Tadej Pogacar wins the 111th Tour de France – making a historic double success perfect. In the final time trial in Nice, the Slovenian once again shows his class.
Tadej Pogacar disappeared into the evening sun of the Côte d’Azur in a white and yellow crowd of cheering and was passionately cheered by his teammates for his historic triumph in the 111th Tour de France. “I am very happy. I can’t describe how happy I am after two tough years in the Tour. This year everything went perfectly,” said the 25-year-old after he had perfected his third overall victory in the three-week national tour in Nice.
The winner of the Giro d’Italia thus became the first professional cyclist since Marco Pantani 26 years ago to achieve the rare double victory in both Grand Tours. Only seven riders had previously achieved this, including cycling idol Eddy Merckx.
“Not a bad day” for Pogacar
“This is unbelievable. Winning the Tour is a different level. And the double is another level,” said the visibly happy winner. “This is the first Tour where I was full of confidence every day. I didn’t have a bad day.”
The Slovenian also showed his class on the final stage. And he confirmed why many experts consider him the best cyclist in the world. In the 33.7-kilometer individual time trial between Monaco and Nice, Pogacar won the race against the clock in another show of power ahead of last year’s winner Jonas Vingegaard and the Belgian time trial world champion Remco Evenepoel. Pogacar celebrated his sixth Tour day victory this year, his 17th stage win overall.
In the overall ranking, Pogacar was 6:17 minutes ahead of his great rival Vingegaard. Evenepoel was third overall, 9:18 minutes behind. For the first time in Tour history, the final was not held in Paris. In the capital, Olympic preparations are currently in full swing.
Despite being replaced by the Tour leader, Vingegaard kept a smile on his face. He walked through the finish area hand in hand with his pregnant wife Trine and daughter Frida.
Pogacar takes the lead again in the duel with Vingegaard
In the big Tour duel with rival Vingegaard, Pogacar took first place again and now leads the overall victories 3-2. The Dane had claimed the last two Tour triumphs, Pogacar had been successful twice before that. Cycling fans around the world had longed for a duel of the titans between Pogacar and Vingegaard in the final time trial. But the excitement was lacking due to Pogacar’s clear time advantage.
Things looked different in 1989, when the last time there was a final time trial. At that time, the American Greg LeMond spectacularly defeated the Frenchman Laurent Fignon with a razor-thin lead of just eight seconds.
The Slovenian did not allow such tension to build up. He was simply too strong. Vingegaard performed better than many expected after his serious injury in the spring, but he could hardly do anything against his opponent. In principle, it was a creeping defeat. Pogacar, who had confidently defended the yellow jersey since the fourth stage, regularly took some time away from his opponent – and gradually increased his lead.
In the third week, Pogacar’s collapse, as Vingegaard’s team had hoped, failed to materialize. Quite the opposite: in the mountain challenges in the Pyrenees and Alps, he clearly defeated Vingegaard again. Sports director Grischa Niermann from Vingegaard’s team admitted: “Pogacar is the strongest.”
Eritrean Girmay best sprinter of the 111th Tour
The final stage started in Monaco with the challenging ups and downs including a rapid descent. All eyes were on Pogacar in the home of many super-rich people. This is where he lives. “He knows every corner here, he knows the route very well,” said Pogacar’s German teammate Nils Politt.
There was great applause for the Eritrean Biniam Girmay both in Monaco and in the finish area. The team-mate of the German rider Georg Zimmermann asserted himself as the best sprinter of the 111th edition in front of many fans from his home country in Nice, ahead of the sprint elite around the Belgian Jasper Philipsen. Girmay had sensationally won his first Tour stage this year. Two more daily victories followed. The Olympic champion Richard Carapaz from Ecuador finished the prestigious race as the strongest climber.
Cavendish finishes Tour last
Freiburg’s Simon Geschke had already worn the polka dot jersey for nine days in 2022. On Sunday, the Berlin native said au revoir after his twelfth and final Tour. The 38-year-old veteran will retire at the end of the season.
Top sprinter Mark Cavendish will also probably not compete in the Tour again. After winning the fifth stage and securing the sole record for stage wins with his 35th day win, he finished the Tour in last place on Sunday. When asked whether this was the last race of his career, the 39-year-old replied: “Very likely.”
Source: Stern
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