Paris: Pogacar secures fifth Tour de France victory as Van der Poel wins final stage
Pogacar’s historic win
Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia has achieved a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, concluding the race on Paris’s Champs-Elysees. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider now joins an elite group of cyclists who have won the endurance event five times. This victory marks Pogacar’s third consecutive Tour de France win.
Pogacar’s dominant performance included five stage wins throughout the race, notably a record-breaking ascent of Alpe d’Huez on stage 19. His career now boasts 127 wins over 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.
The cyclist expressed gratitude for his victory, thanking fans, his team, and especially his family for their lifelong support. He noted the unlikelihood of his achievements, stating, “Seven Tours and seven times on the podium, and five wins, is something you wouldn’t even maybe write in a story book, and it’s unbelievable for me.” He also acknowledged the competitive field, wishing a quick recovery to other champions like Jonas Vingegaard.
Dramatic final stage in Paris
The final stage in Paris, shortened to 89km due to wildfires in south-west France, saw a dramatic finish. The stage was won by the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech. Van der Poel charged ahead with 11km remaining, battling with Pogacar through the narrow lanes over Montmartre and past Sacre-Coeur.
Van der Poel managed to maintain his lead against a chasing pack, including his team-mate Jasper Philipsen, to secure the victory. This win adds to his list of prestigious one-day race successes, including multiple victories in Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. The stage reduction was a result of emergency services being redeployed to tackle wildfires, which had destroyed over 36,000 hectares of forest near Bordeaux and Biscarrosse.
Key jersey winners and overall standings
The Tour de France saw several riders excel in different classifications. Richard Carapaz of Ecuador, riding for EF Education-Easypost, claimed the king of the mountains’ polka dot jersey. Carapaz won stage 18 and stage 20, accumulating points after 5,450km of climbing.
The green points jersey was awarded to Denmark’s Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, who demonstrated tenacious riding on climbs and won stage four. He surpassed several sprinters, including Philipsen, for the jersey. Pogacar’s Mexican team-mate, Isaac del Toro, secured third place overall and the white jersey for the best young rider, a position he consolidated with Pogacar’s assistance on the ‘queen’ stage to Alpe d’Huez.
The overall general classification after stage 21 saw Pogacar finish with a time of 73hrs 56mins 26secs. Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe placed second, 6mins 26secs behind Pogacar, while Del Toro was third, 9mins 42secs back. Other notable finishers included Paul Seixas in fourth, Lenny Martinez in fifth, and Tom Pidcock in ninth place.
The race also saw challenges for other teams, with Netcompany Ineos Cycling failing to secure a stage victory. Jonas Vingegaard, a previous winner, abandoned the race after breaking his collarbone on stage 15, an incident that led to scrutiny of the International Testing Agency (ITA) for early morning anti-doping tests.
The final stage results for the top ten were: 1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Premier Tech) 1hr 58mins 49secs, 2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel/Alpecin-Premier Tech) at the same time, 3. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek), 4. Max Kanter (Ger/XDS-Astana), 5. Olav Kooij (Ned/Decathlon-CMA CGM), 6. Matej Mohoric (Slo/Bahrain-Victorious), 7. Rick Pluimers (Ned/Tudor Pro-cycling), 8. Anthony Turgis (Fra/Total Energies), 9. Milan Fretin (Bel/Cofidis), and 10. Clement Russo (Fra/Groupama-FDJ United).
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Source: bbc.com
