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Stage 21 of the Tour de France live - 07/23/2023

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Evenepoel: 'Best rider in the world' Pogacar is the one man who can complete Giro-Tour double

Yesterday at 07:44

Top stories

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• Tour de France

Tour de France coverage from Cycling Weekly, with up to date race results, rider profiles and news and reports.

The Tour de France 2024 begins on Saturday 29 June and marks the 111th edition of cycling's flagship race. In the first Grand Départ for Italy, the race starts in Florence and traces a path east across the country, before heading back west towards France and into the Alps. 

The riders will also take on the Apennines, Massif Central and Pyrenees mountain ranges, and pass through Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France.

With Paris busy preparing for the Olympic Games in August there will be no room for the Tour de France's traditional final stage finish on the Champs-Elysées. Instead the race will finish in Nice – the first time it has ever finished outside the capital.

The world's best riders are set to vie for overall victory, with newly crowned Giro d'Italia winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) due to take on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) – both of whom are currently returning from injury – and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe).

The three-week event is the second in the trio of Grand Tours, coming after the Giro d'Italia and before the Vuelta a España .

Tour de France 2024: Overview

Tour de france 2024: the route.

One for the climbers, the 2024 Tour de France route incorporates four summit finishes, spans four mountain ranges, and features the hilliest opening stage in Tour de France history.

One of the most interesting and intriguing routes of recent years, sitting between the predominantly hilly week one and week three sits a flatter week two, and stage nine – with an abundance of white roads; 14 sectors in total.

There's plenty for the sprinters as well as the general classification and climbing specialists, although there are going to be some tough mountains to get over to reach the sprint stages, and to finish the three weeks.

For the first time in 35 years, a final day time trial means the yellow jersey won't be decided on the penultimate day. 

• Tour de France 2024 route: Two individual time trials, five summit finishes and gravel sectors
• Opinion: Is the 2024 Tour de France too hard?
• FAQs of the Tour de France: How lean? How much power? How do they pee mid-stage? All that and more explained

Tour de France 2024 route: Stage-by-stage

Tour de france 2024: the teams.

There will be 22 teams of eight riders at the 2024 Tour de France. This includes all 18 UCI WorldTour teams, as well as the two best-ranked UCI ProTeams, and two further squads invited by the organiser, ASO. 

Tour de France 2024: General classification riders

When it comes to potential yellow jersey winners, there are four riders due to take the start line in Florence on June 29. 

The quartet comprises Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who has just won the Giro d'Italia; Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) . 

Reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard is the only rider over whom hangs a significant questions mark for the race. Along with Roglič and Evenepoel, he came down in a nasty crash on stage four of the Itzulia Basque Country in April. All were injured but the Dane came off worst, and he only began riding outside in May. The plan, says his team, is still to take him to the Tour de France – but only if he is good enough. 

Following the route announcement in October, Tadej Pogačar said that the "end of the journey makes me smile", with the final two stages starting and finishing close to his home in Monaco. Pogačar is hoping to take back the top step in 2024 after two years of missing out on yellow to Vingegaard.

Remco Evenepol intends to make his Tour de France debut in 2024. Although he took a win in 2022 at the Vuelta, his performance in other Grand Tour races has been either inconsistent or blighted by illness. If he's to compete against the likes of Vingegaard and Pogačar, he'll have to up his game. It's not yet known who Ineos Grenadiers will hand the reins to, but, coming 5th overall and taking a stage win in his Tour debut in 2023 , Carlos Rogríguez seems a likely choice.

Tour de France 2024: Sprinters

It's going to be a tough year for the sprinters. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Deceuninck was one of the star men of last year's Tour de France, taking four stage wins and the green sprinter's jersey at the end of the three weeks. He has had a fine season so far, with a win at Milan-San Remo and second at Paris-Roubaix and is likely to be the rider to beat at the Tour.

Like Philipsen, Mads Pederson of Trek-Segafredo has enjoyed a successful early season, with a win at Gent-Wevelgem and (unlike Philipsen) a hatful of sprint victories. He's likely to be the Belgian's main rival in the bunch finishes.

All eyes will be on Mark Cavendish in the 111th Tour de France after he postponed retirement to target the Tour win record, currently shared with Eddy Merckx, and gain his 35th win. He said, however, that he was "in shock" and that this was the "toughest course" he had ever seen , when it was revealed in October. 

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) and Fabio Jakobsen (dsm-firmenich-PostNL) are also set to be there and should challenge for wins.

Tour de France 2024: On TV

As you'd expect the Tour de France will be avialable to watch in a lot of places this July.

The race is expected to be live-streamed on GCN +, Discovery+ and Eurosport , as well as ITV4, in the UK and in Europe. Subscription costs are £6.99/month or $8.99/month, and £39.99 or $49.99 for a year.

A Flobikes  annual subscription will cost you $209.99 if you want to watch in Canada, while in the USA  NBC Sports  via Peacock Premium ($4.99 per month) will show the race. Australians can can watch the Tour for free on SBS on Demand.

And, of course, if you want to watch your local stream from anywhere in the world you'll need a VPN from a trusted company like ExpressVPN .

Tour de France: The jerseys

Much like every year in recent memory, the Tour de France jerseys and classifications are yellow for the overall leader, green for the leader in the points standings, polka-dot for the mountain classification, and white for the best young rider.

Along with the jersey prizes, there is an award for the most combative rider of each stage, with the winner wearing a red number on the following day. This is awarded each day, with a 'Super Combativity' award decided by a jury at the end of the race for the most active rider throughout the entire event.

There is also a team classification where the time of the first three riders from each team is put together to create a single time. This is then done in a similar way as the individual general classification.

In addition, there are plenty of bonus seconds up for grabs at the race. There are ten, six and four bonus seconds available at the end of each stage for the first three riders, as well as bonus sprints that are dotted throughout the race on key climbs to try and make the racing more entertaining for spectators.

Of course, there's also prize money up for grabs. For winning the 2023 edition of the race, Jonas Vingegaard collected €535,220 (£463,100), a sum which is customarily shared out among the team's riders and staff.

Tour de France past winners in the last 12 years

• 2012: Bradley Wiggins (GBr) 
• 2013: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2014: Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) 
• 2015: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2016: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2017: Chris Froome (GBr) 
• 2018: Geraint Thomas (GBr) 
• 2019: Egan Bernal (Col) 
• 2020: Tadej Pogačar (Slo) 
• 2021: Tadej Pogačar (Slo)  
• 2022: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)
• 2023: Jonas Vingegaard (Den)

Tour de France FAQ

How does the tour de france work.

