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Tour de France Winners List

The most successful rider in the Tour de France was Lance Armstrong , who finished first seven times before his wins were removed from the record books after being found guilty of doping by the USADA in 2012. No rider has been named to replace him for those years.

> see also more information about how they determine the winners of the Tour

General Classification Winners

* footnotes

• 1904: The original winner was Maurice Garin, however he was found to have caught a train for part of the race and was disqualified.
• 1996: Bjarne Riis has admitted to the use of doping during the 1996 Tour. The Tour de France organizers have stated they no longer consider him to be the winner, although Union Cycliste Internationale has so far refused to change the official status due to the amount of time passed since his win. Jan Ullrich was placed second.
• 1999-2005: these races were originally won by Lance armstrong, but in 2012 his wins in the tour de france were removed due to doping violations.
• 2006: Floyd Landis was the initial winner but subsequently rubbed out due to a failed drug test.
• 2010: Alberto Contador was the initial winner of the 2010 event, but after a prolonged drug investigation he was stripped of his win in 2012.

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Tour de France winners

Every winner of the Tour de France from 1903 onwards

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The roll-call of Tour de France winners contains the names of many of the world's best bike riders through time.

The most illustrious of the three Grand Tours, the Tour de France  has been taking place on an annual bases since 1903 - with two breaks in its history, one for each of the World Wars.

The most prolific winner would have been Lance Armstrong, who wore the yellow jersey in Paris for seven consecutive years between 1999 and 2005. However, he was stripped of all of his titles in 2012 following investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Next in line, we have a prolific quartet of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. All four have five titles to their names, Anquitel was the first to do it but Mercx is still the only person to have won the general, points and king of the mountains classifications in the same Tour - a feat he accomplished in 1969.

Chris Froome (now Israel Start-Up Nation) has four wins to his name - he won in in 2013 and then consecutively from 2015 to 2017 but hasn't managed to equal the record of five overall victories yet.

Tour de France titles won between 1999-2005 were formerly allocated to Lance Armstrong (USA) but stripped after he was found guilty of doping. No alternative winner has been announced for these years.

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How do you win the Tour de France?

In the first ever edition of the race, the winner of the General Classification earned their place based on overall riding time. However, following the disqualification of its 1904 victor, Maurice Garin, the organisers introduced a points based system.

Then, in 1912 they reverted back to awarding the win based on time. This remains the case today - the rider with the lowest overall accumulated time leads the General Classification and whoever holds that position once the peloton arrives in Paris is crowned the winner.

Youngest ever Tour de France winner

Henri Cornet, 19-years-old

Oldest ever Tour de France winner

Firmin Lambot, 36-years-old

First Tour de France winner

The first ever win went to a rider from the race's home country - Maurice Garin, in 1903.

First ever Tour de France GC disqualification

Also Garin. The Frenchman also won in 1904, however he was disqualified for allegedly using means of transport outside of the bicycle (car, rail).

The result was that Henri Cornet took his place, and at 19-years-old he will no doubt remain the youngest ever for a long time, if not indefinitely.

There have been quite a few disqualifications since, mostly for doping (Armstrong, 1999-2005, Floyd Landis, 2006, Alberto Contador, 2010).

First non-French Tour de France winner

The winner's list for the early years of the race is dominated by Frenchman. The first winner from outside the country of origin was 1909 leader François Faber of Luxembourg.

Britain took a while to catch up - the first British rider of the men's Tour de France race was Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) in 2012. GB now have five overall victories to their name thanks to Wiggins and Froome.

Smallest ever winning margin

In 1989, American Greg LeMond won over Laurent Fignon by just eight seconds.

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Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!

I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.

It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.

After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.

When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.

My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider snatches victory from the jaws of defeat in the lunge to the line

By Joseph Lycett Published 14 April 24

There's literally nowhere to hide, explains ultracyclist James MacDonald

By James Shrubsall Published 14 April 24

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Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali Wins the 2014 Tour de France

By Ian Austen

• July 27, 2014

PARIS — Vincenzo Nibali emerged Sunday as the first Italian winner of the Tour de France in 16 years after a race defined by inclement weather and painful eliminations of other favorites.

To some extent, Nibali benefited from the misfortunes of others. Chris Froome of Britain, the defending champion, quit early in the three-week race after three crashes amid miserable rain and cold that made the Tour sometimes seem as if were being run in the early spring. Then the Spaniard Alberto Contador, who has won the Tour three times but was stripped of his 2010 title over doping, hit a hole in the pavement and broke his leg, again on a damp and chilly day.

But Nibali, 29, who rides for Astana, did not cruise to a win by default. He won four stages of the Tour, including one in each of the three mountain ranges the Tour traversed this year: the Vosges, the Alps and the Pyrenees. All of the wins were decisive.

Nibali also wore the yellow jersey as the race leader for 19 of the 21 stages.

“Now that I find myself on the highest step on the Champs-Élysées podium, it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined,” Nibali said after his victory.

Nibali is the first overall winner who also took four non-time-trial stages since Eddy Merckx, widely regarded as cycling’s greatest racer, in 1974. Nibali also joined five other cyclists, including Merckx, who have won all three of cycling’s grand tours — the Tour, the Vuelta a España and the Giro d’Italia.

Nibali’s victory came on a Tour route that broke with many traditions. With an eye to lively television coverage, Christian Prudhomme, a cycling commentator for France Télévisions who became the Tour’s director seven years ago, dispensed with the usual first-week routine of mostly flat stages, which are determined by sprints.

In their place came short but ferociously steep climbs; twisting, narrow roads; and even some notoriously deformed cobblestones. The mountain stages were shortened but kept just as difficult with the elimination of long sections through valleys, compressing the climbing. And there was only a single time trial, a race against the clock.

“The Tour de France this year was a great race, very different than the Tours we’ve had in the past,” Nibali said Saturday evening. “It was just about made to measure for me. It was very difficult from the beginning.”

All the difficulty ended Sunday, however. After flying from the Dordogne region in southwestern France to the start near Paris, the riders followed tradition and made a ceremonial parade to Paris and the subsequent nine laps of the Champs-Élysées, at times setting a pace that would not challenge even the most modest amateur.

If most of the 137.5 kilometers of the stage were largely irrelevant, the finish of the stage provided the Tour’s sprinters with their last and most prominent chance to display their talents. The German rider Marcel Kittel won the stage in 3 hours 20 minutes 50 seconds. Nibali finished 24 seconds later and maintained his 7:37 margin over the runner-up, Jean-Christophe Péraud of France.

Tejay van Garderen was the top American rider, finishing fifth over all, 11:24 behind Nibali.

On the Tour’s rest day nearly two weeks ago, Nibali recalled Marco Pantani, the previous Italian winner of the Tour, in 1998. Despite its rich cycling heritage, Italy is relatively underrepresented among the Tour winners. After 101 editions of the Tour, only seven Italians, including Nibali, have pulled on the final yellow jersey in Paris. Pantani succeeded Felice Gimondi, who won his Tour in 1965.

Nibali, who largely keeps to himself and who takes a calculated approach to racing, is the opposite of Pantani in many respects.

Pantani, whose strength was in the mountains, was often impulsive. His personal life was also tragic. While he was the subject of doping accusations in 2004, Pantani was found in a hotel room in Rimini, Italy, dead from a cocaine overdose at 34.

Vincenzo Nibali, center, is the first Italian to win the Tour de France in 16 years. Jean-Christophe Péraud of France, left, finished second, and Thibaut Pinot, also of France, finished third.

Nibali, center, crossing the finish line in Paris with his Astana teammates.

Nibali on the podium as overall winner of the Tour de France.

Nibali, second from right, during the final stage of the Tour in Paris.

Marcel Kittel of Germany, center, crossing the finish line as the winner of the final stage of the Tour.

Yukiya Arashiro of Japan during the team parade in Paris after the race.

Riders passing the Eiffel Tower during the final stage of the Tour, which covered 137 kilometers, about 85 miles.

The race passed through the courtyard of the Louvre museum in Paris.

