Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar pulled clear of Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark on the final climb of the second stage to move within 25 seconds of his rival ©Getty Images

Slovenia's two-time winner Tadej Pogačar more than halved the deficit to defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark with a thrilling stage six victory in the Pyrénées.

This year's Tour de France is expected to be a battle between the two for the general classification, after the Team Jumbo-Visma leader Vingegaard denied his UAE Team Emirates rival a third consecutive title last year.

Vingegaard dealt the first blow in the Pyrénées yesterday by building a 53 seconds lead over Pogačar on a stage in which Australia's Jai Hindley of Bora-Hansgrohe triumphed and took the yellow jersey.

The Dane took control of the yellow jersey after the 145 kilometres sixth stage from Tarbes to Cauterets, but Pogačar is back to within 25sec after a stunning attack on the final climb.

He began his decisive move 2.7km from the finish, catching Vingegaard by surprise and going on to win the stage in 3hours 54min 27sec.

Vingegaard was second at 24 seconds off the pace, with Norway's Tobias Halland Johannessen of Uno-X Pro Cycling Team finishing third at 1min 22sec adrift.

Last year's Giro d'Italia winner Hindley is racing on the Tour de France for the first time this year, and came through in sixth at 2:39 behind Pogačar to slip to third on the general classification, trailing Vingegaard by 1:34.

Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark took over the yellow jersey as the Tour de France left the Pyrénées, but Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar more than halved his advantage over his biggest challenger ©Getty Images
Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark took over the yellow jersey as the Tour de France left the Pyrénées, but Slovenia's Tadej Pogačar more than halved his advantage over his biggest challenger ©Getty Images

Pogačar said he felt relieved to have hit back at Vingegaard after losing time yesterday.

"I wouldn’t say it's a revenge, yet it feels sweet to win today and take some time back," he said.

"I feel a little bit relieved.

"I feel much better now.

"Who wouldn’t be worried after yesterday’s time loss?"

Vingegaard admitted his rival "deserves the stage win", and expects "an exciting Tour de France for what is left".

After back-to-back mountain stages in the Pyrénées, tomorrow is set to feature a 169.9km flat stage from Mont-de-Marsan to Bordeaux.

It is expected to feature a sprint finish and another opportunity for Britain's Mark Cavendish, racing for Astana Qazaqstan Team on his final season, to earn a record 35th Tour de France stage win.