Defending champion Tadej Pogacar is on the brink of achieving a historic fifth Tour de France victory after an impressive performance on stage 19, winning at Alpe d'Huez.

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider surged ahead, overcoming more than three minutes on a breakaway group during the challenging hors category climb to the renowned ski resort, cheered on by thousands of spectators.

At just 27 years old, Pogacar aims to join cycling legends Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain in the elite club of five-time Tour winners.

Key race details include:

• Pogacar's lead over Remco Evenepoel from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe stands at seven minutes and 11 seconds.
• Isaac del Toro, Pogacar's teammate, holds third place and leads the young riders' classification, trailing by nine minutes and 42 seconds.

Pogacar expressed his joy after the race:

It was very cool to win up here - it was a crazy atmosphere all climb and I'm thankful for the team that I could pull it off.

He crossed the finish line six seconds ahead of Lenny Martinez from Bahrain-Victorious, who showed visible frustration after the race. Richard Carapaz from EF Education-Easypost finished third, just three seconds behind Martinez.

Despite a 40-plus strong breakaway initially leading the race, Pogacar's main pack gradually closed the gap. As the iconic Alpe d'Huez ascent began, it was Martinez, Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike, and Carapaz who looked poised for victory. However, Pogacar shattered the record for the final climb with a time of 35 minutes and 27 seconds, surpassing Marco Pantani's 1997 record.