Riders in the first edition of la Course by le Tour de France, a women’s race held in Paris concurrently with the final stage of the Tour.

“Pantani’s mother had offered me one of his yellow jerseys, so if I win this Tour, I will bring one of my yellow jerseys to her,” Nibali said on the rest day.

As a Sicilian, Nibali is an outsider in Italian cycling, a sport that is practiced mostly in the country’s north, particularly in Tuscany. Nibali began cycling with his father, Salvatore, who ran a video rental store. They watched videos of races by cycling’s greats. Francesco Moser, an Italian cycling star of the 1970s and ’80s, became Nibali’s idol.

It was obvious that Nibali’s talent and enthusiasm for cycling needed greater challenges than the sport could offer in Sicily. When Nibali was 15, his parents sent him to train with a youth cycling team in the Tuscan town of Mastromarco for 10 months of the year.

Nibali, who became a professional in 2005, spent much of his career with the Italian team Liquigas, now Cannondale. But last year he was lured to Astana, a team sponsored by a consortium of government-owned businesses from Kazakhstan that was originally set up as a vehicle for Alexander Vinokourov, a Kazakh rider who remains the team manager. It reportedly pays Nibali the equivalent of $4 million a year, exceptional for a cyclist.

While the money is good at Astana, Nibali’s association with the team has fueled the perhaps inevitable speculation that he may be involved in doping. Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping after a time trial in the 2007 Tour and was suspended, but he remains unrepentant.

On Saturday, Nibali offered seemingly conflicting answers to questions about doping. Asked flat-out if he was clean, Nibali smiled and replied: “It’s a great pleasure for me to talk to you about all the sacrifices I’ve made to come this far. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished.”

But at other points, Nibali endorsed the retaining of doping samples for later testing and attributed his win, in part, to a program that monitors riders’ blood, the biological passport, for signs of abnormalities that elude conventional dope tests.

“A lot of progress has been made, and we now have the results,” he said.

The recent resurgence of French cycling is widely seen as a result of that program. For the first time since 1984, there were two French riders on the podium of this Tour: Péraud in second and Thibaut Pinot in third.

Pinot also won the young riders’ competition. It is widely believed that after police raids on the 1998 Tour, French teams have generally been clean, out of fear of the law if nothing else.

France’s success was not shared by the Americans at this Tour. Illness and injury eliminated any hope of a spot on the podium for Van Garderen, the leader of the Swiss-sponsored, American-registered BMC team.

Andrew Talansky, Van Garderen’s counterpart at Garmin-Sharp, was in two crashes, including a spectacular spill yards before the finish in Nancy. Injured and ill, he rode much of a 115-mile stage alone, finishing just within the time cut and becoming something of a hero for his sportsmanship. The next morning, he abandoned the race.

Chris Horner, who beat Nibali to win the Vuelta last year at 41 but who was injured by a car this year, finished 17th over all.

Despite a knee injury, Ji Cheng, the first rider from China in the Tour de France, ensured that he would not also be the first Chinese rider to abandon the Tour. He made it to Paris, but as the lanterne rouge, or last-place finisher of the Tour, just over six hours behind Nibali’s accumulated time.

As a bit of final misfortune, Ji was involved in a minor crash early on the finishing circuit, forcing him to ride one lap alone after his teammate Kittel won the stage.

“In the end I had to finish my own race,” he said. “I told my wife I take it easy and not crash. Sorry for the last day; it just happened.”

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Tour de France past winners

A full list of champions from 1903 – 2021

Previous overall and classification winners 

1 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 2 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma 3 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers

2020 1 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 2 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 3 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo

2019 1 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos 2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 3 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma

2018 1 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky 2 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb 3 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky

2017 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 2 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac 3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R-La Mondiale

2016 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 2 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R-La Mondiale 3 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team

2015 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 2 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team

2014 1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 2 Jean-Christophe Péraud (Fra) AG2R-La Mondiale 3 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr

2013 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 2 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha

2012 1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale

2011 1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek

2010 1 *Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 2 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 3 Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi

2009 1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 2 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 3 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana

Note: *Andy Schleck was awarded victory of the 2010 Tour de France after original winner Alberto Contador was disqualified for doping. *Lance Armstrong was stripped of all race results from August 1, 1998 onwards following the US Anti-Doping Agency’s investigation into doping at the US Postal Service team. *Austria's Bernhard Kohl tested positive for EPO-CERA on October 13, 2008. He admitted to its use on October 15, 2008 and was stripped of his third place GC finish at the 2008 Tour de France. *Oscar Pereiro was awarded the victory of the 2006 Tour de France on October 16, 2007, after original winner Floyd Landis was disqualified for doping.

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Every Tour de France Winner Since 1903

So, you are wondering who every Tour de France winner since the start of the iconic race back in 1903 is? Let's dive in to it!

Although it may not rank amongst the most popular sports in America, the Tour de France remains one of the most historic and anticipated sporting events in the world. It's truly an exhibition of how far the human body can be pushed.

Related : Making Sense of the Tour de France

Since its inception in 1903, the best cyclist and sports scientists in the world take their talent to the beautiful back country of France in an attempt to claim the title of Tour de France champion.

Here is a list of every Tour de France winner:

2022: Jonas Vingegaard

• Country : Denmark
• Team: Jumbo-Visma

The 2022 Tour de France will be one remembered for decades to come. Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar was on the cusp of winning his third straight Tour before Jonas Vingegaard had something to say about it. The race came down to the wire when Pogačar and Vingegaard were neck-and-neck on the Col de Spandelles, even causing a crash that left Pogačar with scratches to his leg. Vingegaard finished in 79 hours, 33 minutes, and 20 seconds, setting a record for fastest finish in Tour history. Without a doubt, Vingegaard will be coming back to defend his title this upcoming Tour de France.

2021: Tadej Pogačar

• Country: Slovenia
• Team: UAE Team Emirates

After a dominating 2020 Tour de France, all eyes were on the twenty-two-year-old cyclist to remain atop the racing mountain. He did that and more in dominating fashion, becoming the youngest racer to ever win two Tour de France titles. Not only did Pogačar take home the yellow shirt, he claimed a victory in the Mountains and Youth classifications.

Pogačar started to build a lead after winning the time trail on stage 5, and gained three and a half minutes on the second place racer by the 8th stage. By the final race day, Pogačar was racing defensively with a fierce lead and an almost guaranteed win.

2020: Tadej Pogačar

Country: Slovenia Team: UAE Team Emirates

With the looming Covid-19 pandemic and the world's sporting events being shutdown, it looked as though the 2020 Tour de France wouldn't happen. After a short postponement, the Tour was back in action and the cycling world was introduced to its newest legend.

Tadej Pogačar went into the 2020 Tour with a modest shot at winning, but almost nobody had him as a general favorite to win. He proved everyone wrong and became the first Slovenian born cyclist to win the Tour. Pogačar also claimed wins in the Mountains and Youth classifications, cementing himself as the best all-around cyclist in the world as of now.

2019: Egan Bernal

• Country: Colombia
• Team: Ineos

The 2019 Tour de France gave us another cyclist claiming their home countries first title after Egan Bernal won in dominating fashion. Team Ineos had such a dominant performance that their racers finished in first and second place, claiming them the team championship as well. Bernal finished the Tour in eighty-two hours and fifty-seven minutes, a whole minute and eleven seconds above second.

2018: Geraint Thomas

• Country: Great Britain

Not only was 2018 an incredibly dominant year for Geraint Thomas, but it was just as great for racing team Sky. The 2018 Tour marked the fourth straight competition that saw a racer from team Sky claim the yellow shirt. Although Thomas didn't dominate the race at every stage, he carefully chose his moments to make pushes and gain time, eventually putting him in first. Thomas won no other classifications this year, but that doesn't matter when you're wearing the yellow shirt.

