Paris: Finishing fourth on stage 21, Tadej Pogacar became a four-time Tour de France champion on Sunday afternoon. The world champion was able to celebrate the achievement with his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates in Paris, all of whom have been instrumental in helping the Emirati squad secure its fourth title in six years.
According to Emirates News Agency, Pogacar's fourth Tour success has been significant, with the Slovenian not losing a single second on the road to any of the top five in the general classification between stages 1-20. He becomes only the second rider in Tour de France history, after Maurice Garin in 1903, to achieve this feat.
Throughout the race, Pogacar secured four stage victories and maintained a lead over his rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). The Danish two-time Tour champion made several attempts to challenge Pogacar, including an aggressive move on stage 18, but was unable to replicate his victories from 2022 and 2023.
Vingegaard finished second overall, while Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe secured third place on the podium. Pogacar's success was bolstered by the support of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates, resulting in five stage victories for the team, including Pogacar's four wins and Tim Wellens' stage 15 triumph.
Pogacar also claimed the King of the Mountains classification, marking the third time in his career that he has won both the Yellow Jersey and polka dot jersey. His performance in the mountain stages was particularly notable.
The Tour de France unfolded over three weeks, beginning in Lille at the Grand D©part. Pogacar and his team engaged in competitive racing across various regions, with Pogacar securing important victories, such as the stage 4 win to Rouen and conquering the climb to Mr-de-Bretagne on stage 7.
Despite losing a teammate before the first rest day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG rallied during the second week in the Pyrenees. Pogacar's back-to-back victories on Hautacam and Peyragudes, along with Wellens' stage 15 win, highlighted their performance.
In the 2025 Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG completed the race with a total time of 76:00:32, finishing 4:24 ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and 11:00 ahead of Florian Lipowitz.