The Tour de France is one of a trio of races that are three weeks long, known as the Grand Tours, alongside the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España. The Tour is the best known and arguably the most prestigious.

It is the second of the three races in the calendar with the Giro taking place in May, the Tour usually in July, and the Vuelta in August and September.

The Tour, like all Grand Tours, takes on varying terrain with flat days for sprinters, hilly days for puncheurs and mountains for the climbers and GC riders, along with time trials, so that a winner of the race has to be able to perform on all types of road.

The main prize in the race, known as the general classification, is based on time with the overall leader wearing the yellow jersey. The race leader and eventual winner is the rider who has the lowest accumulated time over the 21 days of racing. Riders can win the Tour de France without winning a stage, as Chris Froome did in 2017. Time bonuses of 10, six, and four seconds are given to stage winners though, creating incentive for those general classification riders to chase individual victories and lower their overall time.

In 2020 it took race winner Tadej Pogačar 87 hours 20 minutes and 5 seconds to complete the race with the second-place rider overall 59 seconds slower. That continues all the way down to the last place rider, which was Roger Kluge (Lotto-Soudal) who finished 6 hours 7 minutes and 2 seconds behind.

The white best young rider's jersey is worked out in the same way but only riders under the age of 26 are eligible for the jersey.

The polka-dot mountains jersey and the green points jersey are based on a points system and not time. The only reason time would come into account would be if riders are tied on points, then it would go to who is the best placed in the general classification.

The team classification is based on the general classification times of the first three riders of a team on each stage. The time of those three riders is added up and put onto their team's time, creating a GC list much like in the individual classifications. The leading team gets to wear yellow numbers and helmets on each stage.

The final classification available is the combativity prize. This is decided by a race jury or, in more recent years, Twitter. This takes place just before the end of each stage and often goes to a rider from the breakaway who has put in a daring performance or attempted to liven up the stage by attacking. The winner of the combativity award gets to wear a special red race number on the following day's stage.

There is a final prize added to this with the Super Combativity prize being awarded on the podium in Paris. This is decided in a similar fashion to pick out the most aggressive, entertaining, and daring rider of the whole three weeks. Again, usually going to a rider who has featured regularly in the breakaway.

Stage winners do not wear anything special the day after apart from getting a small yellow jersey to stick on their number on their bike, this can be replaced if they win multiple stages.

Teams used to come to the race with nine riders but the UCI, cycling's governing body, decided that nine riders from each team was too dangerous and dropped it to eight, however more teams now take part.

How long is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France takes place over 23 days with 21 of them being race days. The riders get two days of resting; they usually fall on the second and third Monday of the race.

This year's race is 3,492km long, which is 2,170 miles, around the same distance from Washington DC to Las Vegas, or Helsinki to Lisbon. 

Road stages can range from anything around 100km to something approaching 250km, sometimes more. This year the shortest road stage is stage 20, from Nice to Col de la Couillole, with the longest being 229km on stage three in Italy, from Plaisance to Turin.

Road stages often take around four to five hours with the longer days sometimes nudging over seven hours.

Time trials are always much shorter. Team time trials have long since gone out of fashion in the world of road racing so individual time trials are the main focus these days. 

In 2024, the Tour has two individual time trials for the riders to tackle, the first on stage seven at 25km long from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin, and the second on the final stage from Monaco to Nice, at 34km long.

When does the Tour de France start?

The 2024 Tour de France starts on June 29 in Florence, Italy, with a road stage. There will be three full stages in Italy, before the fourth heads into France. The race finishes in Nice three weeks later.

The 2024 edition of the race runs from 29 June - 21 July, covering 21 stages. 

How to watch the Tour de France live stream 2024

All the information you need in order to tune into the biggest race of the year

'We're getting back on track' - Jonas Vingegaard's coach says Tour de France champion is 'recovering fast' after horror crash

'We know these guys are mentally really tough' Tim Heemskerk says 27-year-old is making rapid progress in his return to fitness after broken collarbone, fractured ribs and punctured lung

By Tom Thewlis Published 16 May 24

Mathieu van der Poel to skip Olympic MTB to focus on Tour de France and road race

The world champion will not race again until the Tour begins in Florence at the end of June

By Adam Becket Published 15 May 24

Tadej Pogačar: Tour de France is now 'in the back of my mind'

Pogačar says he is already thinking about his next goal in July, now that he has a significant Giro d’Italia lead and overall victory in Rome is likely

By Tom Thewlis Published 13 May 24

New team philosophy, no foreign investment and Red Bull helmets: Inside the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe deal

Team CEO Ralph Denk says further big money signings, similarly to Primož Roglič, are unlikely as Red Bull money gives German team wings

By Tom Thewlis Published 3 May 24

From 'best condition ever' to 'worst' - Wout van Aert reflects on crashing out of Classics

Visma-Lease a Bike rider rues his misfortune in team documentary after Spring campaign wiped out by crash

By Tom Thewlis Published 2 May 24

Tour de France stage winner leaves hospital, one month after being hit by car driver

Lennard Kämna to fly home to Germany to begin rehabilitation after incident in Tenerife last month

By Tom Thewlis Published 1 May 24

Wout van Aert back on drop bars as he says he’s 'almost professional again' in Strava post

Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs in a high speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen

By Tom Thewlis Published 24 April 24

Jonas Vingegaard leaves hospital after Itzulia Basque Country horror crash

Danish rider underwent surgery to repair broken collarbone; too early to know whether Tour de France return will be possible

By Tom Thewlis Published 16 April 24

New study reveals impact of chest fairings in time trials - and it’s big

Objects stuffed in skinsuits offer ‘significant’ drag reduction and can save seconds against the clock

By Tom Davidson Published 10 April 24

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TOTAL: 3492 km

This will be the first Grand Départ in Italy and the 26th that’s taken place abroad  First finale in Nice. Due to the Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Paris, the race will not finish in the French capital for the first time.

Two time trials. 25 + 34 = 59km in total, the second of them taking place on the final Monaco>Nice stage. This will be the first time the race has seen a finale of this type for 35 years, the last occasion being the famous Fignon - LeMond duel in 1989.

Apennines (Italy), the Italian and French Alps, Massif Central and Pyrenees will be the mountain ranges on the 2024 Tour route.

The number of countries visited in 2024: Italy, San Marino, Monaco and France. Within France, the race will pass through 7 Regions and 30 departments.