Every Winner Since 2018

• 2017: Chris Froome, Great Britain
• 2016: Chris Froome, Great Britain
• 2015: Chris Froome, Great Britain
• 2014: Vincenzo Nibali, Italy
• 2013: Chris Froome, Great Britain
• 2012: Bradley Wiggins, Great Britain
• 2011: Cadel Evans, Australia
• 2010: Andy Schleck, Luxembourg
• 2009: Alberto Contador, Spain
• 2008: Carlos Sastre, Spain
• 2007: Alberto Contador, Spain
• 2006: Óscar Pereiro, Spain
• 2005-1999: (Lance Armstrong stripped of titles due to doping)
• 1998: Marco Pantani, Italy
• 1997: Jan Ullrich, Germany
• 1996: Bjarne Riis, Denmark
• 1995: Miguel Indurain, Spain
• 1994: Miguel Indurain, Spain
• 1993: Miguel Indurain, Spain
• 1992: Miguel Indurain, Spain
• 1991: Miguel Indurain, Spain
• 1990: Greg LeMond, United States
• 1989: Greg LeMond, United States
• 1988: Pedro Delgado, Spain
• 1987: Stephen Roche, Ireland
• 1986: Greg LeMond, United States
• 1985: Bernard Hinault, France
• 1984: Laurent Fignon, France
• 1983: Laurent Fignon, France
• 1982: Bernard Hinault, France
• 1981: Bernard Hinault, France
• 1980: Joop Zoetemelk, Netherlands
• 1979: Bernard Hinault, France
• 1978: Bernard Hinault, France
• 1977: Bernard Thévenet, France
• 1976: Lucien Van Impe, Belgium
• 1975: Bernard Thévenet, France
• 1974: Eddy Merckx, Belgium
• 1973: Luis Ocaña, Spain
• 1972: Eddy Merckx, Belgium
• 1971: Eddy Merckx, Belgium
• 1970: Eddy Merckx, Belgium
• 1969: Eddy Merckx, Belgium
• 1968: Jan Janssen, Netherlands
• 1967: Roger Pingeon, France
• 1966: Lucian Aimar, France
• 1965: Felice Gimondi, Italy
• 1964: Jacques Anquetil, France
• 1963: Jacques Anquetil, France
• 1962: Jacques Anquetil, France
• 1961: Jacques Anquetil, France
• 1960: Gastone Nencini, Italy
• 1959: Federico Bahanontes, Spain
• 1958: Charly Gaul, Luxembourg
• 1957: Jacques Anquetil, France
• 1956: Roger Walkowiak, France
• 1955: Louison Bobet, France
• 1954: Louison Bobet, France
• 1953: Louison Bobet, France
• 1952: Fausto Coppi, Italy
• 1951: Hugo Koblet, Switzerland
• 1950: Ferdinand Kübler, Switzerland
• 1949: Fausto Coppi, Italy
• 1948: Gino Bartali, Italy
• 1947: Jean Robic, France
• 1946-1940: (No race due to World War II)
• 1939: Sylvère Maes, Belgium
• 1938: Gino Bartali, Italy
• 1937: Roger Lapébie, France
• 1936: Sylvère Maes, Belgium
• 1935: Romain Maes, Belgium
• 1934: Antonin Magne, France
• 1933: Georges Speicher, France
• 1932: André Leducq, France
• 1931: Antonin Magne, France
• 1930: André Leducq, France
• 1929: Maurice De Waele, Belgium
• 1928: Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourg
• 1927: Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourg
• 1926: Lucien Buysse, Belgium
• 1925: Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy
• 1924: Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy
• 1923: Henri Pélissier, France
• 1922: Firmin Lambot, Belgium
• 1921: Léon Scieur, Belgium
• 1920: Philippe Thys, Belgium
• 1919: Frimin Lambot, Belgium
• 1918-1915: ( No race due to World War I)
• 1914: Philippe Thys, Belgium
• 1913: Philippe Thys, Belgium
• 1912: Odile Defraye, Belgium
• 1911: Gustave Garrigou, France
• 1910: Octave Lapize, France
• 1909: François Faber, Luxembourg
• 1908: Lucien Petit-Breton, France
• 1907: Lucien Petit-Breton, France
• 1906: René Pottier, France
• 1905: Louis Trousselier, France
• 1904: Henri Cornet, France
• 1903: Maurice Garin, France

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Tour de France Winners List

Mathew Mitchell

• Published on June 7, 2021
• in Men's Cycling

Many great champion riders are winners of the Tour de France in its 100+ year history. There are currently 4 riders with 5 Tour de France victories: Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil. Chris Froome is still an active rider and on 4 victories, but it looks unlikely now that he will join the 5-Wins club. Honorary mentions go to Greg Lemond, Louison Bobet and Philippe Thys with 3 victories each.

France naturally has the highest amount of victories with 36. Although it’s of note that their last victory was in 1985 and the wait is very much ongoing. Belgium has 18 victories and Spain 12 wins. Belgium are another country with a long wait, their last victory was in 1976 courtesy of Lucien van Impe. Slovenia and Colombia are the newest countries to join the list after Tadej Pogačar’s victory in 2020 and Egan Bernal’s victory in 2019. All 6 of the UK’s victories have happened in the last 10 years.

Asterisks are there to note that another rider originally was declared the winner of that year’s Tour de France.

1904 Maurice Garin was disqualified after catching a train to complete some of the race. Henri Cornet was declared winner instead.

1999-2005 The infamous Lance Armstrong had his titles stripped in 2012 due to doping. Due to the climate at the time, where doping was rife, the Tour de France chose not to replace Armstrong with another victor.

2006 Floyd Landis initially finished first but after the race was completed it was found that Landis had tested positive in a sample given near the end of the race. He was stripped of the victory and 2nd placed Oscar Pereiro won instead.

2010 Alberto Contador won the 2010 Tour de France but was stripped of the title after testing positive for minute traces of clenbuterol. Despite length legal battles, Contador was removed as winner in 2012.

Related Posts

Tour de France winners

Past winners of the Tour de France:

2010 -- Alberto Contador, Spain 2009 -- Alberto Contador, Spain 2008 -- Carlos Sastre, Spain 2007 -- Alberto Contador, Spain 2006 -- Oscar Pereiro, Spain-* (*-Pereiro was named the Tour winner after Floyd Landis was stripped of the title after a positive doping test. 2005 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 2004 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 2003 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 2002 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 2001 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 2000 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* 1999 -- Lance Armstrong, United States-* (*-Armstrong's seven titles were stripped and vacated after UCI upheld the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's ruling against the cyclist.) 1998 -- Marco Pantani, Italy 1997 -- Jan Ullrich, Germany 1996 -- Bjarne Riis, Denmark 1995 -- Miguel Indurain, Spain 1994 -- Miguel Indurain, Spain 1993 -- Miguel Indurain, Spain 1992 -- Miguel Indurain, Spain 1991 -- Miguel Indurain, Spain 1990 -- Greg LeMond, United States 1989 -- Greg LeMond, United States 1988 -- Pedro Delgado, Spain 1987 -- Stephen Roche, Ireland 1986 -- Greg LeMond, United States 1985 -- Bernard Hinault, France 1984 -- Laurent Fignon, France 1983 -- Laurent Fignon, France 1982 -- Bernard Hinault, France 1981 -- Bernard Hinault, France 1980 -- Joop Zoetemelk, Netherlands 1979 -- Bernard Hinault, France 1978 -- Bernard Hinault, France 1977 -- Bernard Thevenet, France 1976 -- Lucien Van Impe, Belgium 1975 -- Bernard Thevenet, France 1974 -- Eddy Merckx, Belgium 1973 -- Luis Ocana, Spain 1972 -- Eddy Merckx, Belgium 1971 -- Eddy Merckx, Belgium 1970 -- Eddy Merckx, Belgium 1969 -- Eddy Merckx, Belgium 1968 -- Jan Jansen, Netherlands 1967 -- Roger Pingeon, France 1966 -- Lucian Almar, France 1965 -- Felice Gimondi, Italy 1964 -- Jacques Anquetil, France 1963 -- Jacques Anquetil, France 1962 -- Jacques Anquetil, France 1961 -- Jacques Anquetil, France 1960 -- Gastone Nencini, Italy 1959 -- Federico Bahamontes, Spain 1958 -- Charly Gaul, Luxembourg 1957 -- Jacques Anquetil, France 1956 -- Roger Walkowiak, France 1955 -- Louison Bobet, France 1954 -- Louison Bobet, France 1953 -- Louison Bobet, France 1952 -- Fausto Coppi, Italy 1951 -- Hugo Koblet, Switzerland 1950 -- Ferdinand Kubler, Switzerland 1949 -- Fausto Coppi, Italy 1948 -- Gino Bartali, Italy 1947 -- Jean Robic, France 1940-46 -- Tour cancelled, World War II 1939 -- Sylvare Maes, Belgium 1938 -- Gino Bartali, Italy 1937 -- Roger Lapeble, France 1936 -- Sylvere Maes, Belgium 1935 -- Romain Maes, Belgium 1934 -- Antonin Magne, France 1933 -- Georges Speicher, France 1932 -- Andre Leducq, France 1931 -- Antonin Magne, France 1930 -- Andre Leducq, France 1929 -- Maurice Dewsele, Belgium 1928 -- Nicholas Frantz, Luxembourg 1927 -- Nicholas Frantz, Luxembourg 1926 -- Lucian Bruysee, Belgium 1925 -- Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy 1924 -- Ottavio Bottecchia, Italy 1923 -- Henri Pellissier, France 1922 -- Firmin Lambot, Belgium 1921 -- Leon Scieur, France 1920 -- Phillipe Thys, Belgium 1919 -- Firmin Lambot, Belgium 1915-18 -- Tour cancelled, World War I 1914 -- Phillipe Thys, Belgium 1913 -- Phillipe Thys, Belgium 1912 -- Odile Defraye, Belgium 1911 -- Gustave Farrigou, France 1910 -- Octave Lapize, France 1909 -- Francois Faber, Luxembourg 1908 -- Lucien Petit-Breton, France 1907 -- Lucien Petit-Breton, France 1906 -- Rene Pottier, France 1905 -- Louis Trousseller, France 1904 -- Henri Cornet, France 1903 -- Maurice Garin, France

