The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider dominated the 2026 edition of cycling’s most prestigious race from start to finish, sealing the yellow jersey with an overall advantage of 6 minutes and 26 seconds over Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel. His teammate, Mexican rider Isaac del Toro, completed the podium in third place.
Although Pogačar entered the final stage in Paris hoping to claim another stage victory, victory on the Champs-Élysées ultimately went to Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel after the Slovenian was unable to respond in the closing kilometres.
Pogačar laid the foundations for his triumph early in the race, taking control of the general classification on Stage 6, where he opened a commanding gap over his main rival, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard. Vingegaard later abandoned the Tour following a crash, leaving Pogačar firmly in command for the remainder of the three-week race.
The Slovenian claimed five individual stage victories, including a spectacular record-breaking ascent of the legendary Alpe d’Huez, further underlining his dominance. Yet beyond his own ambitions, he also demonstrated remarkable teamwork by sacrificing opportunities on several stages to support teammate Isaac del Toro in securing a podium finish.
With this triumph, Pogačar joins an exclusive group of riders to have won the Tour de France five times, matching a record that had stood since Miguel Indurain’s fifth victory in 1995. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of his generation—and increasingly among the greatest of all time—he continues to rewrite the sport’s record books at just 27 years of age.
Attention now turns to the Vuelta a España, which begins in Monaco in four weeks. While Pogačar has not yet confirmed whether he will compete in the only Grand Tour he has yet to win, he has hinted that participation remains a possibility, with his team expected to make a final decision in the coming days.
Should he line up in Spain, the Slovenian will have another opportunity to add to an already extraordinary legacy that continues to define a golden era of professional cycling.
