Tour de France 2025 Stage 12 recap - Tadej Pogacar soars back into yellow after destroying Jonas Vingegaard at Hautacam

Tadej Pogacar soloed back into the yellow jersey with a sensational win at Hautacam to move over three minutes clear of his big rival Jonas Vingegaard after a brutal Stage 12 of the Tour de France.

Three years after he effectively lost the race to Vingegaard on the same climb, Pogacar gained his revenge with an unstoppable attack 12km from the summit to make light work of his crash on Wednesday.

Ben Healy came home over 15 minutes in arrears to concede the yellow jersey and plummet down the standings. The top 10 is now separated by over 12 minutes – and we still have five summit finishes and tomorrow’s uphill TT to go. Scary.

1. Tadej Pogacar
2. Jonas Vingegaard +3:31
3. Remco Evenepoel +4:45
4. Florian Lipowitz +5:34
5. Kevin Vauquelin +5:40
6. Oscar Onley +6:05
7. Primoz Roglic +7:30
8. Tobias Johannessen +7:44
9. Felix Gall +9:21
10. Matteo Jorgenson +12:12

The world champion said his team had targeted today’s stage, but also said he was thinking about the late Samuele Privitera, who died yesterday after a fall in the Giro delle Valle d’Aosta.

Massive, massive gaps - the kind you usually see in the GC at the end of a three-week Tour, not just in one stage.

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +2:10
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +2:23
4. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +3:00
5. Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) "
6. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) 3:33
7. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) +3:35
8. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +4:02
9. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +4:08
10. Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels) +7:26

Down but not out, Jonas Vingegaard crosses the line 2:11 down for second place, with Florian Lipowitz taking third place just 12 seconds later. What a ride from the German tyro.

Tobias Johannessen takes fourth and Oscar Onley fifth. Then it’s Evenepoel and Vauquelin, who must have passed Primoz Roglic, unless the cameras didn’t pick him up…

No, the Slovenian really did crack - he ended up finishing ninth after Felix Gall. Wow, what a final climb. Devastating for everyone not called Pogacar (or Lipowitz).

Battered, bruised, but still brilliant. Tadej Pogacar’s grimace turns to a smile as he crosses the line and celebrates a 20th stage win on the Tour de France. I said 19 earlier, but that was wrong – I’m already behind myself. Poor Mark Cavendish – that record won’t last very long…

Pogacar will be in yellow and Lipowitz in white tonight… Pog, incidentally, will have the polka dots, too. Under the flamme rouge he goes.

It certainly looks that way. Pogacar, to be fair, is breathing through his mouth and not just his nose – so he must at least be a bit uncomfortable. But he still has the time and energy to point out to the TV moto that it has a sheet of cardboard stuck in its back wheel – when most riders would have simply thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Meanwhile, Lipowitz is now just 32 seconds behind Vingegaard… that would be the ultimate slap in the face for the Dane.

Pain is etched across the face of the Dane – and there’s still another 3km to go. The world champion, on the other hand, looks like he’s taking a stroll in the park. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. But his face shows the serenity of someone who is on his way to a fourth Tour title. The gap grows. At this rate, Pogacar will be well over three minutes ahead of Vingegaard in the standings tonight.

The Irishman now trails the Slovenian by a mammoth margin on what will be his last day in yellow. Lipowitz, meanwhile, has edged clear of Onley.

Further down the road, another attack from the young German sees him go clear with the Scottish debutant. The sockless Roglic, Lipowitz’s team-mate, is not able to follow and he rides with Tobias Johannessen behind. It will be interesting to see if Evenepoel and Vauquelin can catch them.

Meanwhile, Vingegaard goes under the 5km banner with a deficit of 1’15" on the triple champion. How demoralising on a climb where he has excelled before and when his Visma team had been so bullish.

The Belgian has caught the Frenchman, who was dropped from the chase group. They trail the group by about 15 seconds. Lipowitz puts in a big acceleration and is followed by Onley, before Roglic and Johannessen eventually close the gap. They’re two minutes behind Pogacar, who has 1’05" on Vingegaard. All this despite crashing in yesterday’s finale. Perhaps the others shouldn’t have waited for him, after all…

The world champion will become the first rider to win a mountain stage in the Tour de France while in the rainbow stripes since Bernard Hinault back in the 1980s. He could also smash Vingegaard’s climbing record for Hautacam, too.

Here’s a reminder of the brutal, violent attack that saw him crack his Danish rival at the start of this climb:

Our lone leader is 43 seconds clear of Vingegaard now, with a chase group that now also includes Kevin Vauquelin at 1’35". Remco has rallied, meanwhile, and the white jersey may yet catch that chase group – he’s only 10 seconds down at the moment and riding with Felix Gall.

Pogacar is making light work of that crash yesterday. He’s 15 seconds clear of Vingegaard, with a chase group of Roglic, Lipowitz, Johannessen and Onley having passed Armirail but around 40 seconds back. Evenepoel is over a minute in arrears.

The world champion is on course for an 19th Tour de France stage win. Behind, Vingegaard has settled into a rhythm. He’s only 10 seconds behind, so all is not lost. But it’s going to be tough to find a way back when Pogacar is in such form.

A huge attack from Tadej Pogacar despatches Jonas Vingegaard – and the world champion sails clear in pursuit of the yellow jersey and a fourth Tour triumph. And, to be fair, a third stage win at this race – because he already has Bruno Armirail in his sights. What a rider he is. Peerless. Exceptional. Unbelievable? Make up your own mind.

After a big pull from Yates, he pulls off and hands the reins over to Narvaez. The Ecuadorian then ups the tempo and goes clear with team-mate Pogacar on his wheel. And only one man can follow: Jonas Vingegaard.

Belgian champion Tim Wellens is on the front of the UAE train as they start the final climb. He has Narvaez and Adam Yates with him, all working for the man in rainbow bands.

Simon Yates, Michael Woods, Sepp Kuss are all dropped in rapid succession, with Evenepoel and Gall starting to feel the pinch early on.

Bruno Armirail is onto the HC climb to Hautacam, which is 13.5km at 7.8%. It’s steep but comes in irregular steps, making it hard to find a rhythm. It’s also exposed and hot. In short – it’s going to be a real sufferfest out there, not just for Armirail but for pretty much everybody.