Tadej Pogacar is increasingly the master of the Tour and proved it again at Superbagnères in a stage that saw Remco Evenepoel's withdrawal.

"I don't know what happened to Remco, but in cycling you never know how you'll wake up and I imagine Remco woke up in a bad way," Pogacar said after the race. "So yes, I'm really sorry he left the Tour, because I think he could have made the podium. I send him my best wishes and hope he recovers soon and comes back, hopefully stronger."

Arensman won the stage and behind him, Pogacar and Vingegaard arrived, finishing second and third. Vingegaard was certainly an excellent attacker and Pogacar limited himself to following him before overtaking him at the finish.

"I didn't have the necessary grit to counter-attack Vingegaard: Jonas tried, and he was really strong. In fact, I expected him to attack a bit earlier. Once I managed to counter his two attacks, I realized I didn't have the power of previous days to respond to his actions and give my all until the finish line. That's why I chose to control the stage, stay behind him, and attack at the end. We've already faced several mountain stages, and this is probably the toughest I've seen in the Pyrenees. I'm sure he'll continue to attack me in the Alps."

Arensman was the winner of the last Pyrenean stage, and Pogacar acknowledged his skill.

"We came close to a stage win, but Thymen Arensman was really strong and fully deserved this victory, hats off to him. We can be satisfied with our work in the Pyrenees. Today we had a great stage, pedaling at our pace all day, with an incredible Nils Politt. It was a very difficult day due to the weather and the climbs. Moreover, the breakaway only started at the Tourmalet, so the first 70 kilometers were very fast. Then the descents were a bit scary, especially at the Tourmalet."

Today the yellow jersey will arrive in Carcassonne and then there will be a rest day. Starting from Tuesday, the group will face the mountains and there will be the finish at Mont Ventoux. The stage will be completely flat except for the finale, where riders will have to tackle a 15.7-kilometer climb to reach the finish line with an average gradient of 8.8 percent.