Tadej Pogacar conquers scorching Pyrenean climb to win stage 15 of Tour de France

PLATEAU DE BEILLE, France (AP) — Tadej Pogacar demonstrated his climbing dominance once again, winning the grueling 15th stage of the Tour de France on Bastille Day with a scorching ascent to the Plateau de Beille and keeping the yellow jersey.

The marathon stage on France's national day was nearly 200 kilometers (124 miles) long and featured four big climbs before an even harder grind up to Plateau de Beille.

Pogacar attacked with 5 kilometers remaining during the final “hors catégorie” (beyond category) climb, solidifying his reputation as the master of the mountains.

“I’m super happy with my shape right now,” Pogacar said. “I usually struggle with the heat but today the team did a really good job with cooling me down. It was an incredible day.”

It was Pogacar’s third stage win in this year’s Tour and his seventh career stage win in the Pyrenees mountains.

“Somehow I like them (the Pyrenees) and they like me back," Pogacar said. "Let’s keep it that way.”

The stage began Sunday with an immediate climb up the Col de Peyresourde, fracturing the peloton. A breakaway group of climbers, including Richard Carapaz, Laurens De Plus, and Enric Mas, set a fierce early pace but were reeled in as the decisive moments approached.

Temperatures soared close to 35 degrees Celsius on the final climb. Defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, aided by his Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson, tried to respond but couldn’t match Pogacar’s relentless pace, finishing more than a minute behind. Vingegaard is now 3 minutes, 9 seconds behind Pogacar overall.

Third-place Remco Evenepoel, another top contender, also struggled to keep up and is in third place overall, trailing Pogacar by 5:19.

“Tadej is on another planet this year," Evenepoel said after the race. "Right now he is the best in the world. There is absolutely no doubt about that.”

Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay, who has won three stages, retained the best sprinter’s green jersey.

Monday will be the second rest day in the three-week race, ahead of a flat Stage 16 between Gruissan and Nimes in the south of France.

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Stage winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, climbs towards Plateau de Beille during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey as the runner-up, leads before stage winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, as they climb towards Plateau de Beille during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Stage winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, turns around to see how much lead he has on his main rival Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard as he climbs towards Plateau de Beille during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey as the runner-up, leads before stage winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, as they climb towards Plateau de Beille during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Spain's Enric Mas leads the breakaway followed by Belgium's Laurens de Plus and Australia's Jai Hindley during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, follows Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, in third position, as they speed downhill during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

The breakaway group climbs during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the best climber's dotted jersey as the runner-up, and France's Romain Gregoire, right, speed down Peyresourde pass during the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, , Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Stage winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, celebrates as he crosses the finish line of the fifteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 198 kilometers (123 miles) with start in Loudenvielle and finish on Plateau de Beille, France, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

“The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a docuseries following young wives in Utah, and the suspenseful thriller “Rebel Ridge” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: the return of the acclaimed English spy series “Slow Horses," Astro Bot gets his own full full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5 and George Strait will release his 31st studio album, “Cowboys and Dreamers."

— Jeremy Saulnier makes lean, suspenseful thrillers, several of which (“Blue Ruin,” “The Green Room”) have turned into cult favorites. His latest, “Rebel Ridge” (on Netflix starting Friday, stars Aaron Pierre as an ex-Marine who becomes ensnared in a violent battle with a corrupt small-town police department and its chief (Don Johnson). The film, engrossing and stylish, is enlivened by the magnetic presence of Pierre.

— “The Boy and the Heron” didn’t turn out to be Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song. (He’s said to be at work again on another film.) But it did live up to the considerable expectations built up for the long-in-coming late opus from the Japanese anime master. The film, streaming Friday on Max, was the best animated feature winner at the Oscars earlier this year and – in a first for the 83-year-old Miyazaki – No. 1 for a weekend at the box office. In it, a 12-year-old boy named Mahito, uprooted from Tokyo after the death of his mother during World War II, discovers a portal into a fantastical realm. In my review, I wrote that “The Boy and the Heron” is like “returning to a faintly familiar dreamland. Only, since the only location here is really Miyazaki’s boundless imagination, it’s less the feeling of stepping back into a recognizable place than it is revisiting a well-remembered sense of discombobulation and wonder.”

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

— They call him King George for a reason. On Friday, George Strait will release his 31st studio album, “Cowboys and Dreamers,” a collection of classic-sounding contemporary country from a Texas troubadour who has nothing left to prove, and no reason to quit. Standouts include a collaboration with Chris Stapleton (“Honky Tonk Hall of Fame”), who opened for Strait on his recent stadium tour, a cover of Waylon Jennings’ “Waymore’s Blues,” and the Jimmy Buffet-informed vacation stomper, “MIA Down in MIA.”