Tour de France Winners Throughout History

Here's a look back at riders that have won the tour de france and which countries' cyclists have been most successful, by julia elbaba • published july 19, 2022 • updated on july 20, 2022 at 9:24 am.

Every year, a Tour de France champion is crowned .

Over the years, the prestigious event has had winners from all around the world, testing the endurance and strength of all the riders.

Spanning over the course of 24 days, consisting of 21 stages, the race is known to be the world's  "most prestigious and most difficult"  race.

Here's everything you need to know about the most successful cyclists at the Tour de France over the years and which countries have had the most success from their athletes at the event:

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Who has won the most Tour de France titles?

Cyclists with the most Tour de France victories are as follows:

Which American has won the Tour de France?

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Greg LeMond is the only American to have won the event , doing so three times.

Americans Lance Armstrong and Floyd Landis were stripped of their titles due to serious breaches of doping regulations.

Which countries have won the most Tour de France titles?

This year's leaders , Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, are from Denmark and Slovenia, respectively, two countries that have had The counties with the most Tour de France victories are as follows:

This article tagged under:

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• Premier League
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• International

Tour de France Winners: Complete list of all champions by year

Over the years, the most iconic competition in the cycling world has seen tons of riders trying to win every one of the stages in the Tour de France. It is a very stressfull and demanding tournament that only the best prepared have been able to dominate and become champions through the 108 editions.

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By Fernando Franco Puga

Updated on July 21, 2022 12:25AM EDT

The 2022 Tour de France has started and every cycling fan is thrilled to know which team and rider is going to be the winner this year. It is necessary for the contestants to be fully concentrated in the path they will travel in order to not lose a step in their way to a glory that only some have acquired through the years.

It is known that Europe has completely dominated the Tour the France each year. In the end of the 20th century and early 2000s , the United States had a huge representative in this competition: Lance Armstrong . The 1993 World champion won seven consecutive editions ( 1999 - 2005), but then the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) took the titles away due to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

In 108 editions of this huge tournament, there has been, oficially, threenon-european winners: Greg LeMond (United States), Cadel Evans (Australia) and Egan Bernal (Colombia). It is an exhausting competition and not everyone can even finish, so it is important to train very hard everyday in order to aspire to get the trophy back home.

Complete list of Tour de France champions

There has been 21 different champions through the 108 editions of the Tour de France , which started back in 1903. The competition has changed since then, increasing the stages and miles gradually.

  *Years in which Lance Armstrong (United States) won the Tour de France, but then the UCI stated the use of performance-enhancing drugs.  

Fernando Franco is an accomplished writer with expertise in soccer, NFL, MLB, MMA, and more. Since 2022, he has contributed his insights to Bolavip US, expanding his repertoire in sports journalism. With a career spanning back to 2013, Fernando has made significant contributions to reputable sports media outlets like Sopitas.com, Diario AS USA, and Goal, among others. He earned his degree in Communication from the prestigious Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).

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Grand Départ Florence Émilie-Romagne 2024

The 111th edition of the Tour de France will start from Florence on Saturday, 29 June 2024 in a historic first for the Grande Boucle.

THE LONGEST WAIT , Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France

Florence had been talking to us about it for a very long time, Emilia-Romagna nurtured its burning desire, and then Piedmont came on board — Italy truly raised its ambitions to the power of three to host the Grand Départ .

Their ardour and synergies will right a historic wrong as the Tour de France gets under way on the Italian Peninsula for the first time and the riders take their first pedal strokes in this true-blue cycling nation. Exactly a century after Ottavio Bottecchia became the first cyclist from the other side of the Alps to win the Tour, the peloton will go from the birthplace of Gino Bartali, a champion Righteous Among the Nations, to that of Marco Pantani, the unforgettable Il Pirata, worshipped without measure, before paying tribute to the campionissimo, Fausto Coppi. These three stages will take us through majestic landscapes in which the leaders will be forced to take matters into their own hands from the opening weekend. It is going to be magical.

JUST LIKE HOME , Stefano Bonaccini, President of the region Emilia-Romagna et Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence

"Florence and Emilia-Romagna are physically linked by mountains. The Apuan Alps, the most incredible stretch of the chain surrounding Tuscany, which yielded the marble for Michelangelo’s sublime creations, extend all the way to the Emilia-Romagna Apennines, a mountain range carpeted with charming villages steeped in history on the road from Dante’s birthplace to his tomb in Ravenna.

The other tie that binds our city and our region is our passion for cycling. Three of our scions —Gino Bartali, Gastone Nencini and Marco Pantani— have won the Tour, and our other champions are too numerous to mention. Yet one name stands out from the legend: Alfonsina Strada, a pioneer from Castelfranco Emilia, who in 1924 became the first —and only— woman to take part in the men’s Giro d’Italia. For the Tour de France, this Grand Départ from Florence and Emilia-Romagna will feel just like home."

"It’s an honour to host the Tour de France’s Grand Départ and to be able to showcase Florence and Emilia-Romagna, as well as Turin and Piedmont, to sports enthusiasts from all over the world. The landscapes that will feature in the race will serve as an invitation to come and discover the extraordinary beauty of these regions, which have always been devoted to cycling, at a time when the bicycle is becoming the preferred means of transport for “slow”, meaning that you take your time, green, sustainable and enjoyable tourism. We’re ready to welcome world cycling’s elite with three magnificent stages that will wind their way along our roads next summer. The local organising committee"

HAND IN HAND Florence and Emilia-Romagna are physically linked by mountains. The Apuan Alps, the most impressive part of the chain that surrounds Tuscany, extend towards the Emilia-Romagna Apennines. Their passion for cycling is the other link that unites them, the two locations the birthplace of no fewer than three Tour de France champions between them: Gino Bartali, Gastone Nencini and Marco Pantani. Florence is the cradle of art, literature and architecture, the birthplace of the Renaissance and the Italian language. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is universally recognised as one of the world’s most beautiful cities, thanks to its many monuments and museums, which attract millions of tourists every year. Proud of its past, Florence is also looking to the future with a vision focused on sustainable development, creativity and innovation. Emilia-Romagna is built around the green heart of the Apennines, the Po Valley and the Adriatic coast. The ancient Via Emilia, built in Roman times, runs across it from Rimini to Piacenza, an artery that provided the lifeblood to an area rich in culture and with a history stretching back thousands of years. That heritage that is still alive and well, and is now epitomised by Emilia-Romagna’s current position among the most advanced regions in Europe. This is reflected in its economic activity, focused around tourism and the agri-food, textile and automotive industries.

