Barring accident, Tadej Pogacar is expected to cruise to his fourth victory in the Tour de France on Sunday. The final day of the race is normally a leisurely ride into Paris and a final sprint down the Champs-Elyses, but this year race organisers have added a tricky detour into the cobbled streets of the Montmartre neighbourhood.
Tadej Pogacarleads theTour de FranceintoParison Sunday on the cusp of a fourth title after a dominant 21-day romp over the peaks and plains ofFrance.
The final day normally culminates with a parade into the French capital and a sprint on the famed Champs-Elysees avenue.
But for the first time organisers are sending the race through the narrow cobbled lanes of the north Parisian neighbourhood ofMontmartre, in a nod to the route used to much fanfare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The detour could well provoke a long-range attack and champion-in-waiting Pogacar said he may target the stage win from there.
Well see what happens and how the legs are, the Slovenian said after Saturdays stage.
The 21st and final stage, a 132km ride from Mantes-la-Ville to the Champs-Elysees, features three ascents of Montmartre where droves of fans are expected to crown a vintage edition of the sports most prestigiouscyclingstage race.
Barring a final-day fall, the top three places on this Tour were fixed on two ascents to Alpine ski resorts, where Pogacar shook off any final resistance from Danish rival Jonas Vingegaard, who put up a brave challenge before fading to second for Team Visma.
But this Tour has not just been about the rivalry between Pogacar, a Tour winner in 2020, 2021 and 2024, and Vingegaard, victor in 2022 and 2023.
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Emerging stars
A barnstorming first week of racing unveiled a raft of emerging stars.
Florian Lipowitz, 24, sits in third place to putGermanyback on the map as Red Bulls arrival in the world of professional cycling immediately impacted the Tour.
Lipowitz was given a run for his money by 22-year-old Scot Oscar Onley, whose steady ride propelled him to fourth overall. Five of his Picnic-PostNL teammates hail from the same youth team.
Irelands Ben Healy bagged a stage win and a two-day stint in the yellow jersey.
A heroic near miss on Mont Ventoux should be enough to earn Healy the publicly voted-for prize for combativity.
The return of Dave Brailsford from Manchester United to Ineos Grenadiers was overshadowed by Italian powerhouse Filippo Ganna falling early on stage one and being withdrawn due to concussion.
Having previously masterminded seven Tour de France wins, Brailsford dug in and the teams Dutch climber Thymen Arensman pulled off heists in the Pyrenees and theAlpswith well-executed attacks.
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Another Dutch rider, Mathieu van der Poel, lit up the first week, sealing a stage two win and twice wearing the yellow jersey.
Frances sole and unexpected stage win came on the lunar-like summit of Mont Ventoux thanks to Valentin Paret-Peintre.
The 2025 Tour, however, will be remembered mainly for Pogacars all-round dominance.
He won stages on rolling runs in the north and west at Rouen and the Mur de Bretagne in the first week, then on the mountain slopes of the Pyrenees on the Hautacam and Peyragudes in week two.
As the Tour entered its end game Pogacar unexpectedly switched his attacking default setting to nurse his lead through the Alps.
Vingegaard had two off days, first on a long time trial and secondly at the Hautacam slog. It was enough for Pogacar to assert himself and never look back.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Originally published on France24
