Legend Pogačar hugs Van der Poel and Urska after 'amazing day': 'Too bad Vingegaard dropped out'

Tadej Pogacar, thank you for the show! The Slovenian rider from UAE Emirates-XRG was utterly dominant for three weeks, but in the final two days of the Tour de France, he proved himself to be a legendary athlete. After guiding his UAE teammate Isaac del Toro to third place in the overall standings in Stage 20, he put on a little show with Mathieu van der Poel in Stage 21 in Paris.

The final stage of the Tour de France turned out to be a sensational ride, with Van der Poel and Pogacar taking the lead on the final lap and powering through to the finish. Van der Poel won by a narrow margin, while Pogacar put in another strong effort and then celebrated behind the peloton—having secured his fifth overall victory in the Tour de France.

"It was an amazing day," Pogacar said in his post-race interview, referring to the show he and Van der Poel put on. "I'm speechless—a great day and a great atmosphere. I'm glad it's over and that we've won for the fifth time." Van der Poel even came over personally to thank and congratulate Pogacar after the finish.

With five stage wins, the yellow jersey for virtually the entire Tour, and the final stage in Paris, Pogacar proved himself to be the best rider. With his fifth overall victory, he joined the illustrious ranks of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. And the Slovenian was proud of that. “Every victory is special, but seven podium finishes in seven appearances and five wins—you wouldn’t even have written that down in a notebook beforehand.”

So Pogacar pulled it off, and he’s only 27 years old. He wasn’t ready to look ahead to a sixth overall victory just yet. “This is unbelievable for me. How did I do it? The most important thing is to enjoy what you do, surrounded by people you trust and who help you. They’re there for me, even in my worst moments. That’s how you can build your dreams.”

Pogacar, who was greeted in Paris not only by Van der Poel but also by his fiancée Urska, will now set his sights on “new goals.” He called the Tour’s final podium, featuring Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Del Toro, “magnificent.” “They are great champions whom I’ve competed against. It’s a shame that Jonas Vingegaard had to drop out after a crash.”

"Hopefully we'll be able to compete for it again next year. We've made one dream come true now; let's enjoy that and think about what comes next later. The Vuelta a España? We'll see—I'm going to enjoy this first."