BREATHTAKING, GROUNDBREAKING

Florence is the cradle of art, literature and architecture, the birthplace of the Renaissance and of the Italian language. Nestled on a territory that for centuries has been characterized by the perfect balance between man and nature, it is a destination for millions of visitors from all over the world every year. Today it is a city proud of its past and future oriented, focused on sustainable development, creativity and innovation.

Emilia-Romagna is a unique region. Land of doing and land of beauty, with the Apennines as great green heart, the Adriatic coast, the Po river and its valley. Via Emilia, which crosses the region and connects from Rimini to Piacenza, is the beating heart of an area rich in culture and a millenary history. It’s a still living legacy, welded with a present that sees Emilia-Romagna as one of the most advanced territories in Europe, thanks to the tenacity, inspiration and industriousness of its citizens.

Capital of the Tuscany region

Population: 383,000

• EMILIA-ROMAGNA

A region in northern Italy

Surface area : 22,510 km²

Population : 4,460,000

Capital and stage city : Bologna (390,000 inhabitants)

Stage towns and cities : Rimini (150,000 inhabitants), Cesenatico (26,000 inhabitants), and Piacenza (103,000 inhabitants)  

A region in north-western Italy

Surface area : 25,400 km²

Population : 4,342,000

Capital : Turin (890,000 inhabitants)

Wednesday, 26 June : Opening of the reception desk and press centre at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Florence Opera

Thursday, 27 June :  Presentation of the 2024 Tour de France teams from the Palazzo Vecchio, the City Hall of Florence to Piazzale Michelangelo, esplanade Michelangelo

Saturday, 29 June : Stage 1 Florence > Rimini

Sunday, 30 June : Stage 2 Cesenatico > Bologna

Monday, 1 July : Stage 3 Plaisance > Turin

STAGE 1 | Florence > Rimini | 29 June 2024 | 205 KM

This postcard will provide a snapshot of the Grand Départ in Florence, the Bartali Museum in Ponte a Ema —where the champion was born— and the finish on the Adriatic seafront.

In sporting terms, this trek through the Apennines packs an elevation gain of 3,800 m, from the power climb of Valico Tre Faggi to steeper slopes, in the heart of the Republic of San Marino, the last of which comes near the finish. The first Yellow Jersey may well go to one of the contenders for the overall title.

STAGE 2 | Cesenatico > Bologne | 30 June 2024 | 200 KM

From the spa resort where Marco Pantani used to live, which is also his final resting place, the peloton will ride down gorgeous plains before hitting the first two climbs, including the Cima Gallisterna, coming right before Imola Circuit, where Julian Alaphilippe earned his rainbow stripes in 2020.

Another four difficulties stand between the riders and the finish line, including two ascents to San Luca (1.9km at 10.6%) along the 666 arches of the staircase leading to the Sanctuary. Punchers are in for a real treat.

STAGE 3 | Plaisance > Turin | 1 July 2024 | 225 KM

Pure sprinters will get their first chance to shine on the road from Emilia-Romagna to Piedmont. A course with nary a bump on the road, a detour through Lombardy, a visit to Tortona, where Fausto Coppi drew his final breath, a romp through the Langhe, which boasts delicious truffles and wine-growing landscapes on the UNESCO World Heritage list, some of the roads of Milan–San Remo… Against such a jaw-dropping backdrop, any breakaways will have their work cut out for them to stay clear and pre-empt a bunch sprint.

  7 winners and 10 victories

• Ottavio Bottecchia (1924 & 1925)
• Gino Bartali (1938 & 1948)
• Fausto Coppi (1949 et 1952)
• Gastone Nencini (1960)
• Felice Gimondi (1965)
• Marco Pantani (1998)
• Vincenzo Nibali (2014)

28  wearers of the Yellow Jersey

2 green jerseys for the points classification

12  King of the Mountains awards

5  winners of the best young rider classification

269  stage wins from Ernesto Azzini in 1910 to Vincenzo Nibali in 2019 -  12 (record) for Gino Bartali and Mario Cipollini

9 stage towns and cities so far from San Remo in 1948 to Pinerolo in 2011

1924:  The first Italian Tour de France champion, Ottavio Bottecchia , will also become the first rider to wear the Yellow Jersey from start to finish. He will make it two in a row in 1925.    

1948:  After winning the race before the war, in 1938, Gino Bartali takes his second Tour ten years later, which still stands as the longest gap between victories.  

1952:  Three years after emerging victorious from a fratricidal duel with Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi crushes the competition on his way to another win.

1960: The field, led by Yellow Jersey and future winner Gastone Nencini , saluted General de Gaulle in a historic moment in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises.

1965:  Yellow Jersey Felice Gimondi drove home his advantage in the time trial from Aix-les-Bains to the Mont Revard, on his way to taking the title in his very first start.

1998: Marco Pantani , the best young rider in the 1994 and 1995 editions of the Tour, uses the mountain stages as a launch pad to the top step of the podium in Paris.  

2014:  Vincenzo Nibali becomes the most recent Italian Tour de France champion after going on the offensive from the beginning and laying down the law in the mountains.

• 28 wearers of the Yellow Jersey
• 2 green jerseys for the points classification
• 12 King of the Mountains awards 5 winners of the best young rider classification
• 269 stage wins from Ernesto Azzini in 1910 to Vincenzo Nibali in 2019 including 12 (record) for Gino Bartali and Mario Cipollini
• 9 stage towns and cities so far from San Remo in 1948 to Pinerolo in 2011

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Who Won the 2021 Tour de France?

Your stage-by-stage guide to the winners of the 2021 Tour.

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Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) took home the yellow jersey as the overall winner of the 2021 Tour de France. The 22-year-old finished safely in the peloton at the end of Stage 21 on Sunday in Paris, successfully defending his title in last year’s race. Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers) finished second and third on the Tour’s General Classification and joined Pogačar on the final podium.

Here’s a look at how every stage of the Tour this year unfolded.

Stage 21 Winner - Wout van Aert

Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won the stage on the Champs-Élysées, his third of this year’s Tour de France. Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) finished second and Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) was third.

Pogačar dominated the Tour in a manner we haven’t seen in years, taking the yellow jersey on Stage 9 and defending it all the way to Paris. Along the way, he won three stages including Stage 5’s individual time trial and back-to-back to summit finishes in the Pyrenees (Stages 17 and 18).

For the second year in a row he also won the white jersey as the Tour’s Best Young Rider and the polka dot jersey as the Tour’s King of the Mountains. No rider has won three jerseys since Eddy Merckx won the yellow, green, and polka dot jerseys in his debut Tour de France way back in 1969. (The white jersey wasn’t awarded back in 1969, but Merckx would have won that too.) Now Pogačar’s done it twice.

For only the second time in his career, Cavendish took the green jersey as the winner of the Tour’s Points Classification. The 36-year-old wasn’t even supposed to be racing but came to the Tour as a last-minute call-up and won four stages, bringing his career tally to 34. With Cavendish now tied with Merckx for the most stage wins in Tour de France history, look for the first field sprint of next year’s Tour to be one of the most anticipated races of the year.

What About Next Year?

So far, all we know about the 2022 Tour de France is that it begins on Friday, July 1 in Denmark, with a short individual time trial in Copenhagen. And while anything can happen between now and then, given the way he crushed this year’s competition, it’s hard to see anyone defeating Pogačar in 2022. The 22-year-old was easily the Tour’s most complete rider—against the clock and in the mountains, no one could challenge him.

