Pogacar defends title with dominant display of stamina

PARIS — Tadej Pogacar took the yellow jersey to Paris to win his second straight Tour de France on Sunday after a grueling threeweek odyssey that at times he made look like a recreational ride.

Pogacar’s repeat success at cycling’s biggest event was a tale of total dominance, prompting one question: At age 22, how many more Tours can the Slovenian win?

Pogacar won his first title in September when he became the Tour’s youngest champion in 116 years. He is now the youngest double winner of the race.

In sharp contrast to last year — when as a rookie he had to wait until the penultimate stage to seize the overall lead — Pogacar was untouchable in this race.

His team was better equipped and better prepared, and Pogacar assumed the favorite’s mantle with the ease of a seasoned veteran. His supremacy was such that, in addition to his overall win, he also claimed the King of the Mountains and best young rider jerseys.

The UAE Team Emirates leader successfully defended his huge lead of 5 minutes, 20 seconds over secondplace Jonas Vingegaard in the mostly ceremonial final stage to the ChampsElysees on Sunday. Richard Carapaz finished third overall, 7:03 off the pace.

Vingegaard and Carapaz were the only riders to finish within 10 minutes of the twotime champion.

“I did my best, maximum, like I always do, and that was enough,” Pogacar said.

Pogacar’s dominance was helped by the misfortunes of two of his biggest rivals, last year’s runnerup Primoz Roglic and former Tour champion Geraint Thomas, who tumbled during the crashmarred first week of racing and never recovered.

Also, 2019 champion Egan Bernal skipped the Tour this year after his Giro victory in May. The Colombian climber is just 24, has excellent time trial abilities and should be Pogacar’s main rival in the years to come.

Meanwhile, Pogacar will fly to the Tokyo Olympics where he will be among the favorites for the gold medal in the road race.

“Anyone who can follow Tadej will be close to victory,” Belgian rider Wout van Aert said.

Christophe Ena / Associated Press Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar celebrates on the podium in Paris after the 21st and final stage of the Tour de France.