Tadej Pogacar confirmed his status as one of cyclings all-time greats after winning a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title in emphatic style.
Daring mountain attacks from deep, multiple stage wins and an ice-cool temperament all helped the 27-year-old Slovenian seal his victory on Sunday. He joined Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to win five Tours.
Im speechless. Its an incredible day, there was an incredible atmosphere, Pogacar said. Ive ridden seven Tours already and Ive always finished on the podium. You might think this is a fairytale, its incredible for me too.
After competing strongly in Sundays 21st and exciting final stage in Paris, Pogacar finished 6 minutes, 26 seconds ahead of Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel in the overall standings.
Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard was Pogacars main rival heading into the race but the Dane crashed out on the 15th stage.
Shame that Jonas and others crashed out of this Tour, Pogacar said. I hope we can all fight again next year.
Pogacars UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro, a 22-year-old Mexican making his Tour debut, was third at 9:42 back from Pogacar, who smiled and held up his hand to signify his wins. His teammates then joined him as they stood proudly on the Champs-07lyses.
I dont know how I do it, Pogacar said. I now have to find a new goal to chase. Which goal? Lets just not jump ahead of ourselves, and enjoy this moment.
Pogacar won the Giro dItalia in 2024 but has not won the Spanish Vuelta, which starts on August 22.
Will I be at La Vuelta in a few weeks? he said. Lets see.
Peerless Pogacar
Pogacar won five stages at this years race to take his impressive tally to 26 overall.
He tried to win on Sunday, too, but victory ultimately went to Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who just held off the chasing pack on the home straight for his second stage win at this years race and fourth overall.
Sundays 88.7-kilometer (55-mile) stage looped around Paris and was mostly processional, although less so than in previous years, which were usually entirely flat stages for sprinters and not for the rest of the peloton.
The stage was shortened from 133 kilometers and its starting point in Thoiry, west of the capital, was changed to Paris so as to reduce pressure on emergency services combating wildfires in the southwest. Some security forces initially mobilized for Paris were redeployed to help response efforts.
For the second straight year the stage featured the hugely popular uphill climb through the Montmartre district, a sharp 1-kilometer dash which riders tackled three times before finishing on the Champs-07lyses.
It proved even too much for Pogacar, who could not match Van der Poels raw power in the closing stages.
Shortly before 6 p.m. local time, Pogacar shook hands at the start line with Evenepoel and Ecuadorian veteran Richard Carapaz, wearing the polka-dot jersey for the best climber.
I battled hard to win this jersey, it was a great fight, the 33-year-old Carapaz said. Its the best feeling to win it.
Exciting finale
Van der Poel and Dane Mads Pedersen, the green jersey winner as best sprinter, were among the expected contenders for the stage win.
Crowds roared as the riders began the first climb up Rue Lepic in Montmartre, with the famed Sacr-Coeur basilica looming over them.
Pogacar moved ahead after the second ascension of Montmartre, with Van der Poel, Evenepoel and Pedersen alongside him.
Van der Poel attacked on the third and final climb with Pogacar responding well, and the one-day classics rivals surged ahead.
But they were caught with 700 meters left and, after Pogacar faded, the 31-year-old Van der Poel still had work to do.
He got his bike just over the line ahead of Belgian Jasper Philipsen, his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate, and Pedersen. Pogacar eased up and finished 30th.
I thought the sprinters would catch us up so I launched (my attack) from very far away, Van der Poel said. I gave everything I had left in my legs and it was just enough.
Cycling pedigree
Van der Poel is widely considered one of the best cyclists in the world. He has multiple victories in one-day classics and Cyclo-cross world championship titles, and is also a former world road race champion.
His father Adri van der Poel won two stages on the Tour in the late 1980s.
His maternal grandfather was French cyclist Raymond Poulidor, who raced in the 1960s and 70s, finishing second on the Tour three times and third five times. Nicknamed Poupou and The Eternal Runner-up, he was adored by French fans.
Womens Tour
The nine-stage womens Tour starts in the Swiss city of Lausanne on Aug. 1 and finishes in Nice on August 9.
Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prv00t won on debut last year.
