Tadej Pogacar wins Tour de France for a record-equalling fifth time

The Tour triumph marks the Slovenian’s 3rd triumph successful a enactment and draws him level with 4 others connected the all-time list

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar secured a record-equalling 5th Tour de France rubric connected Sunday aft safely navigating the last stage, won by Mathieu van ⁠der Poel, to seal a 3rd consecutive crown successful cycling’s top race.

The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates XRGcyclist, affectionately known arsenic “Pogi”, lone needed to debar a race-ending mishap connected the tally into Paris to articulation Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and ⁠Miguel Indurain arsenic a five-time Tour champion.

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Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel finished 2nd overall, portion Mexico’s Isaac del Toro rounded retired the wide podium successful third.

“Thank you to each the fans and to each of France for hosting this large race,” Pogacar said.

“Thank you to my competitors for putting connected a large show. We fought hard implicit the past 3 weeks.”

Van der Poel takes last stage

Pogacar ‌and Van der Poel broke distant connected the last ascent of Montmartre with astir 10km (6 miles) remaining and took a slender vantage into the tally to the Champs-Elysees arsenic the chasing radical closed relentlessly.

The Slovenian’s situation faded wrong the last kilometre, but Van der Poel pressed connected to unafraid triumph successful a photograph decorativeness up of Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen, with Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek successful third.

“When I was sick past year, and I had to ticker the signifier connected television, I was already reasoning astir this moment,” Van der Poel, 31, said.

“The mode it went, it’s a dream. It’s ⁠incredible. It was ace hard, and to beryllium up determination with the champion rider successful ⁠the world, each my respect for Tadej.

“I thought we were going to get caught back, past I was conscionable reasoning astir this moment. I enactment my caput down successful the past 500 metres. I conscionable went arsenic hard arsenic I could.

“I’m ace happy. I person a fewer races ⁠I inactive wanted to triumph successful my career, and this was 1 of them.”

Premier Tech’s Mathieu Van Der Poel holds a bouquet connected the podium aft winning signifier 21 [Papon Bernard/Reuters]

Supreme Pogacar

Pogacar underlined his supremacy passim the Tour by claiming 5 signifier victories.

His way to a 3rd ⁠straight yellowish jersey became little analyzable erstwhile two-time Tour victor Jonas Vingegaard, ⁠widely regarded arsenic his main challenger, withdrew aft a clang connected Stage 15.

The Tour’s accepted finale successful Paris was shortened aft information forces were redeployed to help tackle wildfires adjacent Bordeaux. As a result, Stage 21, which customarily takes the peloton into Paris earlier respective laps of the Champs-Elysees, was reduced ‌to 89km from the 133km primitively scheduled.

This year’s contention besides produced a singular first: nary rider from France, Italy oregon Spain won a stage, making it the archetypal Tour de France without a signifier triumph from immoderate of the ‌three ‌nations that created and big cycling’s Grand Tours.

Pogacar’s latest triumph caps 3 weeks of racing since the Grand Depart successful Barcelona and further cements his presumption arsenic the ascendant rider of his generation.

UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Tadej Pogacar, wearing the yellowish jersey, and UAE Team Emirates XRG’s Isaac Del Toro, wearing the achromatic jersey, observe with their teammates aft signifier 21 [Garnier Etienne/Reuters]