Pogacar wins Tour de France for fourth time
Wout van Aert won the final-day cliffhanger on the cobbled roads of Montmartre, but Pogacar was spared any late challenge when rain forced times to be neutralized, but he gamely tried for the stage win anyway before Van Aert dropped him on the last climb. Pogacar was clearly enjoying himself as he played to the delighted crowds, racing to the head of the peloton near the Moulin Rouge cabaret at the foot of the climb.
Huge crowds packed the old neighborhood to follow his progress up and down the narrow lanes of the popular tourist spot in his leader's yellow outfit. Belgian Van Aert produced a well-timed attack to drop Pogacar and charge to the Champs-Elysées finish line, for his second last-day stage win there.
Pogacar was fourth on the day but after wins in 2020, 2021 and 2024, he proved untouchable again in the world's greatest bike race. Jonas Vingegaard, the winner in 2022 and 2023, suffered two shocking off-days and ended second overall, 4min 24sec adrift.
Breakout German star Florian Lipowitz took third on his debut, rounding out the podium a distant 11 minutes off the pace in third.
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France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
France's long wait for Tour winner goes on but Thevenet sees hope
It is 40 years since Bernard Hinault won the last of his five Tours de France. Since then the host nation has waited -- not always patiently -- for a successor. But this year has produced some cheer for the home fans as they look ahead. It's true that none of the five French teams on the roster landed either a stage win or a place on the final podium but Valentin Paret-Peintre produced some heroics to grab a memorable stage win on Mont Ventoux. On top of that, Kevin Vauquelin and Jordan Jegat both finished in the top 10, while Vauquelin and Lenny Martinez, just 22, wore the white and polka dot jerseys -- for best under-26 rider and best climber respectively -- for spells. It doesn't hide the lack of a winner but it was enough to make former French champion Bernard Thevenet guardedly positive about future home ambitions. Thevenet, who won the world's greatest bike race in 1975 and 1977, told AFP during this year's contest -- won superbly by the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar for the fourth time -- that the emerging riders were about to join the top table. "We have good riders in France, obviously not as superb as Tadej Pogacar but this happens," Thevenet said. "We really thought Lenny Martinez might get the king of the mountains jersey, he gave us a bit of hope. But he couldn't take it all the way," the 77-year-old said, a day after Pogacar took it off the French youngster. He also spoke of his joy at Paret-Peintre winning on Mont Ventoux. "It was great to see him emerge like that, how he pulled that win off. He did well," said Thevenet. Paret-Peintre himself said he had learned a winning mentality by joining a Belgian team. "Belgium is more about classics than Grand Tours, so I learned this do-or-die attitude and it made the difference," he said. Young hope Thevenet cautioned however that the young French riders on the Tour this year will not be the ones who deliver France from its 40-year wait for a winner. "The new generation are not on the same level as Romain Bardet or Thibaut Pinot," he said of two recently retired climbers who had the misfortune to be riding at the same time as four-time winner Chris Froome. "And It will be a while before we get a win or someone on the podium," he said. Thevenet, however, has seen two riders who he believes may be the ones to end the French famine. "Paul Seixas is 18, he isn't here on the Tour but he will be. And within five years he'll be on the podium," he said. "There's also a great up-and-coming sprinter, Paul Magnier, and you can see him winning stages when he rides the Tour." While Hinault's victory in 1985 was the last time France had a Tour winner, La Vie Claire were the last French team to win when American rider Greg LeMond secured his first title in 1986 -- with his teammate Hinault in second. After 112 editions of the world's greatest bike race, France has garnered 36 overall wins from 21 cyclists, and remain top of the heap in that respect. Thevenet said French teams have a problem with financing, taxes and other reasons and cannot compete directly with Pogacar's state-funded Team UAE. But French outfit Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale have attracted a new partnership with a shipping company, which will give them a far bigger budget. "This should level the playing field a bit," said Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme. Thevenet's great French hope Seixas is on Decathlon's books and they are priming themselves for a tilt at the top. "Our goal is to enter the top five and then the top three worldwide and to win the Tour de France by 2030," said team boss Dominique Serieys.
