Holding off the threat of the Tour de France tide turning in favor of rival Jonas Vingegaard, yellow jersey Tadei Pogachar scored a shocking victory on GC, breaking Marco Pantani's record for the Plateau de Beille.

Pogachar, of UAE Team Emirates, completed the 15.8-km climb in 39:41, beating Pantani's record by 3:40. This record had not been set since Pantani's first Tour appearance in 1998.

In 2007, Alberto Contador won his first overall Tour victory with the fastest time of 44:08.

The Vail plateau has been used as a summit finish in the Tour six times since 1998, when Il Pirata shaved time off its rivals and won the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double. Pogachar will attempt to duplicate that feat this year by competing in two Grand Tours in the same season for the first time.

"I am too young to remember when Pantani was alive, but I want to accomplish what he did. I know how important he was to Italian and world cycling," Pogachar said earlier this year.

Pogachar showed his dignity in the second weekend of the Tour with back-to-back wins in the Pyrenees, Saturday in Pla d'Addes and Sunday in Plateau de Beille. Like Pantani, the Slovenian fended off an attack by rival Jonas Vingegaard (Vismaris A-Bike) and held on to win stage 15 alone.

Another Tour de France victory came at the age of 25, tying the great sprinter Marcel Kittel on 14 Tour stage victories, one ahead of Freddy Maertens and two ahead of legends such as Charles Pellissier and Jacques Anquetil.

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