Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia has claimed his record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, crossing the finish line on Paris’ Champs-Elysees. The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider now joins an elite group of cyclists with five Tour victories, including Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. This marks Pogacar’s third consecutive Tour win, solidifying his position among the sport’s most successful riders.
The final stage of the three-week Grand Tour saw Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, riding for Alpecin-Premier Tech, secure a dramatic victory. Van der Poel triumphed in a frantic charge to the line on the cobbled streets of the French capital, narrowly beating his teammate Jasper Philipsen of Belgium.
A Dominant Performance and Record-Equalling Achievement
Pogacar’s victory in the Tour de France is his third in succession and included a record-breaking ascent of Alpe d’Huez on stage 19, where he secured another dominant win. This was one of five stage victories for Pogacar during the race, where his explosive launches and consistent pace proved unmatchable for his competitors. His performances have led many to consider him among the greatest cyclists of all time, potentially surpassing the achievements of Belgian legend Merckx.
Throughout his eight-year elite professional career, Pogacar has accumulated 127 wins. He has also won nearly every major race in the sport, including the Tour of Flanders, Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Road World Championships, Giro di Lombardia, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Despite his success, some fans reportedly booed Pogacar during the Tour, expressing frustration that his dominance might be reducing the competitive edge of the sport.
Pogacar expressed his gratitude, stating, “Victory is really special. Thank you to all the fans and my team. But the biggest thanks goes to all my family who support me all my life. My parents – without them I would not be standing here five times already.” He also acknowledged the absence of rivals like Jonas Vingegaard, who crashed out, wishing them a quick recovery for future competitions.
Dramatic Final Stage in Paris
The traditional final stage on the Champs-Elysees, usually a ceremonial ride for overall contenders, featured an altered circuit this year. Organisers ASO introduced a cobbled climb over the city’s Montmartre hill, aiming to encourage more powerful riders to challenge for victory. This change contributed to the high drama of the final day.
On Sunday, Mathieu van der Poel launched an attack with 11km remaining, with Pogacar initially alongside him. The pair led through the narrow lanes over Montmartre and past Sacre-Coeur. Van der Poel, known for his strength in one-day races, managed to hold off a rapidly closing chasing pack to secure the stage win. He described his effort, saying, “We have a saying in Dutch that it has to come for your toes. I don’t know where this came from, but not from my toes.”
The final stage was shortened from 133km to 89km due to the redeployment of emergency services to assist with wildfires in south-west France. This was the third stage of the Tour impacted by prefecture intervention this year, either due to wildfires or a heatwave.
Key Riders and Challenges
Pogacar’s closest rival in the general classification was Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who finished six minutes 26 seconds behind. Isaac del Toro, Pogacar’s teammate from UAE Team Emirates-XRG, secured third place overall. Del Toro, 22, also claimed the white jersey for the best young rider, a result Pogacar helped consolidate by sacrificing his own potential victory on Saturday’s ‘queen’ stage to Alpe d’Huez.
The King of the Mountains polka dot jersey was won by Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost, who showed strong form in the latter part of the race, winning stage 18 and stage 20. The green points jersey went to Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, who also won stage four. Other stage winners included Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step with three bunch sprint victories, and Philipsen with one.
The race also saw the abandonment of Jonas Vingegaard, the 29-year-old Visma-Lease a Bike rider, after he broke his collarbone on stage 15. This incident led to scrutiny of the International Testing Agency (ITA), which had conducted an early morning anti-doping test on Vingegaard. The ITA stated there were “exceptional circumstances” for the rare night tests, and the results are not yet known. Another incident involved Movistar climber Einer Rubio abandoning the race after crashing into a team car, an event linked to an unruly spectator. The final general classification saw Pogacar leading with a time of 73 hours 56 minutes 26 seconds.
Source: bbc.co.uk