The number of bonus points 8, 5 and 2 bonus seconds go to the first three classified riders, featuring at strategic points along the route (subject to approval by the International Cycling Union)these will have no effect on the points classification. Bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds will be awarded to the first three classified riders at road stage finishes.

Out of a total of 39, the locations or stage towns that are appearing on the Tour map for the first time . In order of appearance: Florence, Rimini, Cesenatico, Bologna, Piacenza, Saint-Vulbas, Gevrey-Chambertin, Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, Évaux-les-Bains, Gruissan, Superdévoluy, Col de la Couillole.

The number of sectors on white roads during stage nine, amounting to 32km in total .

The number of stages: 8 flat, 4 hilly, 7 mountain (with 4 summit finishes at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet, Plateau de Beille, Isola 2000, Col de la Couillole), 2 time trials and 2 rest days.

The number of riders who will line up at the start of the Tour, divided into 22 teams of 8 riders each.

The height of the summit of the Bonette pass in the Alps, the highest tarmac road in France, which will be the “roof” of the 2024 Tour.

The total vertical gain during the 2024 Tour de France.

PRIZE MONEY

A total of 2,3 million euros will be awarded to the teams and riders including € 500,000 to the final winner of the overall individual classification .

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Tour de France: Vingegaard the champion again as Meeus sprints to stage win – as it happened

Jordi Meeus sprinted to victory on the final stage as Jonas Vingegaard was crowned champion again

• 23 Jul 2023 Top five on stage 21
• 23 Jul 2023 Jordi Meeus pips Jasper Philipsen on the line to win stage 21
• 23 Jul 2023 Tadej Pogacar wins the intermediate sprint
• 23 Jul 2023 The racing on stage 21 has begun...with a touch of fun to start
• 23 Jul 2023 Who’s wearing what jersey?
• 23 Jul 2023 The top five on General Classification
• 23 Jul 2023 Jonas Vingegaard to win Tour de France again as Pogacar takes stage 20
• 23 Jul 2023 The stage 21 roll-out is under way
• 23 Jul 2023 Saint Quentin en Yvelines-Paris Champs Élysées, 115km

It’s farewell from me… for today. I’ll be back on the Tour de France Femmes live blog tomorrow. Thank you for all your messages, questions and funny anecdotes. They really do bring a smile to my face and it’s been a pleasure covering stages of the Tour de France for you. My colleagues will update with a race report shortly…I’m off to try and recreate this Pogacar gem.

🇫🇷 Lorsque l’actuel deuxième coureur au classement général du Tour de France Tadej Pogacar se rend tranquillement chercher sa baguette en vélo dans les rues de Clermont-Ferrand ! 🥖 🎥 tadejpogacar pic.twitter.com/B1QjiFVWUY — radio sisko fm (@radiosiskofm) July 15, 2023

On the podium:

Earlier I mentioned that there were a few riders saying farewell to the Tour today, having previously announced their retirement from road racing. As well as Sagan and Pinot, Tony Gallopin and Dries Devenyns have raced their final Tour stage today. Gary has tweeted to share his gratitude for Pinot:

Au revoir Thibault Pinot. You rode with your heart on your sleeve not your eye on the power meter, and carried a torch for the emotional power of panache when we thought it had gone forever, lost in a miasma of marginal gains. Chapeau! @AmySedghi — Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 23, 2023

Jonas Vingegaard has won the 110th edition of the Tour de France . It’s the Dane’s second year in a row winning the yellow jersey. Here’s what he had to say after today’s stage:

What was the feeling when you crossed the line? It’s a feeling of being proud. I’m happy of course – we’re winning it for the second time and it’s amazing. Today with all the spectators, all the Danish people here, it was really amazing and I have to say thank you, not only to my team and family, but to all the of Denmark. They support me as well and I’m really grateful for this.”

Can you describe the journey from Bilbao? “It’s been a long journey but it’s also went by so fast. We race everyday…it’s been a super hard race and a super good fight between me and Tadej [Pogacar]. I really enjoyed it all the way.”

What can we expect from you? “Of course, I hope to come back next year to see if I can take the third win. At least try it. I think that would be the plan.”

What would you want your daughter to think of you when she’s older? “Just that I was a good father…that I was there for her when she needed me.”

Today’s stage winner Meeus speaks: “I knew in the previous sprints that I [had] more than the results I’ve shown so far. [Today] everything went perfect and I was super happy to finish it off.”

“I felt good all day: the beginning was easy, obviously, but from the moment we went full gas my legs felt incredibly good. Then Marco Haller did a perfect job of positioning [me]. It’s my first tour. It was a super nice experience already and to take the win today is an indescribable feeling.”

Top five on stage 21

1. Jordi Meeus (Bora Hansgrohe) 2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck) 3. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco Alula) 4. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) 5. Cees Bol (Astana Qazaqstan Team)

Sagan sums up how everyone in the peloton must be feeling: “I’m tired,” he tells the Eurosport reporter. He doesn’t have much more to add.

An exciting finish… It was quite difficult to see who had taken that as there were a mix of green jerseys crossing the line together, but an overjoyed Meeus has clinched it. That was an exciting sprint to watch: Pogacar lead the group out with 1km to give a final flourish, Philipsen look well placed yet didn’t win and Meeus crossed the line to take the victory.

Jordi Meeus pips Jasper Philipsen on the line to win stage 21

Jordi Meeus of Bora-Hansgrohe pips Jasper Philipsen on the line. Philipsen can’t believe it and is shaking his head. That was quite unexpected…

2km to go: The sprint trains are forming. Lidl-Trek, Alpecin-Deceuninck, Uno-X and Jayco Alula are all up there. The yellow jersey have dropped back to stay out of danger and let get on with it.

5km to go: A few riders are still trying to push off the front, including Omar Fraile and Victor Campenaerts but it’s only going to end one way. I think we’re sure to see a bunch sprint and Jasper Philipsen would surely love to take this.

8km to go: Well, Sean Kelly was right. The breakaway has been caught and the riders are all back together. Magnus Cort briefly tries to get away but he’s reeled back in. We’re coming round to the final bell…

11km to go: Stefan Küng has had a mechanical. The peloton are closing in on Frison, Clarke and Oliveira but they seem to be letting them go again. Carlton Kirby on Eurosport is saying that there are some spots of localised drizzle and there is a corner that if it gets wet, has him worried.

13km to go: Hindley has managed to get back on to the peloton. The lap board is stating two laps to go! Next time round the riders will get the bell. It’s exciting.

16km to go: Seventh placed in the GC, Jai Hindley has had a bike change as his chain dropped. Frison, Clarke and Oliveira have 17sec on the group and are riding at around 55kmph.

