Tadej Pogacar has won the 2021 Tour de France and Wout Van Aert the final stage.
Tadej Pogacar has won the 2021 Tour de France on 18 July 2021 as Wout Van Aert won the final stage on Les Avenues Champs d’Elysees in Paris.
The stage saw several attacks as the riders lapped the Arc De Triomphe and La Place du Concorde eight times in the lead up to the finish line.
But it was a bunch sprint at the end that saw Wout Van Aert cross the line ahead of both Mark Cavendish and Michael Matthews who were trying to gain the last possible sprint points.
Tadej Pogacar sets personal and Tour de France records
This is Pogacar’s second Tour de France at only 22 years old. He won in 2020 by winning the last stage in Paris and taking the yellow jersey from the overall race leader.
It is also a new record as it is the second time anyone has won three jerseys at the Tour de France.
He also won the polka dot jersey for the best mountain climber and the white jersey for the best young rider in 2020 and he did it again this year in 2021.
Wout Van Aert wins three Tour de France stages
Wout Van Aert won his third stage in the Tour de France as he crossed the finish line in Paris.
He has previously won both Stage 20 with the second individual time trial in this year’s race and Stage 11 becoming the first Belgian rider to conquer Mont Ventoux, climbed twice during the course of the stage.
He will also be participating at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics within the next few days.
Tour de France standings and records
Pogacar won the Tour but Jonas Vingegaard finished second with Richard Carapaz finishing third overall.
Carapaz has made history as the first Ecuadorian cyclist to get a podium finish at the Tour de France.
Ben O’Connor placed fourth overall in what is the best debut Tour finish of an Australian cyclist with a stage win in the Tour as well.
Frank Bonnamour was awarded the most combative of the entire Tour for having been in every breakaway on every stage.
Mark Cavendish kept his lead in the sprint jersey to win the 2021 green jersey but did not manage to beat Belgian rider Eddy Merckx’ record of 34 tour stages by winning his 35th.
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Team Bahrain Victorious won the teams classification, carrying the number of teammate Jack Haig who crashed out of the Tour de France with a broken collarbone on Stage 3, also nixing his participation at the Tokyo Olympics.
Three riders won half of the stages in the 2021 Tour de France: Cavendish winning four, Van Aert winning three and Pogacar winning three.
Slovenian riders dominated the race as well with Pogacar winning three jerseys and Matej Mohoric winning two stages.
The cycling calendar post the Tour de France
Up next on the cycling calendar is the Tokyo OIympics that Mathieu van der Poel and other riders left the Tour de France early to prepare and train for.
Following the Olympics, the final Grand Tour of 2021 starts with La Vuelta d’Espana on 14 August.
Other events on the calendar include smaller Tours within Europe and overseas before the previously postponed Paris-Roubaix is held in October.