Tadej Pogačar romped to another Tour de France win on stage six, setting off alone on the iconic Col de Tourmalet in typically Pogačian fashion. At this early point in every Tour, we have to mention the obligatory line: ‘the race isn’t over until Paris’. But let’s be honest: if Pogačar stays upright and avoids illness, he will be wearing his record-equalling fifth yellow jersey in the French capital in a couple of weeks’ time.

His trail of devastation stretched a long way down the valley from the picturesque Gavarnie-Gèdre. So what is it like racing in the wake of the GOAT? And how does stage six shape the race for third behind Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard?

‘I was in my rightful place at the end’ – Paul Seixas, fifth on stage

(Image credit: ASO/Thomas Maheux)

French teenager Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) shoulders the expectation of an entire country. The French sporting public can be an impatient bunch. You could say that comes from the top – the French president Emmanuel Macron was present at today’s stage, as he often is each July. Thankfully for Seixas, attention will quickly turn to the France v Morocco match in the World Cup quarter final this evening.

The 19-year-old managed his effort well to finish fifth on an arduous day and move up to sixth on the general classification.

"It was very hard, honestly," said Seixas after the stage. "I think it went pretty well, I managed my climb, and there you go, a small 5th place at the finish, not bad. Tadej was very strong, congratulations to him. I was in my rightful place at the end."

He is tipped to win the Tour one year, but Macron et al. would settle for a podium spot this year. To do so, he will have to drop the likes of Juan Ayuso and Remco Evenepoel again, like he did on the Tourmalet. Seixas initially seemed to be off the pace on its early slopes, but with the help of teammate Nicolas Prodhomme, he dragged himself back near the front. That kind of rallying will give him some confidence particularly for the summit finishes ahead.

‘We keep fighting’ – Juan Ayuso, seventh on stage

(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

Lidl-Trek’s leader Juan Ayuso admitted after the stage that he wasn’t feeling his best. But he rallied well and is only seven seconds off Del Toro, in third.

"At first I thought it wasn't my best day, but even so I held on in there, fighting for the podium," said Ayuso at the finish. "Tadej was just better. Jonas didn't take that much time on us either, and we're right there, just short of the podium, so we have to keep going.

"I'm very happy because today I maybe had a bit of a bad day and you can pay a lot for that, because if you don't make it into that group you lose a huge amount. We keep fighting."

With Mads Pedersen’s green jersey lead in a healthy place and their other GC rider, Mattias Skjelmose, also sitting in the top 10, Lidl-Trek are in a strong position as they leave the Pyrenees. Ayuso can be confident in his team’s ability to control the rolling days to come. Puncheurs Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek are in the form of their lives. If they can juggle all of their goals, the Spaniard could keep rising up the overall classification.

‘Better than expected’ – Isaac del Toro, third on stage

(Image credit: ASO/Thomas Maheux)

It’s got to be daunting being Pogačar’s last mountain man. These days it’s down to Isaac del Toro, winner of stage two and he is taking it all in his stride – at his first Tour, no less. The Mexican is also harbouring his own general classification ambitions. After stage six, he has moved into third, but the priority will, of course, be Pogačar’s yellow jersey.

"It has been a beautiful day for the team," said Del Toro after stage six. "We are super happy to commit like we have done today. Anyway, the final result is that today's mission is complete. The team has done an incredible race today."

Del Toro’s podium bid could be boosted or hampered by being in Pogačar’s team. In order to set up his leader today, Del Toro almost blew himself up: "We went really hard throughout today, and I think I pushed maybe too hard at some point."

However, rallying to finish third place on the stage isn’t the sign of a rider on the edge of collapse.

"I'm super happy I have been able to reach this level. It's been quite special to be near the top riders all the way to the finish. Actually, the race went a bit better than expected for me. I'm proud and happy I have been able to do a performance like this one already in my first Tour de France."

Now they have a gap of 2:42 over Vingegaard, UAE Team Emirates-XRG may decide that they can now be more passive for Pogačar’s yellow jersey bid, which would allow the team to defend Del Toro’s position. It would also mean he wouldn’t have to expend the enormous energy required to tee up the Slovenian’s attacks. If he hadn’t made the acceleration to launch Pogačar on the Tourmalet, there’s a good chance that he could have stayed with Vingegaard. He may only be three seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel in fourth, but he doesn’t look like he will be losing that. It’s hard to argue that Del Toro hasn’t been at least the third strongest rider in the race so far.

‘I was rightly angry’ – Remco Evenepoel, fourth on the stage

(Image credit: ASO/Thomas Maheux)

Despite Remco Evenepoel finishing fourth and Florian Lipowitz sixth on the stage, all does not appear well at Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. With the fight for first having seemingly disappeared up the road, and with Vingegaard being the next clearest challenger, this Tour seems to be a bit of a carbon copy of the last two editions.

In 2024 Evenepoel was third and last year Lipowitz matched that. So both of them being on the same team could always have had the potential to cause issues. The dual-leadership was already showing some possible cracks before the race reached France.

"I asked for a lead-out and I didn't get it," Evenepoel wasn't pleased with Lipowitz's work in the chase group when he spoke to reporters after the stage. "I think I was rightly angry. In the Tour of Catalonia, I rode on the front for thirty kilometres, now I ask him to ride one kilometre on the front and that doesn't happen. That did make me angry, yes. That needs to be discussed properly tonight."

Lipowitz looked the stronger of the two on the Tourmalet, but the German sits in seventh, 30 seconds behind the Belgian. Evenepoel is guaranteed to gain more time on stage 16's time trial, so the Red Bull management have some careful managing to do.

The cycling world's attention – as it has done so often for the past half decade – is pointed at Pogačar, but for many inside the top 10, all eyes have turned to that final podium place. For them, the race really isn't over until Paris.