Overview
- Tadej Pogacar won the 2026 Tour de France on Sunday, July 26, closing three weeks of control that included several stage victories and a largely unchallenged overall lead.
- His decisive ride came on stage 19 from Gap to Alpe d'Huez where coverage reports say he set a new best ascent time, a performance widely compared to Marco Pantani's benchmark.
- Jonas Vingegaard crashed and withdrew during the race, leaving Remco Evenepoel as the strongest challenger who finished second while Isaac Del Toro took third and won the white jersey.
- Mathieu Van der Poel soloed to victory on the final Champs-Élysées stage, earning the prestigious last-stage win while Mads Pedersen secured the green points jersey and Richard Carapaz won the mountains classification.
- Pogacar said he will savor the moment and look for a new goal, including the possibility of the Vuelta, and his fifth title has prompted commentators to place him alongside Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain in cycling history.