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Primoz Roglic (30) had a tight minute in front of his compatriot Tadej Pogacar (21) before the decisive stage of the Tour de France. There, Pogacar drove everything and everyone and crushed the competitors.
57 seconds separated the two Slovenians before stage 20, where a 36.2 kilometer pace was going to decide who would win.
The pace ended at La Planche des Belles Filles (5.9 kilometers at 8.5 percent), and at the foot of the hill, Pogacar had reduced the lead to 21 seconds.
So it was time for a very dramatic finish, but early on in the climb it was clear that Pogacar crushed all the competitors and Roglic finished just two minutes behind Pogacar on stage.
– That’s the wildest thing I’ve ever been involved in, said TV 2 commentator Christian Paasche.
– I think I’m dreaming. I do not know what to say. It’s amazing, says Pogacar in the victory interview, before Roglic walks over and gives the compatriot a victory hug.
– I am very proud of the team. Wearing the yellow jersey on the last day was a dream and we did it, he continues.
Pogacar is now 59 seconds ahead of Roglic in summary.
– Is this a childhood dream?
– In fact, my dream was to participate in the Tour de France. Now I’m here and I only have the last leg left. It’s amazing, says Pogacar.
In the Jumbo-Visma camp, of course, less joy could be found.
– It hurts to see Primoz fight like that. I saw another Primoz on the bike, a regular. Losing him on the last day is very difficult, says his teammate Wout van Aert in an interview shown on TV 2.
– I think it would have been even if Primoz had a good day, but the fact that he finished behind me shows that it’s not his best pace. Had he been at his normal level, he would never have lost more than a minute to Pogacar, Van Aert believes.
– I’m obviously disappointed. I gave everything I could on the bike, but the result was as it was, says Roglic in an interview with NOS, and says that Pogacar really deserved the victory.
SOLD OUT: An exhausted Primoz Roglic had to see him lose the overall lead in the decisive stage Photo: CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON / X01348
Pogacar is thus the second youngest Tour de France winner in history, second only to Henri Cornet, who was 19 years old when he won the second edition of the Tour de France in 1904.
Pogacar also wins the youth jersey and climbing jersey and thus won his third stage in this year’s Tour de France with victory on the decisive pace stage.
Now only the charm stage remains in Paris on Sunday, where Pogacar will lead the team first alongside, among others, his teammates Alexander Kristoff and Vegard Stake Laengen. Edvald Boasson Hagen, Kurt Asle Arvesen and Atle Kvålsvoll are the other three Norwegians who have been on a winning team in the Tour de France before.
– He’s fat. “I never thought I could experience being on the winning team, so we will enjoy tomorrow and make the most of it,” Kristoff tells TV 2 from the car on his way to Paris for the final stage.
Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) moved up to third overall after finishing third on pace.
DEMONSTRATION OF POWER: Pogacar won the final stage 1.21 ahead of Tom Dumoulin, while Primoz Roglic finished 1.56 behind after losing 1.20 on the last hill. Photo: MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP
Roglic was the first Slovenian to win a stage in the Tour de France, something he did when he won stage 17 in 2017. Roglic was then in full swing in the cycling world, having turned pro at the age of 26.
Roglic was previously a promising ski jumper, with gold in the junior WC team competition in 2007, but it is as a cyclist that the Slovenian has truly reached the world top.
Roglic also won a stage in 2018 and was then number four overall on the Tour. Last year he scored one big win after another, winning his first three-week race when he claimed victory in the Vuelta a España.
There, Tadej Pogacar also impressed by becoming number three, and it is the two Slovenians who have proven to be the two strongest riders in this year’s Tour de France.
It has also resulted in several further Slovenian stage victories, with stage win for Roglic (ahead of Pogacar) in stage four, while Pogacar won three stages. In addition, Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) has two second places in this year’s race, in what has been a near perfect edition of the Tour de France for the country of just over two million inhabitants.
