Tadei Pogachal has performed miracles so often that they seem mundane. By this point in his career, he has exhausted as many superlatives as his competitors. But in his astounding repertoire, it is his performance in the Plateau de Beille on stage 15 that will ultimately stand out as the definitive work.

For most of his career, Pogachar has been forced to participate in two races simultaneously: one on the road with his current rivals, the other in imagination with the giants of the past. Such is the burden of Pogachal, who for the past four years has been touted as the new Eddy Merckx.

On Sunday, Pogachar outpaced his contemporary rival Jonas Vingegaard by 1:08, pushing his overall lead in the Tour de France to over three minutes. Meanwhile, in a battle against posterity, he surpassed Marco Pantani's 1998 record of 3:40 set in the Plateau de Beille.

Long believed to be an unbreakable record for this era of excess, by the 2020s, when cycling was going supersonic, that belief was shaken. Still, no one would have expected Pogachar to break the record so casually, and to match Bob Beamon's leap into history at the Mexico Olympics.

"I don't know what Pantani was running back then, it was 30 years ago. But today, Visma set a super, super strong pace right from the start. Then I pushed my limits. I'm really happy to win and I'm not thinking about Strava."

Never mind Strava, Pogachar is fighting history: no rider since Pantani in 1998 has won the Giro/Tour double, but the Slovenian came very close to that feat with his dominant victory here.

When Pogachar won more or less as he pleased in Italy in May, racking up six stage wins and winning the Giro d'Italia by nearly 10 minutes, the caveat was that no rival could match his lofty level. In this Tour, he will be up against Vingegaard, the most fiercely contested rider of the season and, of course, the one with whom he has fought fiercely in the last three July editions.

Pogachar had already gained 40 seconds on Vingegaard in a late attack on Saturday in Pla d'Adet, but the Dane was then bullish on the prospect of repaying that blow in an interesting way on the day's 15th stage, which will likely reward him not only for his explosive power but also for his endurance.

Vimalies a Bike set a furious tempo for Matteo Jorgenson as the race passed Tarascon sur Ariège and began its 16-km run to the finish.

With 10.5 km to go, Vingegaard made the inevitable attack, and Pogachar immediately took over Vingegaard's steering wheel. Pogachar immediately took his wheel and spent the next 5km assessing the pedaling of his rivals. When Vingegaard gave him a weary glance with 5.5 km to go, Pogachar knew the moment had arrived. It was the moment to win. He climbed out of the saddle, accelerated, and passed the Dane.

"He was setting a very good pace. But when he attacked again, that is, right before I attacked, it was the last attack. It was really hard to break him and open up a gap. I gave it my all all the way to the finish."

At first, Vingegaard held his usual 20-meter advantage over Pogachar, but then the gap steadily widened and the yellow jersey gained 10 seconds per kilometer on the climb. Vingegaard, like Remco Evenpole (2:51), who finished third on the day, finished just inside Pantani's climbing record. The problem was that Pogachar had raised the bar to unprecedented heights.

"I was giving it my all right up to the finish line," Pogachar said. 'I kept hearing he was in the 35s, 35s. I thought he might recover and come back, but in the end I think I could have passed him.

"I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I was counting down my fingers to the last kilometer or minute today. But it was worth it in the end.

In the overall standings, Pogachar leads Vingegaard by 3:09 and Evenpole by 5:19. The yellow jersey's surprising struggle on the Pertus Pass on stage 11 seems to have been a moment rather than a turning point. Aside from Vingegaard's aptitude for the rigors of the third week, it seems increasingly difficult to imagine anything other than a Pogachar victory in Nice next Sunday.

"The Tour is usually the finish line when you arrive at the Champs-Elysées, but this year it's Nice," Pogachar smiled. When you reach the main street of Nice, the Tour is over. When you reach the main street of Nice, it's the finish. You have to concentrate until that moment."

Escapee Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno Xmobility) summed up for many the feeling of being caught and passed by Pogachar and Vingegaard in the Plateau de Beille: "It's like we are not playing the same sport. Not for the first time, Pogachar made everything look easy here.

"I breathe and suffer too," he said. 'But that's just the way it is. Some people suffer more, some people suffer less. That's how it is. That's what bicycle racing is.

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