The most popular rider on next year’s starting line might be this year’s biggest surprise: Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard. Riding in his debut Tour de France, the 24-year-old came to the Tour to support team leader Primož Roglič, but took over leadership of the team himself after the Slovenian abandoned the Tour before Stage 9. Roglič should be back and ready to challenge again in 2022, but now he might have a co-leader to contend with as well. Having two cards to play could actually help Jumbo-Visma in its bid to defeat Pogačar, and in Vingegaard, they seem to have discovered a legit GC contender.

Speaking of having more than one card to play, INEOS-Grenadiers came to the Tour with—depending who you asked—two to four riders capable of winning the overall title. That plan blew up quickly, ultimately leaving Richard Carapaz (who’s now the first Ecuadorian to finish on the Tour de France podium ) as the team’s only GC contender. A former winner of the Giro d’Italia , Carapaz raced aggressively and was one of the Tour’s best climbers, but his inability to time-trial will always be his major Achilles heel. Perhaps 2022 will see the return of Colombia’s Egan Bernal, who won the 2019 Tour de France for INEOS, but abandoned last year’s Tour with a bad back. Winner of this year’s Giro d’Italia , Bernal’s another prodigiously talented climber—and a mediocre time trialist—and the prospect of Bernal and Carapaz racing side by side in the mountains is tantalizing. But having the Tour’s strongest team doesn’t matter much if you don’t have the Tour’s strongest rider, and if Pogačar rides like he did this year, there might be little anyone can do.

And Pogačar shows no signs of letting up any time soon: he’s heading directly from Paris to Tokyo for Saturday’s Olympic road race and then plans to start the Tour of Spain in mid-August. If he wins that too, expect those who question the integrity of his performances to continue asking uncomfortable questions —especially if the investigation launched against the Bahrain-Victorious team late in this year’s Tour gains traction.

But for now, we await October’s announcement of the 2022 Tour route—and all of the fantastic races still to come during the second half of the 2021 season, beginning with next weekend’s Olympic road races.

Stage 20 Winner - Wout van Aert

Who’s Winning the Tour?

Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma showed again that he’s the most versatile rider in the pro peloton with a convincing win in the final time trial over Deceuninck-Quick Step's Kasper Asgreen. As expected, Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Emirates) had zero trouble defending his comfortable lead, taking it (relatively) easy and conceding almost no time to his rivals.

Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard ably held off Richard Carapaz (Ineos) for the second podium spot; Vingegaard finished third on the day, adding over a minute and half to his cushion. Second overall is a huge result for Vingegaard, who is just 24 years old and came to the Tour to support team leader Primoz Roglič, who had to drop out due to crash injuries. There were no changes to the top 10 overall.

Who’s Really Winning the Tour?

Pogačar will also enter Paris on Sunday as the leader in the KOM and Best Young Rider competitions. It’s the second year he’s taken all three classifications, a feat no rider has accomplished (Eddy Merckx swept the yellow, green and polka-dot jersey standings in his first Tour, in 1969, and would have been the Best Young Rider as well; the classification didn’t start until 1975).

All of that has led to questions about whether we’re at the dawn of the “Pogaczar” era, when he will dominate the Tour for the next many editions. He swatted those suggestions away, saying that there are a number of current young pros and riders who will enter the ranks in the next few years who will challenge him, but it’s a worthwhile question: who can beat him? Right now, there’s no easy answer.

Stage 19 Winner - Matej Mohoric

On a day that looked like a sprint finish on paper, the pack was instead entirely content to let a breakaway duke it out for the stage win and take an “active rest day” ahead of Stage 20’s individual time trial. It took a bit for the right mix of riders to emerge, but once it did, the gap quickly went out to over 10 minutes, and it was clear there would be no chase.

Matej Mohorič (Bahrain-Victorious) attacked the break with 25km to go and soloed to the win in Libourne. Yellow-jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Emirates) enjoyed a quiet and mostly uneventful day ahead of the time trial and has two days to go to seal his almost-assured victory.

Few teams have had a Tour that’s been as up-and-down as Bahrain-Victorious. They lost their likely GC rider, Jack Haig, to an early stage crash, then rebounded to win two consecutive stages in the Alps. Then, just two days ago, French police searched their hotel rooms in a doping investigation . On the heels of that, Mohorič, who’s been one of the strongest breakaway riders this Tour, emerged with a solo stage win sealed with a provocative victory salute: a finger held to his lips followed by a zipping motion.

That gesture has a problematic history in the sport; Lance Armstrong used it in 2004 after chasing down Filippo Simeoni , who had accused Armstrong’s longtime coach, Michele Ferrari, of doping riders (including Simeoni). Mohorič was nine when that happened, so it can be excused some historical ignorance. But even in context of his own team’s last few days in the race, it was a poor decision.

For his part, Pogačar and his UAE team were only too happy to let the break fight it out and ride an easy pace to the finish to save some energy for Saturday’s time trial. With a lead of almost six minutes, Pogačar could likely afford even a spectacularly bad day on the bike (which we don’t expect) and still win.

Another rider who won without having to do much is Deceuninck –Quick-Step’s Mark Cavendish. With breakaway riders taking most of the intermediate sprint points and all of them at the finish, he stands 35 points clear of Michael Matthews in the green jersey standings. There are no points in the time trial, and a maximum of 70 on offer for the final stage in Paris. Cavendish will no doubt try for a fifth Tour stage win and the outright record for most stage wins ever at the race, but even if he’s just close to Matthews, he’s guaranteed green as long as he stays upright.

Stage 18 Winner - Tadej Pogacar

Who’s Winning the Tour de France?

In a repeat of Wednesday’s stage result, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won Thursday’s Stage 18 to remain the leader of the 2021 Tour de France. The Slovenian went on the attack to defend his already-insurmountable lead, launching his first acceleration 3km from the top of the day’s final climb, and then attacking again inside the final kilometer to win his second stage of the Tour.

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers) again finished second and third on the day, but were gapped by Pogačar in the run-in to the finish in Luz Ardiden and lost two seconds on the Tour’s General Classification. They now sit 5:45 and 5:51 behind the yellow jersey.

As long as he stays upright between now and Sunday, Pogačar will win the 2021 Tour de France.

Who’s Really Winning the Tour de France?

The last two days illustrated the cruelty of the Tour de France, as Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo)—who entered Wednesday’s stage in second-place overall but couldn’t hang with the leaders on the final climb of Stage 17—continued to implode. Dropped by the group of GC contenders about 3km from the summit of the Tourmalet, Uran lost 9 minutes by the stage finish. In two days, the Colombian has gone from second to tenth overall.

So with three days left to race, it’s safe to say that Pogačar will take home the yellow jersey as the winner of the Tour’s General Classification as well as the white jersey as the Tour’s Best Young Rider. Now, thanks to winning his second summit finish in a row, the Slovenian will also win the polka-dot jersey as the Tour’s King of the Mountains. That means for two years running, the Slovenian will leave the Tour with three jerseys—an impressive achievement.

Early in the stage, Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step) led the peloton through the Intermediate Sprint in Pouzac, extending his lead in the Tour’s green jersey competition by two points. Cavendish, who finished the stage within the time limit, has an advantage of 38 points over Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) heading into the Tour’s final three stages, two of which we expect to end in field sprints.

With lots of points left to be won, this competition is still too close to call, making it the race’s most interesting storyline as we head into the Tour’s final weekend.

Stage 17 Winner - Tadej Pogacar

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won Stage 17 atop the Hors Categorie Col du Portet, extending his already sizeable lead in the 2021 Tour de France. Clearly eager to win a stage while wearing the yellow jersey, the Slovenian dropped his two breakaway companions 100 meters from the finish line.

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers) finished second and third on the day, and in doing so moved up to second and third overall, 5:39 and 5:43 behind Pogačar on the Tour’s General Classification.

Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates squad rode a fantastic stage, especially Poland’s Rafal Majka, who paced the yellow jersey halfway up the final climb, dropping several of the riders left in the leading group before pulling-off about 8.4km from the summit. At that point, Pogačar launched the first of a series of accelerations, pulling away with Vingegaard and Carapaz to fight for the stage win.

Carapaz tried to win the stage for himself with an acceleration 1.4km from the summit, but Pogačar easily covered the move, biding his time before launching his own stage-winning attack right before the finish line.

By winning the stage, Pogačar also took maximum points in the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition, which means that for the second year in a row, the Slovenian could take home three jerseys: yellow for winning the Tour, white for being the Tour’s Best Young Rider, and polka dot for winning the Tour’s King of the Mountains competition. Dutch rider Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) leads the competition, but could have his hands full if Pogačar has another day like he did on Stage 17.

With only four stages left—including the largely ceremonial final stage to Paris—it’s safe to say that Tadej Pogačar will win the 2021 Tour de France. Only a sudden illness, a crash, or some other unexpected mishap could keep the Slovenian from defending his victory in last year’s Tour.

Thursday brings the Tour’s final day in the mountains with a short stage featuring the Col du Tourmalet and a summit finish in Luz Ardiden. But with more than five minutes over the riders chasing him on the Tour’s General Classification, the Tour is Pogačar’s to lose.

Stage 17 also seems to have determined the two riders who will join Pogačar on the Tour’s final podium in Paris, with Vingegaard and Carapaz proving to be the Tour’s two strongest riders not named “Tadej Pogačar.”

In that sense, Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) was the day’s biggest loser. The 34-year-old started the day second overall, but was unable to follow Pogačar, Vingegaard, and Carapaz when they surged ahead midway up the final climb. Uran ultimately lost 1:49 on the day, falling to fourth in the overall standings , and most likely, he lost his chances of a podium finish in Paris.

And good news for fans of Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step): the peloton stayed together until the base of the day’s first categorized climb, which means the British rider had an easier time finishing the stage within the time limit. He did lose one point to Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) in the Tour’s green jersey competition at the Intermediate Sprint in Luchon, but Cav’s YOLO Tour de France continues, with two more chances (on Friday and Sunday) for the Manx Missile to break the record for the most stage wins in Tour history. Only one more day in the mountains stands between Cavendish and his two shots at making history.

Stage 16 Winner - Patrick Konrad

Austria’s Patrick Konrad (BORA-hansgrohe) took a rainy win in Saint Gaudens on Stage 16 of the 2021 Tour de France. Also awarded the prize for being the day’s Most Aggressive Rider, the 29-year-old Austrian national champion dropped his breakaway companions on the Col de Portet-Aspet and went on alone to take the most important victory of career. Italy’s Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Victorious) finished second and Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) finished third.

Despite finishing in a small group 14 minutes behind Konrad, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) held onto the yellow jersey as the leader of the Tour’s General Classification. Ahead of back-to-back summit finishes in the high Pyrenees, the Slovenian leads Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) by 5:18 and Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) by 5:32. Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers) sits fourth at 5:33.

It was an intense start to the day; cold temperatures and a peloton that couldn’t quite figure out how it wanted the race made it hard for a breakaway to escape. But once it did, the break’s advantage over the group, containing the yellow jersey, began to balloon.

The peloton got a spark on the final climb of the day, the Category 4 Côte d’Aspret-Sarrat, when Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) pulled an elite group of the Tour’s top GC contenders away from the bunch. In the end, the top of the classification remained unchanged, but the move provided a preview of the aggressive racing we can expect to see over the next two days.

The 2021 Tour de France will likely be decided on one of the next two stages as back-to-back summit finishes will give the riders chasing Pogačar two more opportunities to try and chip away at the Slovenian’s substantial lead. It will take a Herculean effort, as Pogačar has shown few signs of weakness so far, but with Hors Categorie climbs like the Col du Portet (Stage 17) and the Col du Tourmalet (Stage 18) on tap, the stage is set for riders and teams hoping to launch a long-range assault on the yellow jersey and his weakening team.

While the Tour’s General Classification remained largely unchanged, Stage 16 did see some movement in the race for the green jersey as the winner of the Tour’s Points Classification. Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step) has led the competition since winning Stage 4, but Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) has been steadily getting closer to Cavendish’s lead. By taking fourth at the Intermediate Sprint in Vic d’Oust and finishing third on the stage, Matthews added 35 points to his tally and now sits just 37 points behind Cavendish.

Expect the Australian to go on the attack in search of more points at the Intermediate Sprints on Stages 17 and 18, possibly catching Cavendish ahead of Friday’s Stage 19—which we expect to end in a field sprint. This is one competition that’s far from over.

Stage 15 Winner - Sepp Kuss

After more than two weeks of racing, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) wears the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the 2021 Tour de France after Stage 15. The 22-year-old successfully defended his lead on Stage 15, a tough stage through the Pyrenees and into Andorra.

Pogačar’s team was forced to set the pace from the beginning of Stage 15, sitting on the front all day after a group of 32 riders went up the road. Filled with stage hunters, polka dot jersey contenders, and teammates of several of the riders chasing Pogačar, the move forced UAE Team Emirates to sit on the front of the bunch, riding tempo on a day that saw high temperatures and even higher altitude. As a result, Pogačar found himself isolated in the finale, outnumbered by teams like INEOS, Jumbo-Visma, and EF Education-Nippo.

The stage came down to the final climb of the day, the Category 1 Col de Beixalis (6.4km at 8.5%), won by American Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) after spending all day in the breakaway. The 26-year-old Kuss followed the initial accelerations on the steep lower slopes of the climb before finally launching an attack of his own; riding solo over the top of the climb, he led Spain’s Alejandro Valverde by only 20 seconds. But the former mountain biker from Durango, Colorado maintained his lead down the climb’s technical descent, riding solo into Andorra la Vieille to take the biggest win of his career. Valverde finished second and the Netherland’s Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) took third.

While Kuss was riding away to win the stage, riders took turns attacking from the yellow jersey group further down the col with Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers), Australia’s Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën Team), Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) each making attacks to try and crack Pogačar. But the Slovenian covered every acceleration, easily defending the yellow jersey.

Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates team continues to look weaker and weaker as the Tour progresses. The team chose not to place a rider in the day’s big breakaway today, a tactical mistake as the Slovenian found himself completely isolated at the top of the Port d'Envalira, the day’s penultimate climb. INEOS, on the other hand, put Dylan van Baarle and Jonathan Castroviejo in the breakaway and both dropped back at the summit to wait for Geraint Thomas and Richard Carapaz in the GC group, giving Carapaz three teammates to help him through the final hour of racing.

But in the end, it didn’t matter much, as Pogačar had no problems defending the yellow jersey on his own. Attacked by each of the riders chasing him, the Slovenian remained calm, covering each acceleration and even taking a few digs of his own as if to remind everyone, “This is my Tour de France.” And he might be right.

Pogačar enters the Tour’s second Rest Day leading Uran by 5:18 and Vingegaard by 5:32, with Carapaz in fourth at 5:33. At some point soon, these three riders will start attacking one another in a bid to stand beside Pogačar on the final podium in Paris. This will benefit the Slovenian, as he can sit back and watch his closest competitors try and eliminate one another, following their moves in defense of his yellow jersey.

What About the Tour’s Other Classifications?

Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step) survived another tough day in the mountains and wears the green jersey as the leader of the Tour’s Points Classification. Australia’s Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange) is second, 72 points behind Cavendish. Assuming Cavendish makes it through the rest of the Pyrenees, he should win the second green jersey of his career.

Poels did enough on Stage 15 to take back the polka dot jersey as the leader of the Tour’s King of the Mountains classification. He leads Canada’s Mike Woods (Isreal Start-Up Nations) by 8 points and Colombia’s Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) by 10. With three more days in the mountains, this competition is far from over.

And as he’s only 22 years old, Pogačar leads the Tour’s Best Young Rider competition. But Vingegaard, who’s currently second in the classification, wears the white jersey since even Pogačar can’t wear two jerseys at once.

