Tadej Pogacar Set to Win Fifth Tour de France, Equalling All-Time Record

Tadej Pogacar will secure a historic fifth Tour de France title on Sunday in Paris, equalling the all-time record held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, after a breathtaking Stage 20 in the French Alps.

The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader enters the final 89km procession to the Champs-Élysées with an unassailable lead of six minutes and 26 seconds over Belgian rival Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Barring a catastrophic crash on the largely ceremonial final stage, Pogacar will join the most exclusive club in cycling history — five riders who have each won the Tour five times.

Stage 20, the punishing 170.9km "queen" stage with 5,450 metres of climbing across three beyond-category mountains, provided a fitting crescendo. Ecuador's Richard Carapaz (EF Education-Easypost) claimed his second stage win in three days on the legendary Alpe d'Huez ascent, also securing the king of the mountains polka dot jersey in the process. Carapaz swept past American Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) after Kuss suffered two crashes — the second nearly sending him off a cliff before safety netting intervened.

But the most memorable moment came when Pogacar, rather than chasing his own 27th stage victory, paced his 22-year-old Mexican teammate Isaac Del Toro up the final climb. The pair crossed the line arm-in-arm, securing Del Toro third place overall and the white jersey for the best young rider. "Massive respect for what all the guys have been doing in the past three weeks," Pogacar said. "I finally experienced being a domestique myself."

Pogacar's 26 career stage wins at the Tour underline his dominance, but his selfless ride for Del Toro revealed a champion thinking beyond his own palmares. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) will claim the green points jersey, France's Paul Seixas (Decathlon-AG2R) faded to fourth, and Britain's Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) finishes ninth overall.

The final stage has been shortened from 133km to 89km after emergency services were diverted to tackle devastating wildfires in southwestern France. The route now includes a passage over Montmartre, potentially opening the stage to attackers beyond the traditional sprinters.

Sources

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/c1d141dl2qro