Paris
Tadej Pogacar became the youngest rider to win back-to-back Tour de France titles on Monday after some vintage racing drew comparisons with cycling’s greatest.
The 22-year-old Slovenian, who won the Tour on his debut last year, hammered his rivals in the Alps with a long-range attack on stage eight, reminiscent of the event in the 1980s, and stayed in control for the rest of the race.
He beat Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard by a massive five minutes 20 seconds as Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz took third place, 7:03 off the pace as his Ineos Grenadiers team failed to spark once again.
“I’m gonna speak from the heart,” said Pogacar on the final podium. “Thank you to everybody who came along during the three weeks. It was amazing to be riding along the route.”
Pogacar finished Sunday’s 21st and final stage safe in the bunch as Belgian Wout van Aert prevailed in the sprint to beat compatriot Jasper Philipsen and Briton Mark Cavendish who were second and third, respectively.—AFP