France 24
12 hours ago
- France 24
Four-time Tour de France winner Pogacar - greatest cyclist of his generation
On his swaggering romp across France on his way to a fourth Tour de France title on Sunday, one could still catch glimpses of the boy desperate to beat his brother in the hills outside Ljubljana. But now, at 26, Pogacar has learned to curb some of his gung-ho instincts, which not only lifted him to success at times, but were also behind his rare defeats. In 2024 he won the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France and the world title, a feat known as cycling's Triple Crown and won only by Merckx in 1974 and Stephen Roche in 1987. Pogacar's dominance of the current scene is without doubt, but the kangaroo courts of social media are asking another question, one that will forever dog cycling -- is he for real? Pogacar, a proven combative all-rounder capable of taking on mountain climbs as easily as flat sprints, has never tested positive at any time in his career. "I'm a good boy from a good family, taking no short cuts in life," he told AFP. He does indeed appear to be surrounded by a good family, a school teacher mother and a furniture designer father who live in the same village in the hills outside the Slovenian capital where he grew up. He shares a home with his fiance and fellow cyclist Urska Zigart in Monaco when their programmes allow, while his firm friend and off-season traing partner cyclist Michael Matthews of Australia is a near neighbour. "He hasn't changed, he's such a humble guy. He just wants to have fun and enjoy his riding," Matthews said. Pogacar is credited with having recreated that family spirit at his Team UAE, with whom he signed a 54-million-dollar six-year contract last November, according to Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. 'No pretences' Teammate Pavel Sivakov told AFP that Pogacar was easy to deal with and a constantly positive personality. "He's always super relaxed and easy to work with. Mentally he's always focused on the positives. We know he's always going to deliver whatever he can. He's humble and good for the atmosphere in the team," said Sivakov. While most agree there is something boyish about Pogacar, there are signs he has grown up. "This is my sixth Tour de France now, I miss the white jersey," he told reporters, referring to the jersey worn by the best-placed rider aged 26 and under. In taking on his great rival, the two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, Pogacar has galvanised his team and forced them to control the peloton, leading to accusations of arrogance. "There's a difference between arrogance and trying to win a Tour de France," retorted the man who psyches himself up by listening to Slovenian rapper Drill. He still rides a bike with a sticker of the Incredible Hulk on it, joking: "He's the one you shouldn't make angry." Fellow Slovenian Matej Mohoric, himself a junior world champion and elite rider for the Bahrain Victorious team, said this week that Pogacar was a true great. "He was born with a machine inside him, and he was born with the brain to use that machine," Mohoric said. There will always be doubters, but during his victorious charge across France, Pogacar was already scanning the horizon for the next win. "Unlike a lot of cyclists I haven't booked any holidays, so maybe I'll race the Vuelta," he said of the Spanish Tour, which starts on August 23. He will also be in the Rwandan capital Kigali in September to defend the world road race title.
