Tadej Pogačar wins fourth fourth Tour de France title
PARIS — Tadej Pogacar claimed his fourth Tour de France title on Sunday, cementing his status as the most dominant rider of his generation and joining Britain’s Chris Froome on the all-time winners’ list.
The 26-year-old Slovenian, who previously triumphed in 2020, 2021 and 2024, delivered a near-flawless performance over three weeks, excelling in every department, even coming close to prevailing on a spectacular final stage on the Champs Elysees after an epic duel with Belgian Wout van Aert.
Pogačar had no need to contest the stage win, especially given the danger of crashing on slick roads. Yet as the rain fell heavily, he showed his relentless thirst for victory and attacked anyway, setting a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered.
Only five riders were left with Pogačar on the third ascension of the 1.1-kilometer Montmartre hill, with Van Aert winning the 21st stage.
“This was one of the hardest Tours I’ve ever been in,” Pogacar said.
Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard finished the overall race 4 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pogačar in second place and Florian Lipowitz, making his Tour debut, was 11 minutes back in third.
The competitive element was largely neutralized Sunday after organizers decided to freeze the times with about 50 kilometers left in the stage due to hazardous road conditions in driving rain.
It did not prevent Pogacar from going for it, but Van Aert proved to be the best on the day, beating Italian Davide Ballerini and third-placed Matej Mohoric. Pogacar took fourth place.
The world champion effectively sealed his victory in the Pyrenees, with a brutal attack on the climb to Hautacam and a commanding victory in the uphill individual time trial, leaving Vingegaard more than four minutes behind before controlling the race.
With his latest triumph, Pogacar equals Froome (2013, 2015-17) and now only trails cycling greats Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain, who share the record with five titles.
Pogacar also secured the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification, underlining his all-round dominance, while Italy’s Jonathan Milan clinched the green jersey for the points competition.
Lipowitz won the white jersey for the best U-25 rider.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.