— The internet was primed for an electroclash revival, and in The Dare, it has a figurehead. The musical project of Harrison Patrick Smith, The Dare has quickly become a stalwart of New York City nightlife, largely due to the success of his amorous anthem “Girls.” He’s further cemented his nascent fame by producing and co-writing “Guess,” a deluxe club tune from Charli XCX’s extended “BRAT,” and a remix featuring Billie Eilish. When his debut album releases on September 6, titled “What’s Wrong With New York?”, all eyes and ears will be back on his own nostalgic-sounding Anglophilia. Put on your best suit and hit the dance floor.

— MJ Lenderman is no stranger to this space — last year, AP named an album by his band, Asheville, North Carolina’s alt-country indie rockers Wednesday, as one of 2023’s best. As a soloist, the multi-instrumentalist — but perhaps most principally, a guitarist — has made a name for himself for his lax songwriting style – funny, acerbic, cutting with a wizened equanimity. On “Morning Fireworks,” his skills have been sharpened. Heartbreak is amusing and suburban and timeless. It, like last year’s “Rat Saw God,” feels like an easy contender for one of 2024’s most exciting releases.

— A master of disco, soul, R&B and beyond, Sylvester’s unimpeachable legacy gets a new release in “Live at The Opera House,” a massive collection of over two hours of material. That includes 13 songs captured from his performance at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House on March 11, 1979. It will be released as a box set, for those looking to dive into its exclusive photographs and liner notes. For everyone else, it will hit streaming on Friday, Sept. 6.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

— “Slow Horses,” Apple TV+ British spy series starring Gary Oldman, returns for season four just in time for the Primetime Emmy Awards. Season three received nine nominations including outstanding drama series and lead actor for Oldman. The show’s new season is also rated 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. In “Slow Horses,” MI5 agents who’ve made big mistakes are relegated to a division run by Oldman’s character Jackson Lamb. The story is based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” novels. It returns Wednesday.

— First there was Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” and now Hulu is introducing “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” a docuseries following young wives in Utah who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are also online influencers who banded together to create TikTok content they called #MomTok. The women juggle their online personas with family life and remaining in good standing with the Church — and each other — after a sex scandal brings worldwide attention. It premieres Friday.

— In “The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood,” crime writer Michael Connelly examines the 1981 quadruple massacre at Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles that inspired the film “Boogie Nights.” It premieres Sunday on MGM+.

— Alicia Rancilio

— It’s been way too long since we’ve had a lovable new mascot to play with, but Sony is hoping Astro Bot can pick up the slack. The little guy first showed up in a game for Sony’s virtual reality headset, but this is the first time he’ll get a full-fledged adventure on the PlayStation 5. It begins with the destruction of the droid’s mothership, leaving him to travel across more than 50 planets to reassemble his crew — and perhaps meet some iconic PlayStation characters along the way. It’s the sort of running-and-jumping silliness that made stars out of Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank, interspersed with acrobatic flying antics. Astro Bot lifts off Friday.

— The Casting of Frank Stone is an intriguing collaboration between two preeminent horror game makers. It’s set in the world of Behaviour Interactive’s Dead By Daylight, a multiplayer survival hit, but it’s a solo game from Until Dark designer Supermassive Games. The title character is a serial killer, while the protagonists are four teenagers who come up with the brilliant idea of making a movie about him. If you’ve played either of the aforementioned titles, you know someone’s going to wind up on the wrong end of a meat hook. The gore starts flowing Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

— Lou Kesten

This image released by GKIDS shows Mahito Maki, voiced by Luca Padovan in English and Soma Santoki in Japanese, left, and Grey Heron, voiced by Robert Pattinson in English and Masaki Suda in Japanese, in a scene from Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy And The Heron." (Studio Ghibli/GKIDS via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Don Johnson as Chief Sandy Burnne, left, and Aaron Pierre as Terry Richmond in a scene from "Rebel Ridge." (Allyson Riggs/Netflix via AP)

This image released by Netflix shows Aaron Pierre as Terry Richmond in a scene from "Rebel Ridge." (Allyson Riggs/Netflix via AP)

This combination of images shows promotional art for the docuseries "The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood," left, the series "Slow Horses," center, and "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives." (MGM+/Apple TV+/Hulu via AP)

This combination of album cover images shows, clockwise from top left, "Cowboys and Dreamers" by George Strait, “Live At The Opera House” by Sylvester, “What’s Wrong With New York?” by The Dare, and "Morning Fireworks" by MJ Lenderman. (MCA Nashville/Craft Recordings-Concord/Republic Records/ANTI- via AP)