Geraint Thomas tips Tadej Pogačar to take Tour de France stage record

Geraint Thomas has tipped Tadej Pogačar to go on to take Mark Cavendish's newly-established Tour de France stage win record of 35.

He was speaking on the latest episode of his Watts Occurring podcast, with Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Luke Rowe.

"When he came on [the pod] after the Giro [d'Italia] I said he could do it, didn't I?" Thomas told Rowe. "And I think he can. He needs, what, 18, so he's basically halfway there."

UAE Team Emirates Pogačar won six stages during a dominant performance to win this year's Tour de France – his third overall – taking his total stage tally to 17.

Thomas, who won the Tour in 2018, finished 42nd this time round, some way down on seventh placed team-mate Carlos Rodríguez.

"This must be his fifth Tour. It's not unreasonable to think he could do that," Thomas said of Pogačar setting a new stage record.

However, Rowe predicted he would have much less time than Cavendish to establish a new mark, predicting that he would retire in his early thirties.

"Yeah, he definitely won't be 39," Thomas agreed.

"Realistically, to win six stages again, well he could definitely still do it, but I think this year was unique. The way he rode this year was just unbelievable. I didn't even realise that, but he won the last three stages, just picking his nose mate."

"Them boys, they just wanted everything – hungry for it," he added, referring to the way that UAE Team Emirates and other GC teams raced aggressively even on stages that didn't necessarily look like GC days.

"I've got no problem with that," Thomas added. "It's a race at the end of the day, if you've got the legs to win and you want to try and win it, why not? But it does mean there's less chances for breaks."

Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) set his new 35-stage record at Saint Vulbas on stage five, outsprinting Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility), who were second and third.

The 'Manx Missile' had been tied on 34 stages with Eddy Merckx since 2021 when he won four times and took the green jersey. He had planned to retire last year but returned for a final Tour in 2024, and though he played it down, a final tilt at the record.