Tadej Pogacar powered to his third stage win of this year's Tour de France on Tuesday, stretching his overall lead to more than three minutes over closest rival Jonas Vingegaard.
Stage 10, a 166.6km mountain route from Aurillac to Le Lioran, took place on France's national holiday, Bastille Day. Local fans had hoped for a strong performance from 19-year-old French rider Paul Seixas, but it was Pogacar who stole the show.
The Slovenian attacked with 15km remaining, riding solo to the finish line. He crossed 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, with Seixas taking third just behind. Vingegaard finished 44 seconds back in seventh place, leaving Pogacar with a commanding 3 minute 36 second lead in the general classification.
"We targeted this stage from a long time ago," said the four-time Tour winner. "Two years ago, Jonas beat me in the sprint fair and square. Today was similar, my legs to the finish were completely destroyed, but yeah, I enjoyed the day."
Richard Carapaz broke away on the Puy Mary climb, but Pogacar countered on the penultimate ascent, securing his third Bastille Day win and 24th Tour stage victory overall.
Vingegaard led the chase group but could not close the gap. Evenepoel briefly lost contact before recovering on the descent to sprint into second. "It was an OK day for us, it could be a lot worse," Vingegaard admitted. "My legs are getting better and better, and I'm looking forward to the longer climbs."
British rider Tom Pidcock crashed on the descent of Puy Mary but recovered to finish ninth, moving into 10th overall.
Pogacar's dominance drew some boos from fans at the finish line, but he dismissed the notion he was rubbing salt in the wound. He revealed that his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad tested new radios, losing communication with 10km to go. "I didn't know what the gap was, who was doing what, and all I had in my mind is try to keep pushing to the top," he said.
With a potential shot at the Vuelta a Espana later this season, Pogacar's aggressive racing suggests he is aiming to secure the Tour early to stay fresh for his next challenge.