It needed to be him. Probably the most novel finale to the Tour de France within the race’s historical past nonetheless contrived to supply essentially the most predictable of endings, as Tadej Pogačar cruised to his sixth stage victory to crown a crushing total win.
When the concluding Good time trial was confirmed two years in the past, ASO probably dreamt of a repeat of 1989 and all that, when Greg LeMond snatched yellow from Laurent Fignon on the final. There was merely no manner, nonetheless, of Pogi-proofing this yr’s race. The Slovenian has merely been on one other degree to all comers in 2024, divesting the grand finale of all suspense.
Certainly, Pogačar additionally achieved the outstanding feat of profitable the final three levels of this Tour. The UAE Workforce Emirates rider ended the race as a contest along with his solo effort at Isola 2000 on Friday after which he hammered dwelling the purpose by sprinting previous Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) to win once more on the Col de la Couillole.
Pogačar entered Sunday’s time trial from Monaco to Good already armed with a lead of greater than 5 minutes on Vingegaard. Some puzzled if Pogačar would take his foot off the gasoline right here. No probability. As a substitute, he delivered one other high-octane show, beating his rival by 1:03 to stretch his closing profitable margin out to six:17.
For the previous two years, Pogačar had stood on the second step of the rostrum on the Champs-Élysées, watching as Vingegaard was feted within the yellow jersey. The roles had been reversed on Good’s Place Masséna on Sunday night, the place Pogačar claimed his third title and in addition grew to become the eighth rider in historical past to win the Giro d’Italia and Tour in the identical yr.
“I can not describe how comfortable I’m,” Pogačar mentioned earlier than the rostrum ceremony. “I had two laborious years within the Tour de France, all the time some errors. And this yr, every little thing to perfection. I’m out of phrases, I’m tremendous comfortable to win right here, it’s unimaginable.”
The setting might have been unfamiliar for the Tour, however Pogačar, a resident of Monaco, had detailed information of the route of the ultimate stage, which took in his and his companion Urška Žigart’s coaching roads alongside the Côte d’Azur.
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The very Olympic Video games that created this Good finale are simply 5 days away, however Pogačar had no considered sparing himself for Paris right here. At one level on the drop into Good, with the Tour and the stage lengthy since received, the speedometer on the bike behind him hit 93 kph.
“In my head I might hear Urška saying that she hates me for doing this street on a regular basis in coaching,” Pogačar mentioned. “We did it so many occasions this yr, so I mentioned I’d not waste it. I’d hold it underneath management, however I’d not waste the preparations for at this time.”
Double
Pogačar has been hailed as the best rider of his era – and the best since Eddy Merckx or Bernard Hinault – roughly since he coasted to his second Tour victory in 2021. Since then, nonetheless, it had begun to seem that Vingegaard had his quantity within the month of July, very like Rafa Nadal’s superiority over Roger Federer on the clay courts of Roland-Garros.
Final winter, when Pogačar introduced his choice to aim the Giro-Tour double in 2024, the corsa rosa had the texture of an insurance coverage coverage given Vingegaard’s pre-eminence within the earlier two summers. No person had achieved the double for the reason that late Marco Pantani in 1998, and even a few of those that tried it efficiently intimated that that they had produced their finest performances of the yr in Italy.
Pogačar in some way gave the impression to be the exception to the rule. UAE Workforce Emirates sports activities supervisor Matxin Joxean Fernandez confirmed to Cyclingnews in Good what the stratospheric climbing occasions on this Tour had prompt – Pogačar’s degree in July was one other rung above his dominant Giro show.
“I believe that is the primary Grand Tour the place I used to be completely assured every single day,” Pogačar mentioned. “Even within the Giro I keep in mind I had one dangerous day. I received’t inform which one. This yr, the Tour de France was simply wonderful, I used to be having fun with from day one till at this time.
“If I solely received the Giro, that will already be an unimaginable yr. However to win the Tour is one other degree. And to win the 2 of them collectively is one other degree above that degree.”
In France, as in Italy, Pogačar racked up six stage wins, together with 5 within the chief’s jersey. All advised, the 25-year-old has racked up an astounding 21 victories to date this season – ‘to date’ being the operative expression. In addition to the Paris Olympics, Pogačar confirmed that he had designs on the World Championships in Zürich, and a Triple Crown beforehand achieved solely by Merckx, Stephen Roche and Annemiek van Vleuten.
“[Mathieu] van der Poel seems to be actually good on the earth champion’s jersey however this yr I wish to take it from him,” mentioned Pogačar. “We are going to see, however I would like one time the rainbow jersey on my again. However I nonetheless have time for that.”
Doubts
The Tour winner’s speech is a convention that was inaugurated virtually 20 years in the past for Lance Armstrong. His 2005 victory, just like the six that preceded it, was rescinded, however his speech admonishing the “cynics and the sceptics” has endured in infamy.
The boys who’ve succeeded him have all opted for fairly humbler and conciliatory orations, some choosing humour, others displaying uncooked emotion. Pogačar is so accustomed to profitable that he was by no means possible to reply to one other Tour victory with tears. As a substitute, he had smiling phrases of reward for his rivals and the race they produced when he was handed the microphone on the rostrum, with Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel by his facet.
“I need to say how comfortable I’m to win this Tour, how loopy the journey was, how loopy the battles had been with Jonas and Remco and Primož [Roglič],” Pogačar mentioned. “It was one of many craziest Excursions in historical past. We had been witnessing a complete lot of issues on this Tour de France.”
After thanking the organisation, Pogačar turned his consideration to the followers, and particularly in the direction of the ocean of Slovenian flags fluttering on Place Masséna.
“You’re the very best, thanks, eh,” Pogačar smiled, they usually responded in type: “Pogi, Pogi, Pogi.”
Shortly afterwards, Pogačar was swept off in the direction of the makeshift studio of France TV, the place he once more downplayed the concept he had began this Tour intent of proving some extent in opposition to Vingegaard.
“I wouldn’t say it was revenge,” mentioned Pogačar, who proceeded to point that he would goal the Tour and the Vuelta a España in 2025.
His closing formal dedication of the 2024 Tour was the winner’s press convention, held within the media centre on the close by Palais des Expositions. The bottom coated largely echoed what had been coated by tv stations within the blended zone – the double, the rivalry with Vingegaard, his future plans – and Pogačar’s manner relaxed all through. “I’m tremendous drained,” he smiled at one level.
One among Pogačar’s longest responses got here when he was requested concerning the suspicion engendered by his remarkably excessive degree of efficiency on this Tour, the place he set a variety of climbing data. Like Vingegaard earlier than him, the Slovenian acknowledged {that a} Tour winner might by no means be fully freed from suspicion.
“There’ll all the time be doubts, for certain, as a result of biking was a lot broken up to now, earlier than my time,” Pogačar mentioned. “In any sport, in any state of affairs of life, if any person is profitable there’s all the time jealousy, there’s all the time haters. Should you don’t have haters, then you definitely’re not succeeding. There’ll all the time be somebody who talks dangerous about somebody.
“In biking, WADA and the UCI invested some huge cash and time to make this sport clear. I believe this is without doubt one of the cleanest sports activities in the entire world due to what occurred so a few years in the past. I let you know now, it’s not value it. I believe taking something that may threat your well being or your coronary heart is tremendous silly. You may cycle till you’re 35, however there’s a protracted solution to get pleasure from life afterwards. It will be silly to do that and threat your life for silly racing.”
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