Blistering heat, crazy crowds and the seeming inevitability of Tadej Pogacar marked the 2026 running of the Tour de France.
When it all came down to it, Tadej Pogacar once again seemed unbeatable, able to ride away from his ‘competitors’ with ease. While he did not win either of the Tour’s two final stages, his lead was comfortable enough that he could ease up a little.
His win on Sunday marks his fifth overall victory in the Tour, and places him in the elite company of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
After his famous victory on Alpe d’Huez on Friday afternoon, Pogacar worked on Saturday to help his teammate Isaac Del Toro secure the White Jersey on Saturday’s stage 20. Then, the now-five-time champion even went on to illuminate the final stage on Sunday.
Pogačar, alongside Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), used the closing Montmarte circuit in Paris to mount multiple audacious attacks in a bid to end the race in style. The pair went clear of the peloton on the final ascent of the iconic city-centre climb. Once over the crest, the two worked together in a bid to extend their advantage and deny the peloton a chance at a bunch sprint.
The pair never had more than a 10 second gap over the peloton, and seemed perfectly matched until the final 2 km, when every squad with a sprinter sent their forces to the front of the bunch.
Committed until the last, both riders drained their resources in a bid to pull off the most unlikely of victories. For Pogačar, the well was dry with around 500m to ride, at which point the Slovenian was forced to relent and watch Van der Poel make one final sprint towards the finish line.
With Pogačar swamped by the oncoming peloton, Van der Poel strained his every muscle towards the line. For the Dutchman, victory on stage 21 was a fitting prize for his ride on the streets of Paris.
Second Overall for Evenepoel
Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe rider Remco Evenepoel finished second overall, crossing the finish line on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Stage 21 to lock in his place on the final podium.
Racing his first Tour de France with Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, Evenepoel achieved the best general classification result of his career and delivered the team’s highest-ever finish at the Grand Tour.
The result was built on two standout stage victories: a summit finish win at Plateau de Solaison on Stage 15 and a dominant performance in the Tour’s only individual time trial on Stage 16, held between Évian-les-Bains and Thonon-les-Bains on the shores of Lake Geneva.
Evenepoel finished the Tour 6:26 behind Tadej Pogačar, the GC leader, improving on his third-place finish from the 2024 Tour de France and securing his best Grand Tour general classification result to date.
Evenepoel said: “The very first efforts training after years were really bad for me. I couldn’t finish it, and then I said to my teammates: I will continue to the Tour to win stages and not for GC. But then they reassured me: ‘Hey, you have time, it will be alright. Just keep believing in yourself, keep doing your training.’ And here we are. Second place. So I have to thank my teammates for putting the confidence back into me as well. It’s good for the morale and good for future plans as well.”
Ron is the chief cook and bottlewasher at Bike World News, doing everything from website design to bike reviews.
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