UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar wins second successive Tour de France

Paris: Tadej Pogacar won a second successive Tour de France today as Wout van Aert claimed the final stage on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

The Slovenian rider with UAE Team Emirates successfully defended his huge lead of 5 minutes, 20 seconds over second-place Jonas Vingegaard.

Wout van Aert won the 21st stage in a mass sprint. That prevented Mark Cavendish from beating Belgian great Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 stage wins which the British sprinter equaled earlier in the race.

Pogacar stole in at the 11th hour to win the 2020 edition, but this year he stamped his authority in the first week and will pull on the yellow jersey beneath the Arc de Triomphe as the undisputed champion aged just 22.

“I can’t compare both Tour de France victories, I can’t say which one is more beautiful,” Pogačar said. “This time, I took the yellow jersey quite earlier. It has been totally different.”