July 26, 2026 - The final stage of the Tour de France 2026 from Thoiry to Paris delivered fireworks and crowned champions who already occupy a very special place in the history of the event. Clad in yellow as he rode towards a record-tying fifth overall triumph, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) indulged himself with a flurry of attacks on the Côte de la Butte Montmartre.

After the third and final ascent of the Butte Montmartre climb, only Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) was with him at the front. The duo collaborated to fend off the bunch in a most thrilling finale. As Pogacar faltered, Van der Poel held off the charging sprinters solo on the Champs-Élysées covering the last 600 metres alone at an average speed of 52.9 km/h and resisted with a mere margin the sprinters, led by his teammate Jasper Philipsen at the line. The Dutchman thus claimed the fourth Tour de France stage victory of his career, his second this year following his win in Ussel (stage 9).

Third on the day, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is the first Danish conqueror of the green jersey, and the sixth rider to win the points standings in all three Grand Tours. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) takes both the polka dot jersey and the Super Combativity award, as he did in 2024.

Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe) claimed second overall, while Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG), third overall, also takes home the white jersey as the winner of the young rider standings. The roll of honour also features the USA national champion Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), named the best teammate of this edition.

Pogacar cemented his place at the pinnacle of Tour de France history. Dominant with five stage wins (bringing his total to twenty-six), the Slovenian secured the fifth Grande Boucle of his career, following his victories in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025.

With this achievement, the two-time world champion joins four other five-time Tour winners : Frenchman Jacques Anquetil (1957, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964), Belgian Eddy Merckx (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974), Frenchman Bernard Hinault (1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1985) and Spaniard Miguel Indurain (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995).

With this latest triumph, Pogacar also becomes the youngest rider to complete this rare five-win feat, at the age of 27 years, 10 months and 5 days. He thus dethrones “The Cannibal” Eddy Merckx, who won his final Grande Boucle at the age of 29 years, 1 month and 4 days, fifty-two years ago.

With his fifth victory this year, Pogacar has reached the final podium of the Tour de France for the seventh consecutive edition, an all-time record. Having finished second in 2022 and 2023, but most notably taking the top step in 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025 and 2026, the Slovenian surpasses Miguel Indurain, five-time winner between 1991 and 1995, and Jonas Vingegaard, who also made the podium in five consecutive Tours (winner in 2022 and 2023, and second in 2021, 2024 and 2025).

Since his third-place finish at the 2019 Vuelta, Pogacar has reached the podium in each of his first nine Grand Tours (including his 2024 Giro victory). He further extends his lead over Jacques Anquetil, Raymond Poulidor and Bernard Hinault, all of whom topped out at six consecutive podium finishes.

Pogacar also secured the 71st Yellow Jersey of his career. Having worn the prestigious jersey for sixteen stages this year, the Slovenian is closing the gap on Bernard Hinault (79 Yellow Jerseys) but remains far behind the record-holder, Eddy Merckx, who kept it 111 times. Since his debut in 2020, Pogacar has amassed no fewer than 189 distinctive jerseys at the Tour. In addition to the Yellow Jersey, the five-time winner of the event has claimed three green jerseys, forty polka-dot jerseys, and seventy-five white jerseys.

By triumphing in Paris, Van der Poel bettered the achievement of his father, Adrie, who finished second at the same place in 1982, and imitates his grandfather Raymond Poulidor, who won in the capital in 1967 during a time trial. The former world champion also becomes the sixth Dutchman to win in Paris, following in the footsteps of Jan Janssen (1968), Gerben Karstens (1976), Gerrie Knetemann (1978), Jean-Paul van Poppel (1988) and Dylan Groenewegen (2017).

Final Overall
1. Tadej Pogacar(UAE Team Emirates XRG) 73h56’26”
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – Bora – hansgrohe) +6’26”
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) +9’42”