Tadej Pogacar said he was in the form of his life after climbing to a commanding Tour de France 2025 stage win on the Hautacam mountain in the Pyrenees on Thursday.

The three-time Tour winner punished his key rival Jonas Vingegaard on Stage 12, leaving him trying to limit the damage on the first major mountain on the 21-day race.

Team UAE leader Pogacar skipped away on an 11-kilometer solo ascent to finish two minutes and 10 seconds ahead of Vingegaard, who refrained from trying to follow the blistering attack.

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Overnight leader Ben Healy of Ireland, meanwhile, wilted to a 13-minute deficit on the day.

French President Emmanuel Macron was on hand at the mountaintop finish, shaking his head in admiration as the 26-year-old Pogacar shot across the line. 

Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel also was left trying to limit his losses, finishing 3 minutes, 35 seconds down in seventh place on the 180.6-kilometer ride from Auch.

In the overall standings, Pogacar now leads by 3 minutes, 31seconds over Visma rider Vingegaard, while Evenepoel is third at a daunting 4 minutes, 45 seconds.

Pogacar admitted after the race that until now, he's been cranky, complaining about attacks, the heat and tiredness.

But he offered a different story in the Pyrenees.

"I could see that Visma weren't feeling so well," he said, explaining how he shattered the 12-man group still clinging on at the foot of the final climb. "On the last climb, it was really hot, but I was really feeling good."

He also offered a broader explanation.

"This is the best moment of my career," Pogacar said of the stage win on a mountain where he previously had been beaten. "It's been like a fairytale."

He also shared his thoughts on the tough climbs, in general.

"I enjoy this sufferfest," he said of the long climb days. "I'm at the peak of my career. Once this fire goes out, my performance will drop."

Pogacar admitted at the finish line his team had been secretly targeting this stage for some time.

"The plan was to win this stage," said Pogacar, who suffered a crash in Stage 11. "I'm super happy to take time and win on this particular climb. You don't know how your body reacts after a crash. It wasn't so bad. The team did a super job."

Tough Day For Irishman Ben Healy At Tour de France 2025

The champion had kind words for Irishman Healy, who had a bruising day himself.

"Healy tried, he showed big spirit," Pogacar said. "It was hard for everybody today."

He also dedicated this win to Italian junior cyclist Samuele Privitera, who died at age 19 following a fall at this week's Tour of the Aoste Valley-Mont Blanc.

"I was thinking of him in the final kilometer," Pogacar said. "This sport can be so hard. It's so sad."

Friday's Stage 13 could shake up the standings again, as it is an unforgiving individual time trial, mainly uphill, that the Slovenian has been looking forward to.

"The race isn't over, just look at the next few stages, and then there's next week too," he said.

Pogacar also took over the polka dot King of the Mountain jersey, while Jonathan Milan has the green sprint jersey and Evenepoel the white jersey as the best young rider.

Healy described his time in yellow as a "whirlwind" after dropping to 11th, over 13 minutes off the pace.

There were three mountains on the menu Thursday as the peloton entered the Pyrenees. The pack was whittled down before Pogacar's astonishing attack on the fabled Hautacam, a 13.6-kilometer ascent at 7.8% gradient.

On Friday, a 10.9-kilometer race up the Peyragudes mountain rescue airfield, with slopes of up to 16%, awaits some potentially tired legs, with the temperature set to hit around 33 degrees Celsius (92 Fahrenheit).

Tour de France 2025 Stage 12 Results – Top 25

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:21:19 (B10)
2. Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:23:29 (B6)
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:23:42 (B4)
4. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 4:24:19
5. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 4:24:19
6. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 4:24:52
7. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4:24:54
8. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:25:21
9. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 4:25:27
10. Carlos Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 4:28:45
11. Einerson Rubio Reyes (Movistar Team) – 4:28:46
12. Raúl García Pierna (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 4:28:52
13. Guillaume Martin Guyonnet (Groupama-FDJ) – 4:30:24
14. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 4:30:57
15. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:31:44
16. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) – 4:32:02
17. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:32:05
18. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:32:09
19. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 4:33:06
20. Aurélien Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 4:33:06
21. Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) – 4:33:12
22. Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 4:33:50
23. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 4:34:29
24. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 4:34:49
25. Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) – 4:34:57

Tour de France 2025 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 12

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 45:22:51
2. Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 45:26:22
3. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) – 45:27:36
4. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 45:28:25
5. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 45:28:31
6. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – 45:28:56
7. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 45:30:21
8. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 45:30:35
9. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – 45:32:12
10. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 45:35:03
11. Ben Healy (EF Education - EasyPost) – 45:36:10
12. Carlos Rodriguez (INEOS Grenadiers) – 45:40:47
13. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – 45:41:01
14. Guillaume Martin Guyonnet (Groupama-FDJ) – 45:42:21
15. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – 45:44:28
16. Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 45:44:51
17. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) – 45:45:05
18. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – 45:50:40
19. Carlos Rodriguez (Arkea-B&B Hotels) – 45:53:12
20. Emanuel Buchmann (Cofidis) – 45:54:13
21. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 45:55:51
22. Simon Yates (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 45:58:05
23. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) – 46:02:55
24. Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) – 46:03:09
25. Sergio Higuita (XDS Astana Team) – 46:03:44

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