Tadej Pogacar almost crowned his fourth Tour de France victory on Sunday with a stage win in Paris. The 26-year-old Slovenian is primarily looking forward to rest and quiet after a three-week battle with Jonas Vingegaard.
Before the official start of the 21st stage, Pogacar and Vingegaard seek each other out. The two rivals and their teams regularly waged a cold war this Tour, but that is forgotten on the last Sunday.
For the fifth year in a row, the Tour de France revolved around a duel between Pogacar and Vingegaard. “Jonas and I spoke today in the neutralization about how much has changed since 2021,” Pogacar said after the final stage. “We have pushed each other to a very high level. It was very difficult to fight with Jonas again. All respect to him.”
The leader of UAE Team Emirates was clearly the strongest this Tour. In the final standings, he has a lead of 4 minutes and 24 seconds over Vingegaard. Pogacar previously won the biggest cycling race in 2020, 2021 and 2024. With four victories, he is on equal footing with Chris Froome. Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain are the record holders with five.
“I am speechless,” said Pogacar. “Winning the Tour four times. And on the podium for the sixth year in a row. This feels extra special. I am super proud to be in yellow in Paris again.”
Pogacar didn’t actually want to compete for stage win
Pogacar came very close to his fifth stage victory of this Tour in the French capital. In the revamped final stage, with three ascents of Montmartre, he showed himself at the front again. In the end, Wout van Aert was just too strong.
“I didn’t actually have the energy and motivation to compete for the victory today,” said Pogacar. “But suddenly I was at the front. I was very happy that the jury decided not to count the time differences for the classification. That allowed me to race more relaxed. It was a nice stage this way. And all praise to Wout.”
Pogacar indicated several times in recent days that this Tour was his toughest so far. He is therefore looking forward to a few relaxing days on the couch, at home in Monaco.
“Everyone has their own way of celebrating a victory,” said the Tour winner. “I like to celebrate my victories in peace and quiet. So I’m going to do that next week. Nice at home, with hopefully better weather than the rain today here in Paris.”