20km to go: Sean Kelly isn’t sure that this three-man break is going to stick. While we wait to see if he’s right, I thought I’d share an email that’s landed in my inbox. Margaret asks: “Those energy bars that they all eat…are they wrapped differently to the bars we buy in the stores? Because I certainly need two hands (and occasionally a pair of scissors) to get into them. I wouldn’t ever contemplate trying to open one on a bicycle going at the speeds they reach.” I haven’t tried one of the pro-teams’ bars so can’t say but my soigneur (aka boyfriend) suspects that they might use a thinner wrapper that is easier to tear (although this has not been independently verified).

22km to go: It was looking like the trio were going to be swallowed up but the gap has gone back out to about 17 sec. The sprinters’ teams are probably happy to have a break of only three riders as they will be able to bring them back in later.

28km to go: It’s a slim lead of 8sec for the trio. Pogacar doesn’t let up and wants to join in the fun.

31km to go: The attackers have been reeled in, but hang on a moment, we have another attack. This time it’s Simon Clarke, followed by Frederik Frison and Nelson Oliveira.

33km to go: Michal Kwiatkowski, Alberto Bettiol, Nils Politt, Alex Edmondson, Harold Tejada, Yves Lampaert and Skjelmose have joined Pogacar and Van Hooydonck in the breakaway group. They have a very slender lead of 5sec.

Tadej Pogacar wins the intermediate sprint

Pogacar crossed the line first to take the intermediate sprint, with Van Hooydonck following. The results are:

1. Tadej Pogacar, 20 pts 2. Nathan van Hooydonck, 17 pts 3. Bryan Coquard, 15 pts 4. Alberto Bettiol, 13 pts 5. Nikias Arndt, 11 pts 6. Kevin Geniets, 10 pts 7. Michal Kwiatkowski, 9 pts 8. Axel Zingle, 8 pts 9. Rémi Cavagna, 7 pts 10. Lawson Craddock, 6 pts 11. Alex Edmondson, 5 pts 12. Nils Politt, 4 pts 13. Omar Fraile, 3 pts 14. Mattias Skjelmose, 2 pts 15. Harold Tejada, 1 pt

🏁 40KM 💚 @TamauPogi is first at the intermediate sprint @NVHooydonck behind. 💚 @TamauPogi est le premier au sprint intermédiaire, avec @NVHooydonck juste derrière. #TDF2023 @WeLoveCyclingFR pic.twitter.com/Rhz3BRxdov — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 23, 2023

37km to go: With the Tour de France 2023 coming to a close, many fans have been reflecting on their favourite moments. Michael has emailed in from Calgary in Canada to share his highlight: “As a Canadian, I have to be happy with the stage win this year by Michael Woods. It was a fantastic performance.” He’s also wondering about the team standings and asks “does anybody care at all about the team standings? The Tour diligently publishes them, but do they matter even slightly? (I wish they did - just like I wish there would be a team time trial every year.)"

41km to go: Six laps to go and Pogacar and Van Hooydonck are off the front with a very modest 10sec. Another group are splitting off the chasing group and another…the peloton is fracturing.

43km to go: I stand corrected. The coverage is showing that the roads have had a bit of rain on them but hopefully, not enough for it to be an issue. Van Hooydonck has decided to take turns and as a result, him and Pogacar have got the gap up to 15sec.

47km to go: Pogacar has attacked for a bit of fun. The crowd are loving it. The man certainly can entertain. Nathan Van Hooydonck of Jumbo-Visma is stuck on his wheel and refusing to do a turn.

53km to go: Earlier on the commentary, there was quite a bit of chat about whether the weather would hold or if the riders would face a wet sprint. Not a fun thought over those cobbles. So far, the weather looks to have behaved and the roads seem dry. A few riders have tried attacking already but had their efforts quickly shut down.

55km to go: The riders are on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and have crossed the finish line for the first time. They will have eight laps before we have a final stage winner. Let the racing proper begin…

57km to go: Make sure to wave David! The riders are putting on a show with what looks like a beautifully synchronised dance through the Louvre museum.

60km to go: The peloton are passing by the Jardin du Luxembourg currently and it’s about 5km until they hit the Champs Élysées. The pace has upped slightly towards 31kmph.

63km to go: Hello to David, who has emailed in from nearby to the Louvre. He’s asking what time the peloton will be heading past. I’m not 100% sure but would guess very soon as they’re gathering pace.

66km to go: So far, the peloton have ridden past the Palace of Versailles and crested the only categorised climb today, at the pavé des Gardes. Aptly, Ciccone is the first to get over it in all his polka-dots, after his teammates, Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose jokingly lead him out. The riders are just coming in to Paris now and the Eiffel Tower is within sight.

⛰ Côte du Pavé des Gardes (cat. 4️⃣) ⛰ 1️⃣ 🇮🇹 @giuliocicco1 , 1pt ⚪️🔴 Tout de pois vêtu, 🇮🇹 Giulio Ciccone prend symboliquement le dernier point disponible au sommet de la dernière difficulté répertoriée de ce  #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/rSvVjhuqi0 — Maillot à Pois E.Leclerc (@maillotapois) July 23, 2023

73km to go: In answer to Justin’s question about who got closest to finishing the Tour without finishing, there have been a few emails. One mentions the German rider Tony Martin, who abandoned on the Champs Élysées during the 2016 Tour de France due to unexplained knee pain. To give some context to that, Martin told Cycling Weekly that he wanted to go home, find out what was going on with his knee and prepare for the Olympic time trial in Rio.

A couple of readers (hi Simon, hi David) have emailed in to mention Djamolidine Abdoujaparov. A quick search has brought up his name in this Guardian piece about the most memorable finishes on the Champs-Élysées:

“In 1991, elbows-out sprinter Djamolodine Abdoujaparov wore green into the final stage (despite controversy after he had forced Johan Musseeuw into the barriers on an earlier stage ) but crashed on the final sprint – yet clung on to the jersey when the team got him over the line. But that finish pales into insignificance next to the 1989 finish, when Greg LeMond overcame his deficit to Laurent Fignon to time trial his way to victory in 1989 .”

85km to go: There are a number of riders sealing their final Tour appearance today, including Thibaut Pinot (Groupama–FDJ) and Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies).

92km to go: An email from Justin in Spain has come in and it is asking a question that I have also pondered (but don’t know the answer to).