LeMonde
13 hours ago
- LeMonde
Tour de France 2025 : le classement général complet à l'issue de la 21e et dernière étape
Grandissime favori au départ de cette 112 e édition, Tadej Pogacar a remporté son quatrième Tour de France dimanche 27 juillet, à l'issue d'une 21 e et dernière étape perturbée par la pluie, qui a vu le Belge Wout van Aert s'imposer sur les Champs-Elysées. Tadej Pogacar (Slovénie ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) : 76 h 00 min 32 s Jonas Vingegaard (Danemark ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 4 min 24 s Florian Lipowitz (Allemagne ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 11 min 0 s Oscar Onley (Royaume-Uni ; Picnic-PostNL) + 12 min 12 s Felix Gall (Autriche ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 17 min 12 s Tobias Johannessen (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 20 min 14 s Kévin Vauquelin (France ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 22 min 35 s Primoz Roglic (Slovénie ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 25 min 30 s Ben Healy (Irlande ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 28 min 2 s Jordan Jegat (France ; TotalEnergies) + 32 min 42 s Ben O'Connor (Australie ; Jayco-AlUla) + 34 min 34 s Thymen Arensman (Pays-Bas ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 52 min 41 s Jhonatan Narvaez (Équateur ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 1 h 4 min 36 s Sergio Higuita (Colombie ; XDS-Astana) + 1 h 8 min 19 s Simon Yates (Royaume-Uni ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 1 h 17 min 30 s Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 1 h 18 min 7 s Sepp Kuss (Etats-Unis ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 1 h 20 min 24 s Gregor Mühlberger (Autriche ; Movistar) + 1 h 28 min 17 s Matteo Jorgenson (Etats-Unis ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 1 h 29 min 28 s Cristian Rodriguez (Espagne ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 1 h 36 min 15 s Valentin Madouas (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 1 h 39 min 46 s Xandro Meurisse (Belgique ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 1 h 43 min 46 s Warren Barguil (France ; Picnic-PostNL) + 1 h 48 min 9 s Adam Yates (Royaume-Uni ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 1 h 48 min 41 s Aurélien Paret-Peintre (France ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 2 h 12 min 52 s Raul Garcia Pierna (Espagne ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 2 h 15 min 58 s Aleksandr Vlasov (Russie ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 2 h 16 min 15 s Victor Campenaerts (Belgique ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 2 h 20 min 36 s Marc Soler (Espagne ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 2 h 21 min 1 s Emanuel Buchmann (Allemagne ; Cofidis) + 2 h 21 min 34 s Einer Rubio Reyes (Colombie ; Movistar) + 2 h 21 min 56 s Ilan Van Wilder (Belgique ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 2 h 23 min 14 s Callum Scotson (Australie ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 2 h 25 min 40 s Romain Grégoire (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 2 h 25 min 58 s Harrison Sweeny (Australie ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 2 h 27 min 58 s Clément Berthet (France ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 2 h 32 min 50 s Tim Wellens (Belgique ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 2 h 38 min 24 s Simone Velasco (Italie ; XDS-Astana) + 2 h 41 min 31 s Frank Van Den Broek (Pays-Bas ; Picnic-PostNL) + 2 h 45 min 44 s Santiago Buitrago (Colombie ; Bahrain Victorius) + 2 h 45 min 48 s Valentin Paret-Peintre (France ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 2 h 47 min 5 s Michael Storer (Australie ; Tudor) + 2 h 50 min 51 s Clément Venturini (France ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 2 h 52 min 39 s Harold Tejada (Colombie ; XDS-Astana) + 2 h 54 min 34 s Quentin Pacher (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 2 h 56 min 0 s Alex Baudin (France ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 