Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia has secured his fifth Tour de France title, matching the record for most wins in the endurance event. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crossed the finish line on Paris’ Champs-Elysees as part of the peloton, joining cycling legends Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain in achieving this milestone. This victory marks Pogacar’s third consecutive Tour win.
The final stage of the three-week Grand Tour was won by the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech. Van der Poel’s win came after a determined charge to the line on the French capital’s cobbled streets, where he narrowly beat his teammate Jasper Philipsen of Belgium.
Shortened Final Stage and Wildfire Impact
The final stage of the Tour de France was shortened to 89km and began on the Champs-Élysées, featuring two laps of the avenue followed by circuits of the Butte Montmartre. This alteration was made due to wildfires in other parts of France. Organizers ASO, in a joint statement with the prefecture police, indicated that internal security forces were redeployed to assist with response efforts in affected areas.
Wildfires near the Arcachon lagoon and around Biscarrosse in the Landes region have destroyed over 36,000 hectares of forest. This marks the third stage of this year’s Tour to be affected by prefecture intervention due to either wildfires or a heatwave. The change in the final stage’s parcours, which includes a cobbled climb over Montmartre, was intended to encourage more powerful riders to contend for victory.
On Sunday, Van der Poel secured his win after breaking away with Pogacar with 11km remaining. The two riders led through the narrow lanes over Montmartre and past Sacre-Coeur before Pogacar began to fade. Van der Poel managed to stay ahead of a chasing pack, which included several sprinters, to claim the prestigious victory. He later described the 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.”
Pogacar’s Dominance and Key Rivals
Pogacar’s performance throughout the race included a record-breaking ascent of Alpe d’Huez on stage 19, where he secured another dominant victory. This was one of five stage wins for Pogacar, who utilized his explosive launch and consistent pace to overcome his competitors. His career now includes 127 wins in an eight-year elite professional career, encompassing major races such as the Tour of Flanders, Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Road World Championships, Giro di Lombardia, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Some fans expressed frustration with Pogacar’s consistent dominance, suggesting it diminished the sport’s competitive edge. Pogacar acknowledged the support, 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 expressed hope for the quick recovery of injured competitors, including Jonas Vingegaard, saying, “It’s a shame Jonas [Vingegaard] crashed out this time and many others. I hope they have a quick recovery and next year we fight again.”
Vingegaard, who won in 2022 and 2023, abandoned the race this year after breaking his collarbone on stage 15. This incident led to scrutiny of the International Testing Agency (ITA), which had conducted an anti-doping test on Vingegaard at 2am. Pogacar also underwent testing at 5am. The ITA cited “exceptional circumstances” for these rare night tests.
Pogacar’s closest rival in the general classification was Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgohe, who finished six minutes 26 seconds behind. Third place went to Pogacar’s Mexican teammate Isaac del Toro, who won stage two. Pogacar also assisted Del Toro in consolidating his podium position during Saturday’s ‘queen’ stage to Alpe d’Huez. Del Toro secured the white jersey for the best young rider, ahead of France’s Paul Seixas of Decathlon-CMA CGM.
Jersey Winners and Stage Highlights
Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost was a notable rider, claiming the king of the mountains’ polka dot jersey. Carapaz won stage 18 and stage 20, reaching the race’s highest point first after 5,450km of climbing. He had previously won a stage in Orcières-Merlette and finished third on the Alpe d’Huez stage.
The green points jersey was awarded to Denmark’s Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, who demonstrated tenacity on climbs and won stage four. He outperformed several sprinters, including Philipsen, who won stage 17, and Belgium’s Tim Merlier of Soudal-Quick Step, who won three bunch sprint stages.
Britain’s Tom Pidcock of Pinarello-Q36.5 finished ninth in the general classification. His former team, now known as Netcompany Ineos Cycling, did not record a stage victory in 21 attempts. Fellow Briton Adam Yates, 33, showed resilience after falling ill on stage 16, later assisting Pogacar on a climb during stage 19.
The final stage results saw Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Premier Tech) finish in 1hr 58mins 49secs, with Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Premier Tech) at the same time, and Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) in third.
The general classification after stage 21 placed Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) first with a time of 73hrs 56mins 26secs, followed by Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at +6mins 26secs, and Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at +9mins 42secs.
Paul Seixas (Fra/Decathlon-CMA CGM) secured fourth place at +11mins 56secs, with Lenny Martinez (Fra/Bahrain-Victorious) in fifth at +13mins 2secs. The top ten was rounded out by Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) at +14mins 59secs, Juan Ayuso (Spa/Lidl-Trek) at +17mins 48secs, Richard Carapaz (Ecu/EF Education-Easypost) at +20mins, and Tom Pidcock (Gbr/Pinarello-Q36.5) at +21mins 30secs.
The race concluded with Tadej Pogacar’s historic fifth win on the Champs-Elysees.
Source: bbc.com
