Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar claimed a record-equalling fifth Tour de France victory on Sunday, safely navigating the final stage won by Mathieu van der Poel to seal his third consecutive crown in cycling's greatest race. The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates XRG rider, affectionately known as 'Pogi', only needed to avoid a race-ending mishap on the run into Paris to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as a five-time Tour champion.

Belgium's Remco Evenepoel finished second overall, while Mexico's Isaac del Toro rounded out the overall podium in third. 'Thank you to all the fans and to all of France for hosting this great race,' Pogacar said. 'Thank you to my competitors for putting on a great show. We fought hard over the last three weeks.'

Pogacar and Van der Poel broke away on the final ascent of Montmartre with about 10km remaining and took a slender advantage into the run to the Champs-Elysees as the chasing group closed relentlessly. The Slovenian's challenge faded inside the final kilometre, but Van der Poel pressed on to secure victory in a photo finish ahead of Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen, with Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek in third.

'When I was sick last year, and I had to watch the stage on television, I was already thinking about this moment,' Van der Poel, 31, said. 'The way it went, it's a dream. It's incredible. It was super hard, and to be up there with the best rider in the world, all my respect for Tadej.'

Pogacar underlined his supremacy throughout the Tour by claiming five stage victories. His path to a third straight yellow jersey became less complicated when two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, widely regarded as his principal challenger, withdrew after a crash on Stage 15.

The Tour's traditional finale in Paris was shortened after security forces were redeployed to help tackle wildfires near Bordeaux. As a result, Stage 21, which customarily takes the peloton into Paris before several laps of the Champs-Elysees, was reduced to 89km from the 133km originally scheduled.

This year's race also produced a remarkable first: no rider from France, Italy or Spain won a stage, making it the first Tour de France without a stage victory from any of the three nations that created and host cycling's Grand Tours.

Source: www.aljazeera.com