Tadej Pogačar shows unrivaled audacity to win his fourth Tour de France title in style

PARIS AP The roads were dangerously slippery after heavy rain A fourth Tour de France title was all but won anyway so finishing safely in the pack would do fine for Tadej Poga ar Especially considering Sunday s final stage had already been neutralized for safety reasons and he just had to complete the race Surely there was no need to launch a seemingly pointless attack and menace crashing But holding back or being cautious rarely appeals to Poga ar the -year-old cycling star from Slovenia He clinched his fourth Tour title in inimitably daring style on Sunday and further cemented his place among cycling s greats Even though he really did not need to and risked falling on oil slick-wet roads Poga ar purely could not help himself Against all logical opinion he tried winning Sunday s st and final stage with trademark uphill attacks only to fall short of the stage win itself In the end I exposed myself in the front even though I didn t have the strength revealed Poga ar who won the Tour last year and in and Just speechless to win the Tour de France this one feels especially amazing Poga ar added Just super proud that I can wear this yellow jersey Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard finished the overall race minutes seconds behind Poga ar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was minutes adrift in third Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the st and last stage which broke with tradition and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill Because of heavy rain and the hazard of crashes organizers had earlier neutralized the times kilometers miles from the end effectively giving Poga ar the win providing he crossed the finish line He did the opposite of what almost every rider would do with supremacy a near certainty As the rain teemed down he set a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered all along the cobbled Rue Lepic with flags and fans hanging out of windows Only five riders were left with Poga ar on the third ascension of the -kilometer Montmartre hill After fending off American Matteo Jorgenson he was caught cold near the top as Van Aert launched a stunning attack to drop yes drop Poga ar the world s best climber on the steepest section Hats off to Wout he was incredibly strong Poga ar mentioned Van Aert rolled back down for a prestigious stage win on the famed Champs- lys es Poga ar looked weary as he crossed the line in fourth place seconds behind Peace and selected nice weather But then it was time to celebrate title No Although don t expect Poga ar to make any headlines on that front Everyone celebrates in their own way I just want peace and selected nice weather not like here in contemporary times Poga ar stated Just to enjoy certain quiet days at home Only four riders have won the showcase race five times Belgian Eddy Merckx Spaniard Miguel Indur in and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault Poga ar won four stages this year to take his Tour tally to and at major races including six at the Giro d Italia and three at the Spanish Vuelta The UAE Company Emirates leader praised his teammates I think the second week was the decisive moment Poga ar revealed We took more advantage Lipowitz meanwhile secured his first career podium at a Grand Tour the alternative name given to the three major races His performance following his third-placed finish last month at the Crit rium du Dauphin suggests the -year-old German rider could challenge in the near future Developing with tradition Traditionally the last stage is largely processional with riders doing laps around Paris The Tour broke with tradition after the success of the Paris Olympics road race which also took in Montmartre famous for its Sacr -Coeur basilica Five in a row It was the fifth straight year where Poga ar and Vingegaard finished - at the Tour Vingegaard was second in before beating Poga ar the next two years with the Slovenian second When Poga ar reclaimed his title last year Vingegaard was runner-up We ve raised the level of each other much higher and we push each other to the limit Poga ar noted I must say to him big big respect Five major titles Poga ar has also won the Giro d Italia doing so last year to become the first cyclist to secure the Giro and Tour double in the same season since the late Marco Pantani in But Poga ar has not yet won the Spanish Vuelta whereas Anquetil Hinault and Merckx won all three major races A century of success When Poga ar won the hilly fourth stage of this year s race it was the th professional mastery of his stellar career all events combined Poga ar is also the world road race champion His dominant accomplishment at the Crit rium continued his excellent form the spring classics After winning stage of the Tour Poga ar added three more stage wins including an emphatic uphill time trial What s left to win He would love to win the Paris-Roubaix classic and Milan San-Remo The -kilometer -mile Roubaix race is called The Hell of the North because of its dangerous cobblestone sections Poga ar debut appearance at the one-day classic this year saw him seeking to become the first Tour champion to win it since Hinault in But powerful Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel won it for the third straight year Poga ar has also yet to win Milan-San Remo with Van der Poel also beating him there this year Expect a fired-up Poga ar next year at Roubaix and Milan-San Remo But it s unsure whether he ll tackle the Vuelta Tour de France coverage https apnews com tag TourdeFrance and https apnews com projects tour-de-france- -race-stages-maps Source