By the halfway point of the Tour, Pogacar had already built up a substantial lead over his main rival, Jonas Vingegaard, the Dane from Visma - Lease a Bike. Germany's Florian Lipowitz finished third.

Pogacar dominated the Tour from start to finish. The 26-year-old Slovenian won two stages in the first week in northwestern France, in Rouen and Mûr-de-Bretagne, and then in week two in the Pyrenees on the Hautacam and the time trial to the ski resort of Peyragudes. In the Alps, he changed his tactics and waited to see if Vingegaard would try anything else. But the Dane had two off days, in the first flat time trial and on the stage to the summit of Hautacam, and he didn't seem to have much faith in himself anymore. The general classification was locked in at that point.

Enjoy with Pogacar

Still, there was plenty to enjoy, with Pogacar already involved in the battle for the day's victory in the opening stages. This also included the battle for the third podium spot, for which young Scot Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) ultimately lost out to Lipowitz.

Pogacar said Saturday in Pontarlier that he felt he had ridden one of his toughest Grand Tours ever."We might say that every year, but this year it was on a completely different level. Maybe we took it a bit easier for one day. But if you look at the measurements during this entire Tour, you can see it was incredibly tough."

He declined to comment on his possible participation in the Vuelta, which begins in just under four weeks. Pogacar still misses the Spanish stage race on his impressive list of achievements, having already won the Giro last year and the Tour in 2020, 2021, 2024, and this year.

How did stage 21 go?

After the photo opportunities, formalities, and whatever else, the riders slowly headed towards the Champs-Élysées. Once there, the race began. Towards the first climb of Montmartre, it was"just" Pogacar who attacked. Along with him were even more big names. The heavens had already opened for a while.

An unprecedented spectacle unfolded when Pogacar attacked again. He was joined by Van Aert, Trentin, Mohoric, Ballerini, and Jorgenson. Fireworks in the final stage of the Tour are rare.

Van Aert and Pogacar battle it out in a spectacular race

The six seemed poised to battle it out for the day's victory. Climbing Montmartre three times—with a frenzied crowd lining the sidelines—seemed like a good idea after all.

Pogacar charged Montmartre on the final play, but Van Aert swerved over it. The Slovenian was forced to pass. The Belgian was unleashed and couldn't be caught. A brilliant victory for Van Aert.