By JEROME PUGMIRE
PARIS (AP) — Tadej Pogačar received his fourth Tour de France title by a cushty margin after Sunday’s ultimate stage, which he tried to win although he didn’t must.
The 26-year-old Slovenian rider received the Tour final 12 months and in 2020 and 2021.
Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard completed the general race 4 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pogačar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was 11 minutes adrift in third.
Belgian rider Wout van Aert received the twenty first and final stage, which broke with custom and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill.
Due to the danger of heavy rain and crashes, organizers had earlier determined to neutralize the occasions 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the top, successfully giving Pogačar the victory — however offering he crossed the end line.
Pogačar had no must contest the stage win, particularly given the hazard of crashing on slick roads. But because the rain fell closely, he confirmed his relentless thirst for victory and attacked anyway, setting an amazing tempo within the Montmartre climbs as followers cheered all alongside the cobbled Rue Lepic, with flags and followers hanging out of home windows.
Solely 5 riders have been left with Pogačar on the third ascension of the 1.1-kilometer Montmartre hill.
After warding off American Matteo Jorgenson, he was caught chilly close to the highest as Van Aert launched a surprising assault to drop — sure, drop! — Pogačar, the world’s finest climber, on the steepest part.
Van Aert rolled again down for a prestigious stage win on the famed Champs-Élysées. Pogačar seemed weary as he crossed the road in fourth place, 19 seconds behind.
However then it was time to have a good time title No. 4.
Solely 4 riders have received the showcase race 5 occasions: Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Induráin and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault.
Pogačar received 4 levels this 12 months to take his Tour tally to 21 and 30 at main races, together with six on the Giro d’Italia and three on the Spanish Vuelta.
Lipowitz secured his first profession podium at a Grand Tour, the choice identify given to the three main races.
His efficiency, following his third-placed end final month on the Critérium du Dauphiné, suggests the 24-year-old German rider might problem within the close to future.
Breaking with custom
Historically, the final stage is basically processional with riders doing laps round Paris. The Tour broke with custom after the success of the Paris Olympics highway race, which additionally took in Montmartre, well-known for its Sacre Coeur basilica.
5 in a row
It was the fifth straight 12 months the place Pogačar and Vingegaard completed 1-2 on the Tour.
Vingegaard was second in 2021, earlier than beating Pogačar the following two years, with the Slovenian second. When Pogačar reclaimed his title final 12 months, Vingegaard was runner-up.
5 main titles
Pogačar has additionally received the Giro d’Italia, doing so final 12 months to turn out to be the primary bicycle owner to safe the Giro and Tour double in the identical season because the late Marco Pantani in 1998.
However Pogačar has not but received the Spanish Vuelta, whereas Anquetil, Hinault and Merckx received all three main races.
A century of success
When Pogačar received the hilly fourth stage of this 12 months’s race, it was the one hundredth skilled victory of his stellar profession, all occasions mixed.
Pogačar can also be the world highway race champion.
He warmed up for this 12 months’s Tour with a dominant victory on the Critérium, persevering with his glorious kind within the spring classics, the place he received Liège–Bastogne–Liège for the third time.
After profitable stage 4 of the Tour, Pogačar added three extra stage wins, together with an emphatic uphill time trial.
What’s left to win?
He would like to win the Paris-Roubaix basic and Milan-San Remo.
The 259.2-kilometer (161-mile) Roubaix race known as “The Hell of the North” due to its harmful cobblestone sections.
Pogačar’s debut look on the one-day basic this 12 months noticed him searching for to turn out to be the primary Tour champion to win it since Hinault in 1981. However highly effective Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel received it for the third straight 12 months.
Pogačar has additionally but to win Milan-San Remo, with Van der Poel additionally beating him there this 12 months.
Count on a fired-up Pogačar subsequent 12 months at Roubaix and Milan-San Remo.
Nevertheless it’s unclear whether or not he’ll sort out the Vuelta.
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Initially Revealed: July 27, 2025 at 11:37 AM PDT
