Tadej Pogacar just sealed his record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, cementing his spot among the absolute legends of endurance cycling. The 27-year-old Slovenian phenom, riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, literally said his reality is “something you wouldn’t even maybe write in a story book” after crossing the finish line on the Champs-Elysees. Talk about making history feel unreal!
The Unstoppable Force of Pogacar
This guy’s run is just absurd. Pogacar’s now joined an exclusive club with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain as the most successful male riders in the Tour. Many are already calling him the greatest cyclist of all time, even superseding Belgian legend Merckx. This isn’t just a fluke win, either, it’s his *third straight* Tour de France victory! Remember that insane, record-breaking ascent of Alpe d’Huez on stage 19? Yeah, that’s where he really stamped his authority, snagging one of his four stage wins in this race. His rivals? They’ve had “virtually no answer” to his “explosive launch and unmatchable metronomic pace.” It’s so dominant, some fans even booed him, feeling the sport’s competitive edge was slipping away. But hey, when you’ve got 126 wins in an eight-year career and almost every major race under your belt, including Tour of Flanders, Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Road World Championships, Giro di Lombardia, and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, what are you gonna do?
Champs-Elysees Chaos: Van der Poel’s Epic Win
While Pogacar was riding into history, the final stage on the Champs-Elysees delivered some incredible drama itself. Usually, it’s a formality for the overall winner, ending in a flat bunch sprint. But thanks to organizers ASO adding a cobbled climb over Montmartre hill last year, it’s become a battle for the powerful riders. This year, it was Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech who absolutely snatched stage 21, beating Denmark’s Mads Pedersen by inches after a wild charge. Van der Poel, a classics legend with multiple Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders wins, went for it with 11km left, with Pogacar even initially alongside him. They were flying through those narrow Montmartre lanes, knocking phones out of fans’ hands! Eventually, after three weeks of pure dominance, Pogacar started to fade, and Van der Poel, using his incredible strength, just barely held off a rapidly closing chasing pack. He collapsed off his bike at the finish, totally spent. That’s how you win one of the most prestigious sprint stages!
Pogacar himself summed it up perfectly: “Victory is really special. 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 gave massive thanks to his family, team, and fans, acknowledging the “magnificent podium with some incredible champions to fight with.” It’s a bummer Jonas Vingegaard crashed out this time, and Pogacar hopes he and other injured riders recover quick. You know he’s already looking forward to fighting them again next year. The question is, can anyone *actually* stop this guy? We’ll be waiting to find out when the peloton gears up again!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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