He asks: “Perhaps a tasteless question but yesterday I found myself wondering who has got closest to finishing Le Tour without actually getting there. Do you or any readers know who holds that unhappy distinction? (I do not include riders who have gone down in tbe (sic) final stretch but been given finishing times nonetheless.)“ If anyone knows, then please share…

93km to go: The average pace has dropped to under 26kmph. That’s the kind of pace club riders can do and I could possibly…at a push. Adam Blythe has been given a glass of Champagne by one of the team in the Jumbo-Visma car. I’m quite jealous…

96km to go: Pogacar and Vingegaard really do deliver when it comes to interesting Tour de France stats, but here is one I’ve selected from the official Tour website that might be good for a pub quiz…

“For the third consecutive year, the first two on the final podium are the same (Pogacar-Vingegaard in 2021, the other way around in 2022 and 2023): it had never happened previously.”

100km to go: As mentioned previously, I am enjoying the slower pace and light-hearted jokes from the peloton today. I’m fresh from covering the first stage of the Tour de France Femmes , so that is why.

Before anything too serious happens on this stage, I’d like to share a personal highlight from this year’s Tour: Pogacar and his pronunciation of French pastries.

🥐 Tadej Pogacar with the perfect pronunciation of "croissant" 😂 @TamauPogi | @TeamEmiratesUAE | #TDF2023 pic.twitter.com/zfplNBjPTR — Eurosport (@eurosport) July 8, 2023

103km to go: Some of the riders are casually chatting, while others are putting their arms on each others shoulders for a nice team pic. On Eurosport, Vingegaard has been speaking about his win and the news that he’ll be racing next at the La Vuelta a España:

“It’s super nice to win it for the second time…I’m more confident and more relaxed in this situation now and I think that’s the biggest difference for me. I really enjoyed the rivalry with Tadej [Pogacar]. It’s been an amazing fight from Bilbao to here today. It’s good for cycling, it’s good for us…but I’m glad I won.” Jumbo-Visma confirmed today that the Dane will be racing at La Vuelta and Vingegaard says it has been the plan all along but they were waiting to release the news.

109km to go: If ever there was any doubt that Giulio Ciccone was reveling in wearing the polka-dot jersey, then take a look at the man today. He’s even got a polka-dot bike…

112km to go: As is the tradition, the peloton are starting at a slow pace to soak up and enjoy atmosphere. They are celebrating their achievements over the last three weeks and having a nice time. Unfortunately, Victor Lafay (Cofidisis) not among them as he has not started today. I’m sure he’ll be happy though with that win on stage two – a big moment for Cofidisis.

The racing on stage 21 has begun...with a touch of fun to start

113km to go: Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) had a cheeky attack off the front but he soon slows up and winks at the camera. He was just having a bit off fun as the super combative rider of the Tour. I’m looking forward to some more light-hearted fun during this stage. Bring it on.

Who’s wearing what jersey?

Yellow: Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 79hr 16min 38sec

Green: Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 377pts

Polka-dot: Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) 105pts

White: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates)

The top five on General Classification

Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 79hr 16min 38sec

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates) +7min 29sec

Adam Yates (UAE Emirates) +10min 56sec

Simon Yates (Jayco-Ulula) +12min 23sec

Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) +13min 17sec

Pello Bilbao, Jai Hindley, Felix Gall, David Gaudu and Guillaume Martin make up the top 10.

Jonas Vingegaard to win Tour de France again as Pogacar takes stage 20

In case you missed yesterday’s stage, here is the stage 20 report to get you up to speed: Jonas Vingegaard in effect sealed back-to-back wins in the Tour de France after defending his overall lead in the final mountain stage of the three-week race. With only Sunday’s processional stage to central Paris to come, the Dane will, barring accidents, wear the final yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées.

The stage 21 roll-out is under way

Smiling faces across the front of the peloton as the riders roll out for their final stage of the 2023 Tour de France . I can imagine they are all happy to have made it to Paris after a fast, hectic and tiring three weeks.

Saint Quentin en Yvelines-Paris Champs Élysées, 115km

William Fotheringham on stage 21: A hint of the Paris 2024 Games with a start at the national velodrome before the run-in to the finish on the Champs Élysées, where the sprinters can strut their stuff. This is the last time we will see the Tour here for a couple of years, as next year’s Olympics mean the finish moves to Nice and a final time trial, the first time the Tour has finished outside the capital since 1905.

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Tour de France 2024 Rider Power Rankings

Less than a month out from the start of the men’s Tour de France, we ranked the top yellow jersey threats in the peloton.

This is the latest edition of Bicycling’ s Power Rankings for the 2024 Men’s Tour de France, where we rank the top contenders leading up to July’s race. This continuously updated list will give you an in-depth look at the riders that have the best shot to stand atop the podium at the end of the Tour—and how they’re performing in the races leading up to July.

These rankings will be constantly refreshed, so you can see who’s up and who’s down on the road to the 2024 Tour de France.

The 2024 Tour de France was expected to bring together the sport’s four best grand tour riders: Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), winner of the last two Tours de France; Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), winner of the 2020 and 2021 Tours de France and the recent Giro d’Italia; Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step), winner of the 2022 Vuelta a España; and Slovenia’s Primož Roglič (BORA-hansgrohe), a 3-time winner of the Vuelta and the champion at last year’s Giro d’Italia.

Each rider was taking a different route to the Tour de France, with each choosing to mix race days with extended periods of time spent at training camps. And while some of their paths crossed at select races throughout the first few months of the season, they weren’t expected to all race together until the Tour. For fans, it was a dream scenario.

But the dream became a nightmare in early-April after a scary, high-speed crash during Stage 4 of Spain’s Tour of the Basque Country took down several riders, including Vingegaard, Roglič, and Evenepoel. Two of them–Vingegaard and Evenepoel–suffered serious injuries, and all of them had their Tour preparations interrupted.

That was almost eight weeks ago, and they’re all back on their bikes and training again. But with the Tour de France beginning in Florence, Italy just four weeks from Saturday, one big question still remains: Will Vingegaard–who suffered the worst injuries of the three–be on the starting line, and if he is will he have the form he needs to defend his title? This storyline is the one we’ll be watching the most in the month leading up to the start of the Tour, but it’s not the only one.

We’re also excited to see if Pogačar can become the first rider since 1998 to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same season (spoiler alert: we think he can). And last but definitely not least, we’re eager to learn which other contenders–if any–will be ready to challenge him.

So with four weeks left before the Tour’s “Grand Depart,” here’s our latest–and perhaps most optimistic–Tour de France contender Power Ranking.

