Nice: Tadej Pogacar has become the first rider since 1998 to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, securing his third Tour title on Sunday. His dominant performance included winning the final stage for a total of six stage victories in this year’s Tour.
The Slovenian cyclist finished with a commanding margin of six minutes and 17 seconds ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard from Denmark, who placed second overall. Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel rounded out the top three.
“I’m super happy, I cannot describe how happy I am after two hard years in the Tour de France, always some mistakes and this year, everything to perfection,” Pogacar said.
Pogacar excelled in the 33.7-km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice, clocking a time of 45 minutes and 24 seconds. He defeated Vingegaard by a significant one minute and three seconds, demonstrating his supremacy.
Despite his substantial lead going into the final stage, Pogacar showed no restraint and aggressively pursued the stage win, achieving his third consecutive victory on the final day.
Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay claimed the green jersey for the points classification, while Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz secured the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification. Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates also won the team classification. Evenepoel, who won the stage seven time trial, earned the white jersey for the best young rider, finishing 9:18 behind the overall winner.
This year’s Tour concluded outside Paris for the first time in its 121-year history due to the upcoming Olympic Games. It was also the first Tour to end with a time trial since 1989, when Greg LeMond overtook Laurent Fignon on the final day. However, Pogacar’s dominant lead made this conclusion less dramatic.
Pogacar maintained the lead from stage four, extending his advantage after winning stages 14 and 15, and further solidifying his victory with successive wins on stages 19 and 20.
Vingegaard, who had been sidelined for three months due to a collapsed lung and fractured rib from the Tour of the Basque Country, managed a stage win despite never being a serious contender for the title. On stage 11, he outpaced Pogacar for the victory and moved into second place after finishing as the runner-up on stage 14.
Evenepoel, who had hoped to replicate his time trial success, was overtaken by Vingegaard at the first checkpoint. Once Pogacar began his final time trial, it was evident he was focused on clinching the stage win and showcasing his dominance throughout the Tour.
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Pogacar’s achievement marks the first Giro/Tour double since Marco Pantani and makes him only the eighth rider to accomplish this feat, having also won six stages on his way to Giro victory.
“I think this is the first Grand Tour where I was totally confident every day, even in the Giro I remember I had one bad day I won’t tell which one,” Pogacar said. “This year’s Tour de France was just amazing and I was enjoying it since day one until today.”
