Tadej Pogacar Clinches Third Tour de France Title; Jonas Vingegaard Takes Second

Tadej Pogacar has secured his third Tour de France title.

The 25-year-old Slovenian cyclist outperformed Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, the two-time defending champion who finished second overall and on the stage. Pogacar completed Sunday’s 34-kilometer (21-mile) time trial from Monaco to Nice in 45 minutes, 24 seconds, just over a minute ahead of Vingegaard.

This victory follows Pogacar’s recent win at the Giro d’Italia, making him the first cyclist to win both events in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998. Sunday’s win marks Pogacar’s third Tour de France general classification victory since 2020, and he has also won 17 individual stages of the race since then.

Due to the upcoming Olympic Games, this year’s Tour de France concluded in Nice, France, instead of the traditional finish in Paris.

Pogacar’s rivalry with riders like Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Primož Roglič has created a captivating storyline in recent years. Pogacar expressed his appreciation for the high level of competition in a post-race interview.

“Yeah, I think in the last two years we’ve been hearing that this is the best era of cycling, the best competition ever,” Pogacar said (h/t the Guardian). “If I were not competing myself, I would think it myself [and] I could also say it’s the best cycling era ever, at least for the GC. This kind of competition with Remco, Jonas, and Primož, it’s just incredible… I think we can all enjoy this moment of cycling. It’s beautiful in my opinion.”

At just 25, Pogacar has already established himself as a legend and aims to further solidify his cycling legacy in the coming years.