Watch VideoTadej Pogacar savours ‘unbelievable’ fifth Tour de France victory in Paris

Tadej Pogacar won his fifth Tour de France title on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday. Photo: AFP Tadej Pogacar said he was looking forward to taking some time off and enjoying the “small things” in life after makingTour de Francehistory on Sunday. Pogacar joined an elite club of riders to have won the sport’s greatest race five times: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.

But he was not interested in thinking about joining such lofty company. “Right now, I just want to enjoy the moment of winning the Tour,” he said. “If it’s the fifth or the first, it doesn’t matter — it’s unbelievable to wear the yellow jersey and to cross the line in Paris winning it.

“I will just enjoy this moment, not thinking about any history, not thinking about joining any club. I just want to live this moment, come back home, relax, enjoy the small things of life. “I’m really happy and proud to win a fifth Tour.

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Every single one has a different story, a different meaning, different emotions. Each one of them feels incredible and unbelievable for me.” Mathieu van der Poel. meanwhile, achieved a career dream by winning the final stage on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris.

“There were no words, no communication, we just both rode to the death, to the final, and I ran out of gas,” said Pogacar. “I knew that we had to go all out, he knew we had to go all out, we both committed and he took a beautiful victory.” The 31-year-old Dutchman admitted that he thought the chasers would catch him before the line. In the end, it was his Alpecin-Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen who came closest to pipping him on the line.

Van der Poel said he did not know how he had found the strength to hold on. “If there was one race I still wanted to win in my career, I have a few, of course, but this was one of them,” he said. “We have a saying in Dutch that it has to come from your toes.

I don’t know where this came from, but not from my toes!” Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel secured his best-ever Tour result with second place behind Pogacar alongside two stage victories.He even won a mountain stage and proved to the doubters who had said that he would crack in the high mountains that he is a worthy contender for overall Tour victory. Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel secured his best-ever Tour result with second place behind Pogacar alongside two stage victories.

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