2 h 56 min 15 s Neilson Powless (Etats-Unis ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 2 h 58 min 52 s Joseph Blackmore (Royaume-Uni ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 2 h 59 min 4 s Pascal Eenkhoorn (Pays-Bas ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 3 h 0 min 25 s Bruno Armirail (France ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 3 h 3 min 12 s Ewen Costiou (France ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 3 h 6 min 35 s Michael Woods (Canada ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 3 h 6 min 59 s Axel Laurance (France ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 3 h 10 min 10 s Tiesj Benoot (Belgique ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 3 h 10 min 19 s Alexandre Delettre (France ; TotalEnergies) + 3 h 12 min 28 s Julian Alaphilippe (France ; Tudor) + 3 h 13 min 20 s Andreas Leknessund (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 3 h 14 min 44 s Geraint Thomas (Royaume-Uni ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 3 h 14 min 57 s Quinn Simmons (Etats-Unis ; Lidl-Trek) + 3 h 17 min 36 s Thomas Gachignard (France ; TotalEnergies) + 3 h 23 min 14 s Mathis Le Berre (France ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 3 h 25 min 28 s Jasper Stuyven (Belgique ; Lidl-Trek) + 3 h 26 min 11 s Mathieu Burgaudeau (France ; TotalEnergies) + 3 h 26 min 18 s Markus Hoelgaard (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 3 h 26 min 29 s Emiel Verstrynge (Belgique ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 3 h 28 min 1 s Jenno Berckmoes (Belgique ; Lotto) + 3 h 33 min 12 s Wout Van Aert (Belgique ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 3 h 33 min 56 s Maximilian Schachmann (Allemagne ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 3 h 35 min 1 s Ion Izagirre (Espagne ; Cofidis) + 3 h 35 min 2 s Tobias Foss (Norvège ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 3 h 35 min 15 s Jonas Abrahamsen (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 3 h 36 min 21 s Michael Valgren (Danemark ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 3 h 37 min 1 s Oliver Naesen (Belgique ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 3 h 39 min 28 s Nelson Oliveira (Portugal ; Movistar) + 3 h 41 min 3 s Nils Politt (Allemagne ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 3 h 44 min 45 s Anders Johannessen (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 3 h 46 min 2 s Bastien Tronchon (France ; Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) + 3 h 46 min 36 s Marc Hirschi (Suisse ; Tudor) + 3 h 48 min 37 s Lenny Martinez (France ; Bahrain Victorius) + 3 h 49 min 5 s Mike Teunissen (Pays-Bas ; XDS-Astana) + 3 h 49 min 28 s Alex Aranburu (Espagne ; Cofidis) + 3 h 49 min 29 s Louis Barré (France ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 3 h 51 min 34 s Marius Mayrhofer (Allemagne ; Tudor) + 3 h 53 min 18 s Brent Van Moer (Belgique ; Lotto) + 3 h 53 min 19 s Clément Champoussin (France ; XDS-Astana) + 3 h 53 min 27 s Kaden Groves (Australie ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 3 h 53 min 29 s Pavel Sivakov (France ; UAE Team Emirates-XRG) + 3 h 54 min 19 s Krists Neilands (Lettonie ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 3 h 54 min 25 s Laurence Pithie (Nouvelle-Zélande ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 3 h 54 min 44 s Dylan Teuns (Belgique ; Cofidis) + 3 h 55 min 48 s Kasper Asgreen (Danemark ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 3 h 58 min 25 s Alexey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 3 h 59 min 52 s Clément Russo (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 4 h 1 min 44 s Damien Touzé (France ; Cofidis) + 4 h 1 min 48 s Toms Skujins (Lettonie ; Lidl-Trek) + 4 h 4 min 16 s Tobias Lund Andresen (Danemark ; Picnic-PostNL) + 4 h 6 min 51 s Marco Haller (Autriche ; Tudor) + 4 h 9 min 24 s Jonas Rickaert (Belgique ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 4 h 11 min 17 s Matteo Trentin (Italie ; Tudor) + 4 h 12 min 31 s Matis Louvel (France ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 