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In the mountain time trial, he snatched the yellow jersey from his compatriot Roglic, who had already thought it safe. So it was not the big favorite, but the young man from Komenda, who turned 22 on Monday, in the spotlight in front of the Arc de Triomphe.
Paris was firmly in the hands of the Slovenians after the historic double victory, many white, blue and red flags could be seen, despite the coronavirus restrictions in the finish area. Slovenian President Borut Pahor also traveled specially. After all, the small country had to celebrate the greatest success in its sporting history on the magnificent boulevard.
The Tour’s decision was only eight times stricter
It was made possible by Pogacar, the youngest winner since Henri Cornet (19) in 1904. Pogacar had caught up with a 57-second difference in his famous mountain time trial win at La Planche des Belles Filles on Saturday, and the next day he was 59 seconds ahead. Paris. It was only eight times closer in the 107-year history of the race.
Triumph drive for Pogacar in the Tour de France
The last stage of the Tour de France was a triumphant march for Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian had already won the tour on Saturday. Sunday was just a matter of arriving safely at the destination in Paris.
Roglic will hardly be consoled by that. “At the moment I can’t think clearly, I don’t have a clear plan for the future. It’s like my head is empty, ”said the big favorite, who with his Jumbo-Visma team had dominated the tests three weeks earlier in a demoralizing way.
Pogacar as the record man
The man in the records is Roglic’s boyfriend, Pogacar, nine years his junior. In addition to yellow, he also won the dotted and green jerseys of the best mountain rider and young professional. Merckx last won three jerseys in 1969. To do this, it set three mountain records, including pulverizing Alexander Vinokurov’s fastest time at the Col de Peyresourde.
High praise from cycling legends
Pogacar received high praise from cycling legends. “I screamed in front of the television as I screamed when I won on the Champs Elysees in 1989. This is the birth of a great, great champion,” American Greg Lemond told the French tour organ “L’Equipe.”
Also speaking was five-time champion Eddy Merckx. “After the Vuelta I already knew it was great. You don’t do a number like that if you don’t have talent, ”said the Belgian. Lance Armstrong, now outlawed in cycling circles and banned for life due to his doping past, spoke of an “achievement for eternity.” Perhaps it was the best of all.
Bennett takes the last stage and the green jersey
Victory in the prestigious final stage went to Sam Bennett, who had already won stage 10. The Irishman prevailed in the massive sprint ahead of world champion Mads Pedersen of Denmark and the Slovakian Peter Sagan. The 29-year-old crowned his strong tour.
In the first intermediate sprint, Bennett secured the rider’s green jersey with the best points with a fifth place finish. As the “king of sprinting,” he replaced Sagan, who had stood in front of the sun for years as a top sprinter for the Bora-Hansgrohe team.
Grossschartner Total 63.
Marco Haller reached 22nd place in the last stage and was 143rd overall. His Austrian compatriot Felix Großschartner landed in the final section in 96th place and in the general classification in 63rd place.
The fact that the tour reached the “red zone” of Paris in view of the rapidly increasing number of infections – more recently more than 13,000 per day – was a great success. No driver tested positive for the corona virus in the three weeks, the organizers’ concept worked perfectly. The fact that the head of the tour, Christian Prudhomme, had to go home after a positive check was almost a strange finish.
