayuso to try to limit the losses in the never-ending climb.
Yates took a few pulls for Pogačar and Del Toro, with Evenepoel hanging on with 4.5km to go. His stage win and resulting time bonus sees him end the day second overall, five minutes behind Pogačar.
The latter congratulated Evenepoel for his win, and said that UAE had aimed to take the stage. “We tried with Isaac. It’s his climb! But he also had a bit of pain from his crash and he lost a little bit of confidence for the final,” he said.
“Anyway, it’s a good day for Isaac today, he can be happy. I think he is in the white jersey and good in the GC.”
Del Toro is third overall, 5:58 back. Seixas is now fourth at 6:23.
The peloton enjoys its second and final rest day Monday. The Tour’s lone individual time trial is slated for Tuesday, with Evenepoel in position to win the stage and stake a claim for the final podium.