Tadej Pogačar wins fifth Tour de France as Van der Poel triumphs in Paris

Tadej Pogačar has claimed the **2026 Tour de France**, the **113th edition** of the Grande Boucle, securing his **fifth career victory** and equalling the all-time record for wins in the French race. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates dominated the competition, which concluded on July 26 in Paris after three weeks of racing that began on July 4 with the Grand Départ in Barcelona.

The race produced drama from the opening stages onward. Following Visma-Lease a Bike's victory in the opening team time trial and Jonas Vingegaard's brief stint in the yellow jersey, Pogačar reclaimed the overall lead as early as stage 3, only to surrender it temporarily to Torstein Træen on stage 4. The decisive moment came on the Col du Tourmalet, where Pogačar attacked with 5 km to the summit to retake the maillot jaune with a performance that effectively decided the Tour.

Over the following weeks Pogačar added five stage wins to his palmarès, including a memorable victory atop Alpe d'Huez on stage 19. Jonas Vingegaard's withdrawal after a crash on stage 15 further cleared the path for the Slovenian, with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) left to contest second place overall.

The final act, stage 21 from Thoiry to the Paris Champs-Élysées, delivered a thrilling conclusion. On the cobbled climb of the Butte Montmartre, world champion Mathieu van der Poel broke away with the leading sprinters and then held off Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen in a frantic dash to the line, claiming the stage win on the Champs-Élysées. Pogačar celebrated his fifth title beneath the Arc de Triomphe, with general classification times frozen for the final day.

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) secured the mountains classification and the super-combativity award, while US national champion Quinn Simmons was named best teammate for the second year running.

Sources

• Cyclingnews