PARIS (AP) — Tadej Pogacar won a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title on Sunday.
The 27-year-old Slovenian dominated this year's race to join Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to win five Tours.
After finishing safely in Sunday’s 21st and final stage in Paris, Pogacar finished 6 minutes, 26 seconds over Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel in the overall standings.
Pogacar’s
UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro, a 22-year-old Mexican making his Tour debut, was third at 9:42 back from Pogacar, who smiled and held up his hand to signify his wins. His teammates then joined him as they stood proudly on the Champs-Élysées.
Pogacar won five stages at this year’s race to take his impressive tally to 26 overall.
He tried to win on Sunday, too, but victory ultimately went to Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel, who just held off the chasing pack on the home straight for his second stage win at this year's race and fourth overall.
Sunday’s 88.7-kilometer (55-mile) stage looped around Paris and was mostly processional, although less so than in previous years, which were usually entirely flat stages for sprinters and not for the rest of the peloton.
For the second straight year the stage featured the hugely popular uphill climb through the Montmartre district, a sharp 1-kilometer dash which riders tackled three times before finishing on the Champs-Élysées.
It proved even too much for Pogacar, who could not match Van der Poel's raw power in the closing stages. ___
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