Tadej Pogacar cemented his place among cycling's immortals on Sunday by winning his fifth Tour de France, matching the all-time record held by Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, and Miguel Indurain.
The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crossed the finish line on the Champs-Élysées safely in the peloton, sealing a dominant campaign built on five stage victories and a race margin of six minutes and 26 seconds over runner-up Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgohe). Mexican teammate Isaac Del Toro completed the podium in third, nine minutes and 42 seconds adrift, capping a remarkable Grand Tour debut.
"I'm speechless," Pogacar said after the stage. "It's an incredible day, there was an incredible atmosphere. I've ridden seven Tours already and I've always finished on the podium. You might think this is a fairytale — it's incredible for me too."
Pogacar's fifth triumph was sealed with an awe-inspiring ride up Alpe d'Huez on stage 19, where he shattered the climb's long-standing record and effectively ended any lingering hopes of his rivals. The Slovenian had taken the yellow jersey on stage two and never relinquished it, demonstrating the blend of explosive acceleration and metronomic consistency that has made him the most dominant rider of his generation.
The final stage in Paris provided its own drama as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) launched a daring attack over the Montmartre cobbles with 11 kilometres remaining, holding off a charging pack to win on the famous boulevard by inches ahead of teammate Jasper Philipsen. Van der Poel collapsed off his bike after crossing the line, having emptied himself completely to add a Champs-Élysées victory to a palmares that already includes multiple Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders titles.
"I gave everything I had left in my legs and it was just enough," Van der Poel said.
The stage was shortened from 133 kilometres to 88.7 kilometres after emergency services were redirected to tackle wildfires in southwestern France, but the revised route produced three ascents of the steep Montmartre climb that kept the racing intense throughout.
Pogacar's victory places him in an exclusive club of five-time winners and fuels the debate about whether he has already surpassed Merckx as the greatest rider in history. With 127 professional wins at just 27, including the Giro d'Italia, Tour of Flanders, and Road World Championships, the Slovenian shows no sign of slowing down.
"I now have to find a new goal to chase," he said. "Which goal? Let's just not jump ahead of ourselves, and enjoy this moment."
Sources
- https://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/articles/c07r8d4d2z5o
- https://apnews.com/article/tour-de-france-pogacar-b1e594c14eef9686ed99676e3c61921c