Tadej Pogačar

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Previous Ranking : 1

Race Days : 31

Race Wins : 14

Best Result : 1st-place, General Classification - Giro d’Italia

Next Race: Tour de France, June 29-July 21

With about four weeks until the start of the Tour de France, there are still no questions about who the Tour’s top contender is. Pogačar just wrapped-up a three-week training camp in Italy. You may have heard it–it’s called the Giro d’Italia.

We’re kidding, right? Well, not really. Pog absolutely dominated the Italian grand tour, winning the maglia rosa by almost ten minutes over the next-closest rider on the Giro’s General Classification. Along the way he won six stages–finished second or third on three more–and won the Giro’s King of the Mountains prize. But more importantly, he finished the race healthy and reasonably fresh for a rider who just won a three-week grand tour. 

He only crashed once–near the end of Stage 2 when he flatted and his front wheel slipped out from him. It was a minor fall, and Pogačar quickly quickly got back on his bike and promptly won the stage. Otherwise, he escaped the race injury-free.

He also stayed healthy, which–considering the terrible weather that the race encountered at the beginning of the third week–was another blessing for the Slovenian. Staying safe and healthy during a three-week is often a greater challenge than overcoming the competition, and Pog came through that battle unscathed. 

And speaking of the competition, between a relatively gentle course and a rather weak (sorry, guys) start list, Pogačar was never really pushed to defend his lead. With the exception of the Giro’s two individual time trials, he basically won the race with a series of quick, uphill accelerations that no one else could follow. Then he simply rode a steady tempo to the finish line, extending his advantage as he pedaled. 

Pogačar’s near-perfect Giro–plus the fact that he raced minimally in the months before it–means that he probably ended the Giro stronger than he was when he started it. That’s bad news for the men he’ll be racing against at the Tour de France. 

With the Giro behind him, Pogačar will rest for a week and then head to a ski station in the French Alps for nineteen days of altitude training. He won’t race before the Tour de France, but with a grand tour in his legs, he doesn’t need to. 

At this rate, we’ll be eating some humble pie in late-July. At the beginning of the season, we didn’t have much faith in his chances of winning the Giro and the Tour in the same season. But given the way things are shaping up, now we’ll be more surprised if he doesn’t. 

Primož Roglič

Read the complete analysis.

Previous Ranking : 2

Race Days : 11

Race Wins : 1

Best Result : 1st-place, Stage 1 - Tour of the Basque Country

Next Race : Critérium du Dauphiné, June 2-10

Roglič also went down in the crash that took out Vingegaard and Evenepoel, and like the other two, he abandoned the race immediately. But after a series of medical examinations, BORA-hansgrohe reported that the 34-year-old suffered no major injuries. Compared to the others, the Slovenian dodged bullet.

He was initially expected to take part in Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège last week, but the team changed plans to give him extra time to heal. That was a good call, as the weather in the Belgian Ardennes was atrocious that week, and the risk of getting sick or worse–another crash–just wasn’t worth it. In fact, he probably made more gains by training than he would have by racing. 

The Slovenian spent the past five weeks training–which was always the plan–and now he’s heading to the Critérium du Dauphiné–which starts this Sunday–for his last big test before the Tour de France.

The Dauphiné is essentially an 8-day mini-Tour de France with several stages that mimic key stages from the upcoming Tour. It’s also early enough in the month that riders have time for one more small block of training before the start of the Tour. That makes it a popular dress rehearsal for Tour contenders, and Roglič will be going head-to-head with several of his rivals. And it’s a race he knows well: he won it in 2022. 

That’s why anything worse than a top-5 finish would be bad news for the Slovenian. He doesn’t need to win it; after all, the Dauphiné ends four weeks before the start of the Tour, and he needs to be at his best in July not June. 

But a poor performance against many of the men he’ll be racing against at the Tour will raise some eyebrows, putting even more pressure on a 34-year-old rider who might be staring down his last reasonable chance to win the Tour de France. 

Remco Evenepoel

Previous Ranking : 3

Race Days : 17

Race Wins : 4

Best Result : 2nd place, General Classification - Paris-Nice

Another victim of the crash at the Tour of the Basque Country, Evenepoel broke his right clavicle and scapula in Spain and had surgery a few days later in Belgium to address the broken collarbone. The injury meant the Belgian missed a chance to become only the fourth rider to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège three years in a row. 

But his injuries have healed and he’s been on his bike for several weeks. He even attended a recent training camp with his team in Sierra Nevada. So he’s back on schedule in terms of his training for this summer’s Tour de France. 

This sets Evenepoel up for an important showdown with Roglič–and others–at the Critérium du Dauphiné–the Belgian’s last race before the Tour de France–and the pressure he’ll face there will be intense. 

The winner of the 2022 Vuelta a España, Evenepoel is Belgium’s best chance to win a Tour in several decades (a Belgian hasn’t won the Tour since 1976), so he already carries the weight of a nation of passionate cycling fans on his shoulders.

So there’s really no way for the 24-year-old to come out of the Dauphiné without facing even more pressure: if races well–let’s say, finishes on the podium–everyone will start talking about him as if he’s bound to win the Tour. But a bad Dauphiné will fire up the naysayers, putting the wrong kind of pressure on a rider who sometimes struggles to handle adversity. It’s an unenviable position, but that’s life as when you’re Belgium’s first grand tour winner since 1978. 

Egan Bernal and Carlos Rodriguez

Previous Rankings : 4 (Bernal) and 5 (Rodríguez)

Race Days : 28 (Bernal) and 24 (Rodríguez)

Race Wins : 0 (Bernal) and 2 (Rodríguez)

Best Result : 3rd place, General Classficiation - Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (Bernal) and 1st-place, General Classification - Tour de Romandie (Rodríguez)

Next Race : Tour de France, June 29-July 21 (Bernal) and Critérium du Dauphiné, June 2-10 (Rodríguez) 

We’re hedging our bets with this one because–at the moment–we can’t find a reason to put one ahead of the other. But that could change after the Critérium du Dauphiné, which Rodríguez will be starting this weekend.

The Spaniard flew a bit under the radar at last year’s Dauphiné, but in hindsight he shouldn’t have: he finished ninth overall against some tough competition and won the white jersey as the race’s Best Young Rider. The then-22-year-old went on to finish fifth overall and win a stage at the Tour de France. Perhaps we should have seen it coming.

But Rodríguez won’t sneak up on anyone this year, and his performance will indicate if he’s ready to become a true Tour de France podium contender. If he is, he’ll likely bump Bernal–who last raced in late-April and is currently training in Colombia–down a notch in the team’s leadership hierarchy. And that might not be a bad thing: we like the chances of “Bernal the Dark Horse” better than those of “Bernal the Pre-Tour Podium Contender.” 