4 h 13 min 1 s Mauro Schmid (Suisse ; Jayco-AlUla) + 4 h 14 min 0 s William Barta (Etats-Unis ; Movistar) + 4 h 20 min 7 s Gianni Vermeersch (Belgique ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 4 h 22 min 29 s Fred Wright (Royaume-Uni ; Bahrain Victorius) + 4 h 22 min 52 s Gianni Moscon (Italie ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 4 h 30 min 56 s Anthony Turgis (France ; TotalEnergies) + 4 h 31 min 58 s Ivan Romeo Abad (Espagne ; Movistar) + 4 h 33 min 49 s Jake Stewart (Royaume-Uni ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 4 h 36 min 37 s Connor Swift (Royaume-Uni ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 4 h 40 min 30 s Pablo Castrillo Zapater (Espagne ; Movistar) + 4 h 42 min 51 s Paul Penhoet (France ; Groupama-FDJ) + 4 h 44 min 44 s Niklas Märkl (Allemagne ; Picnic-PostNL) + 4 h 46 min 23 s Mick Van Dijke (Pays-Bas ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 4 h 46 min 50 s Vincenzo Albanese (Italie ; EF Education-EasyPost) + 4 h 48 min 20 s Samuel Watson (Royaume-Uni ; Ineos Grenadiers) + 4 h 50 min 14 s Thibau Nys (Belgique ; Lidl-Trek) + 4 h 50 min 42 s Ivan Garcia Cortina (Espagne ; Movistar) + 4 h 53 min 18 s Edoardo Affini (Italie ; Visma-Lease a Bike) + 4 h 54 min 53 s Alberto Dainese (Italie ; Tudor) + 4 h 56 min 31 s Tim Naberman (Pays-Bas ; Picnic-PostNL) + 5 h 0 min 3 s Luke Plapp (Australie ; Jayco-AlUla) + 5 h 2 min 34 s Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentine ; Lotto) + 5 h 2 min 54 s Robert Stannard (Australie ; Bahrain Victorius) + 5 h 3 min 30 s Mattéo Vercher (France ; TotalEnergies) + 5 h 6 min 33 s Pascal Ackermann (Allemagne ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 5 h 9 min 57 s Matej Mohoric (Slovénie ; Bahrain Victorius) + 5 h 10 min 13 s Lewis Askey (Royaume-Uni ; Groupama-FDJ) + 5 h 10 min 40 s Jonas Rutsch (Allemagne ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 11 min 7 s Jarrad Drizners (Australie ; Lotto) + 5 h 11 min 17 s Magnus Cort Nielsen (Danemark ; Uno-X Mobility) + 5 h 11 min 51 s Silvan Dillier (Suisse ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 5 h 14 min 12 s Biniam Girmay (Érythrée ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 14 min 55 s Pavel Bittner (République tchèque ; Picnic-PostNL) + 5 h 17 min 44 s Sean Flynn (Royaume-Uni ; Picnic-PostNL) + 5 h 18 min 13 s Davide Ballerini (Italie ; XDS-Astana) + 5 h 20 min 22 s Amaury Capiot (Belgique ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 5 h 22 min 38 s Luke Durbridge (Australie ; Jayco-AlUla) + 5 h 23 min 21 s Hugo Page (France ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 24 min 23 s Stian Edvardsen-Fredheim (Norvège ; Uno-X Mobility) + 5 h 26 min 41 s Elmar Reinders (Pays-Bas ; Jayco-AlUla) + 5 h 28 min 50 s Laurenz Rex (Belgique ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 29 min 16 s Arnaud De Lie (Belgique ; Lotto) + 5 h 29 min 35 s Vito Braet (Belgique ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 32 min 4 s Sébastien Grignard (Belgique ; Lotto) + 5 h 33 min 48 s Alexis Renard (France ; Cofidis) + 5 h 34 min 56 s Jonathan Milan (Italie ; Lidl-Trek) + 5 h 35 min 35 s Bert Van Lerberghe (Belgique ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 5 h 36 min 47 s Tim Merlier (Belgique ; Soudal-Quick Step) + 5 h 37 min 19 s Guillaume Boivin (Canada ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 5 h 37 min 44 s Dylan Groenewegen (Pays-Bas ; Jayco-AlUla) + 5 h 38 min 24 s Phil Bauhaus (Allemagne ; Bahrain Victorius) + 5 h 39 min 29 s Luka Mezgec (Slovénie ; Jayco-AlUla) + 5 h 40 min 8 s Arnaud Démare (France ; Arkéa-B & B Hotels) + 5 h 40 min 35 s Benjamin Thomas (France ; Cofidis) + 5 h 41 min 16 s Kamil Gradek (Pologne ; Bahrain Victorius) + 5 h 43 min 51 s Roel Van Sintmaartensdijk (Pays-Bas ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 5 h 44 min 11 s Fabian Lienhard (Suisse ; Tudor) + 5 h 46 min 0 s Jordi Meeus (Belgique ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 5 h 48 min 25 s Edward Theuns (Belgique ; Lidl-Trek) + 5 h 51 min 25 s Simone Consonni (Italie ; Lidl-Trek) + 5 h 51 min 40 s
