Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia has achieved a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory, joining an elite group of cyclists. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider finished the final stage on Paris’ Champs-Elysees within the peloton. This win marks Pogacar’s third Tour win in succession.
The final stage of the three-week Grand Tour saw Mathieu van der Poel from the Netherlands, representing Alpecin-Premier Tech, claim victory. He secured the win in a close finish on the cobbled streets of the French capital, narrowly beating his team-mate Jasper Philipsen of Belgium.
Wildfires impact final stage
The final stage of the Tour de France was shortened to 89km due to wildfires in other parts of France. Organisers, ASO, in conjunction with prefecture police, announced that internal security forces were redeployed to assist with wildfire response efforts. The stage began on the Champs-Élysées, including two laps of the avenue followed by circuits of the Butte Montmartre.
Wildfires near Arcachon lagoon and Biscarrosse in the Landes region have affected over 36,000 hectares of forest. This marks the third stage of this year’s race to be impacted by prefecture intervention due to either wildfires or a heatwave.
During the final stage, Van der Poel launched an attack with Pogacar with 11km remaining. They navigated the narrow lanes over Montmartre and past Sacre-Coeur. Van der Poel maintained his lead against a chasing group that included several sprinters, crossing the finish line first.
Key performances and jersey winners
Pogacar’s victory included a dominant performance on stage 19, featuring a record-breaking ascent of Alpe d’Huez, where he secured one of his five stage wins in the race. His consistent pace and explosive launches proved challenging for his competitors.
Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe finished second overall, six minutes 26 seconds behind Pogacar. Pogacar’s Mexican team-mate, Isaac del Toro, secured third place in the general classification, finishing nine minutes 42 seconds behind. Del Toro also claimed the white jersey for the best young rider, having been aided by Pogacar during stage 2 and the ‘queen’ stage to Alpe d’Huez.
The king of the mountains’ polka dot jersey was won by Richard Carapaz of Ecuador, riding for EF Education-Easypost. Carapaz demonstrated strong form later in the race, winning stage 18 and stage 20 after accumulating significant climbing points.
The green points jersey went to Denmark’s Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. Pedersen’s consistent riding, including a win on stage 4 and points collected on climbs, allowed him to secure this jersey over other sprinters like Philipsen.
Britain’s Tom Pidcock of Pinarello-Q36.5 finished ninth in the general classification. His team, Netcompany Ineos Cycling, did not record a stage victory in this year’s Tour. Fellow Briton Adam Yates, the rider, showed resilience after falling ill on stage 16, later assisting Pogacar on a climb during stage 19.
Challenges and controversies
The race was not without incident. Jonas Vingegaard, a previous winner in 2022 and 2023, abandoned the race on stage 15 after breaking his collarbone. This occurred after he was reportedly woken at 2am for an anti-doping test by the International Testing Agency (ITA), an unusual timing that the ITA stated was due to “exceptional circumstances.”
Concerns about crowd control were raised following incidents on Alpe d’Huez. These included motorbikes being stalled by spectators and a crash involving Movistar climber Einer Rubio, who abandoned the race after colliding with a team car. The crash, which resulted in Rubio receiving 20 stitches for facial injuries, was attributed to an unruly spectator causing a car to brake suddenly.
The final general classification results show Pogacar with a time of 73 hours 56 minutes 26 seconds, followed by Evenepoel at +6 minutes 26 seconds, and Del Toro at +9 minutes 42 seconds.
Source: bbc.com