Jonas Vingegaard

Previous Ranking : Under Consideration

Race Days : 14

Race Wins : 7

Best Result : 1st-place, General Classification - Tirreno-Adriatico

Next Race : TBD

Given some recent news, we’re optimistically moving the Tour’s two-time defending champion back into our top-5—well, 6 if you consider the INEOS tandem above. 

One of the worst victims of the crash at the Tour of the Basque Country, Vingegaard lay motionless along the side of the road for a few minutes before finally being placed in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital, where tests revealed a broken collarbone and a few cracked ribs. Later the team shared that Vingegaard also suffered a pulmonary contusion and a collapsed lung. He stayed in the hospital for 12 days. 

At first, Visma-Lease a Bike wouldn’t discuss the Dane’s chances of racing the Tour de France. But now they are–albeit in uncertain terms–because Vingegaard is back on his bike and training. He was first spotted on a bike path in Denmark, and this week, he arrived in Tignes, France for altitude training camp.

At the Giro d’Italia last week, his team manager Richard Plugge confirmed that Vingegaard has indeed resumed training but would only head to the Tour if he is 100 percent ready to defend his title. And he didn’t sound as if the possibility of the Dane being ready in time was as far-fetched as it seemed a month ago.  

He won’t ride the Dauphiné, but his teammates racing it will meet him in Tignes afterwards. Things are clearly going better than they were in April for Vingegaard, and we think there’s about a 50% chance that he starts the Tour de France. 

Vingegaard started the season in dominating fashion. In fact, he was so strong that some wondered how he could possibly maintain such a high level of fitness all the way through the Tour. Assuming he’s able to get anywhere close to the form he had before the crash–and he starts the Tour–he’s good enough to break back into our Power Ranking. It’s an optimistic take, but we’re going with it–for now.

Under Consideration

If Vingegaard is ultimately unable to start the Tour de France, American Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease a Bike) –the winner of last year’s Vuelta a España–will likely lead the team instead. Kuss hasn’t raced since the Tour of the Basque Country, but he’s starting the Critérium du Dauphiné this Sunday. With three summit finishes to close out the race, it’s the perfect chance for Kuss to assert himself as a Tour de France contender.

Spain’s Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) is also riding the Dauphiné and likely racing to win it. The 21-year-old finished third at the 2022 Vuelta a España and is set to start his first Tour de France this summer. He’ll be riding in support of Pogačar, but the Spaniard could be a contender himself–both as a domestique (UAE put two riders on the podium last year) and as a back-up plan (should something happen to Pog).

Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) has been training since his last race, April’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The 31-year-old is racing the Tour de Suisse–which takes place one week after the Dauphiné–as his final race before the Tour. And he’ll be racing with a chip on his shoulder: the reigning Olympic champion was not selected to represent his country at the games this summer. Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers)–who won Stage 1 at the Giro d’Italia–was chosen instead.

Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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'Jonas is the guy that can win the race' - Visma still hopeful for Vingegaard as plan A for the Tour de France

W hile Visma-Lease a Bike still won’t confirm whether Jonas Vingegaard will be back at this year’s Tour de France after his horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country, plan A remains in favour of the Dane who they say “is the man who can win the race” even after sustaining a broken collarbone, ribs and a collapsed lung in April.

Vingegaard has been making positive steps in recent weeks, returning to riding outdoors, then heading to hillier Spanish terrain and now venturing up to altitude in Tignes.  

But the two-time defending Tour winner’s presence to defend his yellow jersey is still touch and go, with Visma not wanting to send him unless he is 100%.

However, even with their leader out and Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss having to step up at the Critérium du Dauphiné to try and make it three wins in a row for the Dutch outfit, spirits are still high.

“The morale is good. We are hopeful that Jonas [VIngegaard] will be fit in four weeks' time but there is no news on that,” said Visma DS Grischa Niermann to Cyclingnews after the opening stage in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. 

“We cannot predict it yet but nevertheless, we are a very, very strong team and even without Jonas, we will be able to do a really good Tour de France.”

However, Niermann was adamant that the current hope is to have Vingegaard start and battle for the win against Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), as the Slovenian attempts to complete the Giro-Tour double for the first time since 1998.

“The confidence is in Jonas [Vingegaard] and Jonas is the guy that can win the race,” said Niermann outside the team bus. 

“If he cannot ride then we have to make new plans and that could include Sepp [Kuss] and Matteo [Jorgenson]."

Kuss is the most recent winner of the Vuelta a España and Jorgenson has reached new heights in 2024 since joining the Dutch team, netting the overall win at Paris-Nice and finding one-day success at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

And, despite Niermann’s unwillingness to put any pressure on the pair for the Tour, with a long altitude camp in the books before the Dauphiné, the form is solid heading into the eight-day pre-Tour de France stage race.

“They are in good form. Sepp [Kuss] had a few days last week when he was not 100% feeling fit but the really hard days are still far away so we are hopeful that they will do well,” Niermann said. 

“And at least they had a good preparation. Of course, that was not the preparation for the Dauphiné but for the Tour de France but they are looking good and we’ll see how far they get.”

Kuss and Jorgenson take the reigns in Vingegaard's absence

Stage 1 was the first time the talented duo from the U.S.A. had ridden together in their yellow jerseys, with Jorgenson opting for a more Classics-focused start to the season, with the 24-year very excited to get stuck into the GC challenge alongside his compatriot.

“I was just roommates with Sepp [Kuss] for a few weeks at Sierra [altitude camp] and that was like the first time we got together and it's really nice having an American in the team,” Jorgenson told reporters before the start.

“Being here together both going for GC is pretty cool. It’s a privilege, I have to pinch myself.”

He wasn’t feeling the pressure of co-leading the squad in Vingegaard’s absence either, but conceded that the challenge would be very difficult to come out on top of despite his earlier French stage race success in the Race to the Sun.

“No actually I think having Sepp here with me, I think we can kind of share the load a bit and I don’t feel so much pressure. I just want to do my best,” said Jorgenson.

“It will be difficult anyway [to win], it was difficult at Paris-Nice. I think it is a nice course, but the weekend will be a big challenge in the last 3 days.” The American of course referring to the trio of summit finishes that close out the racing in France.

