Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar has claimed a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory, Yankee Scores reports.
The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the most successful male riders in the endurance event after crossing the line on Paris’ Champs-Elysees in the peloton.
Pogacar, who has won everything, said that his amazing reality is becoming stranger than fiction as it was “something you wouldn’t even maybe write in a story book”.
Mathieu van der Poel of the Netherlands, riding for Alpecin-Premier Tech, won the final stage of the three-week Grand Tour after a frenetic dash to the line on the famous cobbles of the French capital where he edged team-mate Jasper Philipsen of Belgium by inches.
The Pogacar win has many people ranking him as the greatest cyclist of all time, surpassing the accomplishments and stature of Belgian great Merckx.
It is Pogacar’s third consecutive Tour win, and includes a record-setting climb of the iconic Alpe d’Huez on stage 19, where he claimed another dominant victory, per BBC Sport.
It was the fifth stage win in a race that Pogacar has dominated with his explosive launch and unmatched metronomic pace, to which his rivals have had virtually no answer for some time.
Pogacar has won almost all of the big races in the sport including the Tour of Flanders, Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Road World Championships, Giro di Lombardia and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Some fans booed Pogacar during the Tour, because he is often so far ahead of any rival that some feel frustrated at the loss of competitive edge in the sport.
That gives him 127 victories in an elite pro career spanning eight years.
“Victory is really special,” said Pogacar. “Thank you to all the fans and my team.
“But the biggest thanks goes to all my family who support me all my life. My parents – without them I would not be standing here five times already.
“Seven Tours and seven times on the podium, and five wins, is something you wouldn’t even maybe write in a story book, and it’s unbelievable for me.
“It’s a magnificent podium with some incredible champions to fight with.
“It’s a shame Jonas [Vingegaard] crashed out this time and many others. I hope they have a quick recovery and next year we fight again.”
