Pogacar credits 'great atmosphere' at UAE Team Emirates for Tour de France triumph
The Slovenian rider acknowledged that everyone in team played a big role in his triumph.
For Pogacar, his fourth Tour success has perhaps been his most resounding yet, with the Slovenian not losing a single second on the road to any of the top five in the general classification between stages 1-20. He becomes only the second rider in Tour de France history, after Maurice Garin in 1903, to do so.
Along the way, Pogacar has taken four memorable stage victories and held his great rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at arm's length. The Danish two-time Tour champion left no stone unturned in his bid to dethrone Pogacar in the Grand Boucle, including an all-or-nothing siege on stage 18, but was unable to repeat his victories of 2022 and 2023. For his efforts, Vingegaard was rewarded with second place in the overall, as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe's Florian Lipowitz rounded out the podium in third.
For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Pogacar led the line in style but did so with the unwavering support of his teammates, from Lille to Paris via the Pyrenees and the Alps.
The Emirati squad ends its ninth Tour de France with five stage victories, including four from Pogacar and Tim Wellens' superb stage 15 win from the breakaway. It takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG to 26 stage wins on the sport's grandest stage.
Sporting the hallowed yellow jersey through 13 stages and on the final podium in Paris, Pogacar also vanquishes the polka dot jersey as the winner of the King of the Mountains classification. It is the third time that the Slovenian has won both classifications in his career, and comes courtesy of his dominant displays in mountain stages.
'I am just speechless. To win a fourth Tour de France and finish six years in a row on the podium, this one feels especially amazing. I am super proud that I can wear this yellow jersey," Pogacar said.
'I think it all started with how we started to ride with the team. We had a great atmosphere, great team, great spirit. We went fighting from day one, and then after stage 5 and Mûr-de-Bretagne, I knew that I had good legs to compete for the victory.
'We just kept on fighting, and then I think the second week was the decisive moment. We took the advantage and we went more comfortably into the third week.'
He also praised Vingegaard's fierce competitive nature as a cyclist.
'Myself and Jonas [Vingegaard] talked in the neutral zone about how much has changed in the last five years of us racing against each other," Pogacar said.
"We raised the level of each other much higher, and we push ourselves to the limit to try to beat each other. I must say that battling against Jonas was again a tough experience, but I must say respect to him, and a big congratulations for his fight.
'It was an incredible race. Now it's time to celebrate.'
To celebrate his achievements, Pogacar rode aboard an all-yellow Colnago Y1Rs on stage 21, with a matching helmet and sunglasses from MET and Scicon, respectively. His teammates, meanwhile, sported custom-designed, yellow-infused kits from the historic Italian brand, Pissei. After three weeks of from-the-gun racing around France, Sunday offered a welcome moment of celebration for those who had worked tirelessly to land the top step in Paris.
Pogacar now draws level with Chris Froome on four Tour de France victories, and at just 26 years of age, his eyes will slowly turn to the record holders Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain — all of whom ended their careers with five Tour wins.
Moving to over 100 career victories during this year's race, Pogacar continues to define sporting excellence, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG remains at his side all the way.
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