The Collet d’Allevard (11.2km at 8.1%), Samoëns 1600 (10km at 9.3%) and Plateau des Glières (9.4km at 7.1%) climbs will decide the overall winner as the respective finishes on stages 6-8 and will set apart those in the best shape ahead of the Tour. But Jorgenson sees those days more in favour of Grand Tour winner Kuss.

“I think Sepp and I have really different characteristics. He’s really suited to that weekend and I’m more suited to the TT and the first couple of hilltop finishes so I'm just looking forward to giving it a go and seeing where we end up.”

Kuss was very calm at the start of the day, only finishing his media duties seconds before the countdown to the stage start began, aware that today's sprint day wasn't one for him and that the gap between the Dauphiné and the Tour leaves room to find that last bit of form.

“You can’t come into the Dauphine not in good shape but it's a good race to get a feel for the kind of racing you’ll have in the Tour and then still have time afterwards to adjust the training," Kuss said into FloBikes' microphone.

"It's an important race for sure. I haven’t raced in a while. But I think I feel pretty good.

"Of course, there’s a long time trial but there’s also some hard mountains stage so we'll just see how it goes each day and I'm looking forward to the weekend in particular."

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Pogacar wins the Giro d’Italia by a big margin and will now aim for a 3rd Tour de France title

Tour of Italy winner Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar holds the trophy during the podium ceremony at the end of the 21st and last stage of the Giro D’Italia, cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, wearing the pink jersey overall leader, crosses the finish line of the 21st and last stage of the Giro D’Italia, tour of Italy cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cyclists are cheered by fans as they ride past the ancient Colosseum during the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, wearing the pink jersey overall leader, flashes the victory sign after crossing the finish line of the 21st and last stage of the Giro D’Italia, tour of Italy cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cyclists, including the pink jersey overall leader Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, ride past the ancient Colosseum during the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

From left, second classified Colombia’s Daniel Felipe Martinez, first classified Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar and third classified Britain’s Geraint Thomas celebrate during the podium ceremony at the end of the 21st and last stage of the Giro D’Italia, tour of Italy cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Third classified Britain’s Geraint Thomas celebrates during the podium ceremony at the end of the 21st and last stage of the Giro D’Italia, tour of Italy cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, wearing the pink jersey of the race overall leader, is lifted in celebration by teammates ahead of the start of the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race, in front of the Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana, also known as Colosseo Quadrato (Square Colosseum) in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Belgium’s Tim Merlier celebrates winning the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Gian Mattia D’Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

Cyclists ride past the ancient Colosseum during the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, 2nd right, wearing the pink jersey of the race overall leader, poses as he waits for the start of the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race, in front of the Palazzo della Civilta’ Italiana, also known as Colosseo Quadrato (Square Colosseum) in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP)

Cyclists ride past the ancient Colosseum during the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Cyclists ride past the Unknown Soldier monument during the final stage of the Giro d’Italia cycling race, in Rome, Sunday, May 26, 2024. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

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ROME (AP) — Tadej Pogacar won the Giro d’Italia on Sunday with the race’s biggest margin of victory in nearly six decades — earning a third Grand Tour trophy to go with his two Tour de France titles.

Pogacar, riding a pink bike to go with his pink jersey, shorts and helmet, crossed safely in the main pack to conclude the mostly ceremonial final stage of the three-week race in Rome, ending with an advantage of 9 minutes, 56 seconds over runner-up Daniel Martinez.

Geraint Thomas finished third overall, 10:24 behind.

The last time there was a bigger margin of victory in the Giro came in 1965, when Vittorio Adorni won by 11:26.

Pogacar, a Slovenian with UAE Team Emirates, also won six stages in the race, the most since Eddy Merckx also won six in 1973.

“Winning any bike race is important but winning the Giro, especially like this, is really incredible,” Pogacar said.

Now Pogacar will attempt to rest and recover in time to make an attempt at winning his third Tour title, with cycling’s biggest race starting on June 29 with four stages in Italy.

Pogacar will be attempting to become the first rider to win the Giro and the Tour in the same year since Marco Pantani in 1998.

“This was the big goal for the first part of the season. Now finally I’ll have a bit of rest before the second part, which could be the more important part,” Pogacar said. “We’ll see.”

Belgian rider Tim Merlier won the final stage in a sprint ahead of Jonathan Milan by the Colosseum. It was Merlier’s fourth career win at the Giro and third this year.

Milan, the Italian sprinter who also won three stages in the race, had a mechanical issue and needed to change his bike at the start of the last lap. He then managed to catch up with the main pack and almost grabbed another victory.

The 125-kilometer (78-mile) mostly flat final stage finished with a circuit through the center of the capital that was completed eight times, taking riders past the Baths of Caracalla, the Roman Forum, the Tiber River and the Circus Maximus before the finish on cobblestones near the Arch of Constantine.

Pogacar entered the Giro for the first time this year and made an immediate impact. He finished second in the opening stage in Turin and gained time on almost all of his direct rivals. Then he won the second stage, grabbed the leader’s pink jersey and kept on increasing his advantage day after day.

Pogacar won the Tour in 2020 and 2021 and then finished second behind Jonas Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023.

Vingegaard is hoping to defend his Tour title despite a crash in April that left him with several broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

• Critérium du Dauphiné stage 2 live - A first mountain test at the Col de la Loge

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe confirm pre-Tour de France sponsor launch

German WorldTour team will race Tour de France under new brand backing

Rebranded German WorldTour squad Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will be officially launched in the countdown to the Tour de France, the team confirmed this week.

The addition of Red Bull was confirmed for the Bora-Hansgrohe squad earlier this season, with the announcement that a new U-23 team would form part of the sponsorship deal in 2025. A junior team, Grenke Auto Eder, already forms part of the squad’s broader infrastructure.

The team launch will be held in Salzburg airport in Austria on June 26, just before the riders fly out to Italy for the Tour de France start on June 29.

The launch will also see the new team kit being unveiled and the full Tour de France line-up presented to the media.

The team set to be known as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will be led at the Tour de France for the first time by Primož Roglič , currently racing the Criterium du Dauphiné, his first race back since crashing heavily in the Itzulia Basque Country . 

Aleksandr Vlasov and 2022 Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley are expected to form part of the line-up in one of the most powerful teams in the 2024 Tour de France.

According to Wielerflits , the newly designed Red Bull jersey will have marked similarities to the Red Bull Formula 1 team kit in motor racing. The Dutch website reports that according to Austrian media, as a result of Red Bull's joining Bora-Hansgrohe as a sponsor, the annual budget is also set to nearly double to €45 million.

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Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews , he has also written for The Independent ,  The Guardian ,  ProCycling , The Express and Reuters .

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