塔代伊·波加查（Tadej Pogacar）以压倒性优势赢得第五个环法自行车赛冠军，追平历史纪录，由此奠定了他作为自行车运动史上最伟大选手之一的地位。
这位27岁的斯洛文尼亚选手凭借大胆的深山突围、多次赛段夺冠以及冷静沉着的性格，于周日锁定胜局。他与比利时选手埃迪·默克斯、西班牙选手米格尔·安杜兰、法国选手雅克·安克蒂尔和伯纳德·伊诺比肩，成为仅有的五位五夺环法冠军的车手。
“我无言以对。这是不可思议的一天，现场氛围令人震撼，”波加查说道。“我已经参加了七届环法赛，每次都站上了领奖台。或许你会觉得这像童话故事，但对我来说同样难以置信。”
在周日巴黎站第21赛段激烈而精彩的收官之战后，波加查（Pogacar）以6分26秒的优势力压比利时车手雷姆科·埃费内普尔（Remco Evenepoel），锁定总成绩冠军。
两届环法冠军得主乔纳斯·温格高（Jonas Vingegaard）本是波加查（Pogacar）在本届赛事中的主要竞争对手，但这位丹麦车手在第15赛段意外退赛。
“很遗憾约纳斯（Jonas）和其他选手在本届环法赛中退赛，”波加查（Pogacar）表示，“希望明年我们能再度同场竞技。”
波加查的阿联酋航空车队XRG队友、首次参加环法赛的22岁墨西哥选手伊萨克·德尔托罗以9分42秒之差位列第三。波加查微笑着举起手示意胜利，随后队友们与他一同骄傲地站在香榭丽舍大街上。
“我也不知道自己是怎么做到的，”波加查说道，“现在我得寻找一个新的目标去追逐。什么目标呢？我们暂且不要急于求成，先享受这一刻吧。”
波加查在2024年赢得了环意大利自行车赛冠军，但尚未在8月22日开赛的环西班牙自行车赛中夺冠。
“几周后我会参加环西班牙自行车赛吗？”他说，“拭目以待吧。”
举世无双的波加查
波加查在今年赛事中赢得五个赛段，将其辉煌的总成绩提升至26场胜利。
周日他同样试图夺冠，但胜利最终归属于荷兰选手马修·范德普尔——后者在终点直道顶住追击集团的冲击，斩获本届赛事个人第二个赛段冠军，这也是他职业生涯第四个环法赛段冠军。
周日的赛段全长88.7公里（55英里），环绕巴黎进行，整体上以仪式性骑行为主，但相比往年竞争性有所增强——过去该赛段通常是完全平坦的路线，专为冲刺型选手设计，而其他车手则难以施展。
该赛段从原定的133公里缩短，起点由首都以西的图瓦里调整至巴黎，以减轻西南部野火灾区应急服务部门的压力。部分原定部署在巴黎的安全部队被重新调配至灾区协助救援工作。
这是连续第二年，赛段设置了备受瞩目的蒙马特高地爬坡路线。这段1公里的陡峭冲刺路段，车手们需挑战三次，最终在香榭丽舍大街完成比赛。
事实证明，这对波加查来说也过于艰难，他在最后阶段无法与范德普尔的绝对力量抗衡。
当地时间下午6点前不久，身着代表最佳爬坡选手的圆点衫的波加查在起点线与埃费内普尔和厄瓜多尔老将理查德·卡拉帕兹握手致意。
“我拼尽全力才赢得这件荣誉衫，这是一场激烈的较量，”33岁的卡拉帕兹说道。“获胜的感觉无与伦比。”
激动人心的终章
范德普尔与丹麦选手马德斯·佩德森——这位身着绿衫的冲刺王——都是本赛段冠军的热门人选。
当骑手们开始首次攀登蒙马特区的勒皮克街时，人群发出阵阵欢呼，著名的圣心大教堂在他们头顶巍然矗立。
波加查在第二次攀登蒙马特高地后取得领先，范德普尔、埃费内普尔和佩德森紧随其后。
范德普尔在第三个也是最后一个爬坡段发起进攻，波加查反应迅速，这对一日赛经典对手双双加速领先。
但在距离终点700米处他们被追上，随着波加查（Pogacar）逐渐掉队，31岁的范德普尔（Van der Poel）仍需奋力一搏。
他以微弱优势领先比利时选手、阿尔佩辛-普雷米尔科技车队队友雅斯佩尔·菲利普森以及佩德森，率先冲过终点线。波加查随后放松节奏，以第30名完赛。
“我以为短跑选手会追上我们，所以我在很远的地方就发起了进攻，”范德普尔说道。“我拼尽了双腿最后的力量，刚好足够。”
自行车运动世家
范德普尔被公认为全球最优秀的自行车运动员之一。他曾在多项单日古典赛中夺冠，并多次赢得公路越野世界锦标赛冠军头衔，同时还曾荣膺公路自行车世界冠军。
他的父亲阿德里·范德普尔在20世纪80年代末曾两次赢得环法自行车赛赛段冠军。
他的外祖父是法国自行车运动员雷蒙·普利多尔（Raymond Poulidor），活跃于20世纪60至70年代，曾三次获得环法自行车赛亚军、五次季军。因其昵称“普普”和“永恒的第二名”而被法国车迷所喜爱。
女子巡回赛
这项为期九赛段的女子自行车巡回赛将于8月1日在瑞士洛桑开赛，并于8月9日在尼斯收官。
法国选手波琳·费朗-普雷沃去年首次参赛便夺得冠军。
