Tadej Pogacar secured overall victory at the Tour of Switzerland on Sunday by winning the race's final stage, a demanding 152-kilometer mountainous route finishing in Villars-sur-Ollon. The world champion claimed his third stage win of the week after catching French climber Lenny Martinez with 800 meters remaining, ultimately crossing the line seven seconds ahead.
Throughout the concluding climb, Pogacar steadily reduced Martinez’s lead, which peaked at around 1 minute and 30 seconds. Despite a tense chase, the Slovenian escalated his pace in the closing kilometers and overtook Martinez just 200 meters from the finish. Pogacar described the final ascent as a rigorous test of endurance and breathing, acknowledging it as a “really nice climb” for such challenges.
Martinez, who had been part of an initial 11-man breakaway early in the stage, expressed disappointment but acknowledged Pogacar’s determination and strength. “We tried but he was just too strong in the end,” said the 22-year-old. “Tadej wins a lot of races and he keeps wanting to keep winning, so it’s difficult. I knew he wasn’t going to let me win.”
This victory marks Pogacar’s first at the Tour of Switzerland, achieved in his debut appearance. It also adds to an impressive tally as he has now won six of the seven most prestigious week-long stage races. Earlier this season, he captured the Tour of Romandie title on his first try. The only major week-long race still missing from his palmarès is the Tour of the Basque Country, where he finished third in 2021 and sixth in 2019.
Pogacar has demonstrated a clear ambition this year to conquer the remaining significant races on his calendar. His season highlights include winning Milan-San Remo in March and narrowly missing victory at Paris-Roubaix in April, finishing second to Wout van Aert. This recent display of form positions him strongly ahead of his pursuit of a fifth Tour de France title, which would equal the all-time record.
He won the Tour of Switzerland by a commanding overall margin of 6 minutes and 32 seconds over Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz, who retained second place after finishing seventh on the final stage. Czech rider Mathias Vacek moved up to third in the general classification, while Norway’s Tobias Foss finished fourth overall.
Dutch rider Bart Lemmen completed the day's breakaway and finished third on the stage, just over 90 seconds behind Pogacar. Pogacar’s dominant performance throughout the week—13 victories in 16 race days this season—cements his status as the rider to beat. His results stand in contrast to those of Jonas Vingegaard, the newly crowned Giro d’Italia champion and likely rival at the upcoming Tour de France, who has secured seven wins over 36 race days this year.