Tour de France winner stuns fans in never-before-seen moment
Tadej Pogacar has become the youngest rider in history to win back-to-back Tour de France titles.
The 22-year-old from Slovenia, who won the Tour in his debut last year, hammered his rivals in the Alps with a long-range attack on stage eight and stayed in control for the rest of the race.
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Pogacar beat Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by a massive gap of 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."
Belgian Wout van Aert won Sunday's 21st and final stage, beating compatriot Jasper Philipsen and Briton Mark Cavendish in second and third respectively.
Pogacar watched from the inside of the bunch, raising his arms as he crossed the line.
"I see him as the new Cannibal," said five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx, who earned that nickname due to his insatiable appetite for victory and won his first Tour in 1969 at the age of 23.
"He is extremely strong. I see him winning several editions of the Tour in the years to come.
"If nothing happens to him, he can certainly win the Tour de France more than five times."
Tadej Pogacar makes Tour de France history
Pogacar won two mountain stages in the Pyrenees and an individual time trial - a testament to his all-round qualities - with his only sign of weakness coming in week two on Mont Ventoux.
He finishes the Tour with the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider in the race and with the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification, just like last year.
The green jersey went to Cavendish after the Briton took his tally of career stage wins to a record-equalling 34, with four victories in this year's race.
However he was denied the 35th by Van Aert on Sunday.
It marked a spectacular comeback for the Manxman, who was returning to the Tour for the first time since 2018 after years of poor results and mental health problems.
Cavendish was perfectly set up in the sprints by his Deceuninck-Quick Step team mates as the Belgian outfit claimed five wins in this year's edition.
Fans were left in awe over Pogacar's never-before-seen feat.
Tadej Pogacar: 22 years old. Three Grand Tours, nine Grand Tour stage wins. One Tour de France victory, another slated for Sunday, and a podium in his Grand Tour debut at the 2019 Vuelta. The crown prince of professional cycling. #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/2yC3SLRh3c
โ Neal Rogers (@nealrogers) July 15, 2021
TADEJ POGACAR WINS THE 2021 TOUR DE FRANCE! He's still only 22 so he becomes the youngest double winner in the history of the race. ฤestitke, Pogi! ๐๐ธ๐ฎ #TDF2021 pic.twitter.com/VPkfMaMUEQ
โ Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) July 18, 2021
The King @TamauPogi pic.twitter.com/sdfOEGNELx
โ Filippo Vettel (@ftonielli10) July 18, 2021
Well done to you all, been a fantastic TDF this year.
๐ง๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ธ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ท๐ง๐ช๐ง๐ชโ Peter Ferns (@pjgf67) July 18, 2021
Bravo ๐๐๐๐ช๐
โ Tromet Jacques (@TrometJ) July 18, 2021
with Reuters
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