Stage 14 Winner - Bauke Mollema

After several days of trying, Trek-Segafredo finally broke through with a win on Stage 14, as Bauke Mollema joined the day’s main breakaway and then attacked with more than 40km to go and soloed to the finish. Overall leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Emirates) had a fairly quiet day in the main pack, content to let the break fight it out ahead of Sunday’s crucial stage in the Pyrenees. Thanks to his ride in the break, Guillaume Martin of Cofidis jumped up seven spots on the overall and is in second place now ahead of EF Education-Nippo’s Rigoberto Uran.

With just seven stages left after today, chances for success are rapidly dwindling for teams that haven’t yet won a stage or led a major jersey competition. The action on Stage 14 was furious from the start, with numerous riders trying and failing to establish a breakaway. The successful move didn’t get established until almost halfway into the stage when a series of attacks led to a group of 14 riders out front.

Over the climbs and descents, cooperation was a bit ragged, with a few accelerations (and a crash by Rusty Woods), until Mollema decided he’d had enough and launched clear with 43km to go. It was a bold move, with expected headwinds late in the race, but Mollema paced his effort perfectly and was never in jeopardy of being caught. Trek-Segafredo becomes the eighth team (out of 23 in the race) to win a stage of this year’s Tour; Deceuninck-Quick Step leads with five victories, four by Mark Cavendish.

It was a largely uneventful day for overall race leader Pogačar. None of the riders in the break were serious threats to his lead, and even Martin’s presence and rise up the overall classification could theoretically work in Pogačar's favor in the Pyrenees.

With the 2nd-7th spots on overall time separated by just 2:26, riders may start to think about defending or attacking for podium spots as much as to unseat Pogačar. Guillaume’s addition to the mix, in second overall now, means one more rival for riders to mark, and even if Pogačar is isolated, he could play riders’ ambitions against each other to force them to chase if one attacks.

Stage 13 Winner - Mark Cavendish

Mark Cavendish is unstoppable right now. You know the story: the winningest sprinter in Tour history even before this year, his career was almost in the dumpster last fall before he signed a minimum contract with his old team, Deceuninck-Quick Step for one last shot. His revival has been nothing short of spectacular; he’s won almost a third of this year’s Tour stages so far and leads the green jersey standings by more than 100 points over the next-best rider. His biggest threat isn't another rider; it’s getting over the Pyrenees to make it to Paris.

And he seems to be able to win no matter the circumstances: with a perfect leadout like Stage 10, or surfing wheels. Today, his DQS team was in control until a big crash at 62km to go brought down almost two dozen riders, including DQS workhorse Tim DeClerq (he was the last rider to finish). Without his steady tempo at the front, that forced the team to use up World Champion Julian Alaphilippe early, and the team wasn’t able to control the race. In a risky move, it eased up in the final 10km to save its energy for the final.

With under a kilometer to go, Cavendish was a little too far back, but managed somehow to leapfrog Nacer Bouhanni and regain the wheel of his trusted leadout man, Michael Mørkøv, in time for the final burst. Mørkøv, the best in the sport at his job, was so effective he finished second. Alpecin-Fenix’s Jasper Philipsen was third; it’s the fifth time he’s been on the stage podium this Tour, but hasn’t broken through yet for a win.

In the overall standings, Pogačar and his UAE-Emirates team took advantage of a day when DQS did most of the work. While he was briefly without teammates in the final, nervous 25km where there were crosswinds, he had little trouble keeping himself in a good position. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) round out the podium.

The crash, however, knocked three more riders out of the race: Simon Yates and Lucas Hamilton (BikeExchange) and Lotto-Soudal’s Roger Kluge were forced out with injuries. There are 151 riders left; that’s more dropouts already than either of the last two Tours had at the finish in Paris.

Stage 12 Winner - Nils Politt

Despite finishing almost 16 minutes behind Germany’s Nils Politt (BORA-Hansgrohe), the Stage 12 winner, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remained the overall leader of the 2021 Tour de France. The 22-year-old finished safely in the peloton at the end of Stage 12 in Nîmes and still leads Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) by 5:18 and Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) by 5:32 on the Tour’s General Classification.

On a day most expected to end in a field sprint, the breakaway survived as the peloton, tired from Wednesday’s double-dose of Mont Ventoux, was content to let a group of out-of-contention rouleurs ride away to a large advantage. Winds played a role in the action: crosswinds during the first hour helped the breakaway escape and more crosswinds in the final hour gave the break’s strongest riders an opportunity to leave their colleagues behind.

In the end, Germany’s Nils Politt (BORA-hansgrohe) took the stage victory. A former runner-up in Paris-Roubaix, the 27-year-old attacked his two companions with about 11km to go, riding away to take the first grand tour stage victory of his career. And the win couldn’t have come at a better time as earlier in the day his teammate, Peter Sagan, abandoned the Tour to prepare for the Olympics. Spain’s Imanol Erviti (Movistar) and Australia’s Harry Sweeny (Lotto-Soudal) held on behind Politt to finish second and third, 31 seconds later.

The Tour’s General Classification remained unchanged after Stage 12, but with none of the sprinters’ teams willing to take responsibility for chasing down the breakaway, Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates teammates were forced to spend all day on the front.

With several hard days in the Pyrenees still to come, stages like this can have an accumulative effect on the team defending the yellow jersey, forcing them to burn matches (as the saying goes) on a day when other other teams can sit back and recover. If Pogačar has indeed peaked a bit too soon, he’ll need the support of his team to protect his advantage. Stages like Thursday’s might make that task more challenging.

Stage 11 Winner - Wout van Aert

After two trips up and down Mont Ventoux, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remained the overall leader of the 2021 Tour de France. But it wasn’t easy as the Slovenian was dropped by Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 2km from the top of the second ascent of the mountain. Pogačar, Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo), and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS-Grenadiers) were able to catch the young Dane on the descent to the stage finish in Malaucène, but for the first time in this year’s Tour, Pogačar looked vulnerable—at least for a moment.

Up the road, Belgium’s Wout van Aert made it a banner day for Jumbo-Visma, winning the stage after attacking the remnants of the day’s big breakaway on the lower slopes of the second ascent of Ventoux. Unable to stay with van Aert, Trek-Segafredo teammates Kenny Elissonde and Bauke Mollema finished second and third.

Pogačar still has a commanding lead in the Tour’s General Classification: 5:18 over Uran and 5:32 over Vingegaard. But midway through the three-week race, we can’t help but wonder if his efforts during the Tour’s first “week” (Stages 1 through 9) are starting to catch up to him. Has he peaked too soon? And if he has, does his team have the strength to protect his advantage?

The three riders with the best chances of challenging him have emerged—Uran, Vingegaard, and Carapaz—but they’ll need to work together (for now) to try and crack Pogačar and his teammates before worrying about their own results. There are plenty of opportunities for them to get the job done in the Pyrenees, but without a concerted, strategic effort, it might not happen.

Speaking of opportunities, INEOS might have missed one today. The team controlled the stage as if it were defending the yellow jersey, essentially giving Pogačar and his team a free ride throughout much of the day. Had they forced UAE Team Emirates to set the pace would Pogačar have cracked sooner? And would INEOS have had more riders left at the end to help make it happen? We’ll never know, but if this Tour gets closer before it ends on July 18th, the British superteam might look back on today and wonder “What if?”

Stage 10 Winner - Mark Cavendish

Who’s Winning the Tour ?

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) remained the overall leader of the 2021 Tour de France after finishing safely in the leading peloton at the end of Stage 10 in Valence. The 22-year-old still leads Australia’s Ben O’Connor (AG2R-Citroen) by 2:01 and Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo) by 5:18.

Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) won the stage, putting the finishing touches on a dominant performance by his team. The 33rd stage victory of his career, Cavendish now sits one win away from tying Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 , and two away from ... well, we don’t want to jinx it.

The final hour of racing was intense, with Quick Step driving the pace. At one point, the peloton broke into echelons on the windswept run-in to finish, briefly distancing Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), but the Tour’s main favorites came back together before the finish. The final sprint was a masterclass in how to lead-out a field sprint, with Quick Step—and Cavendish—taking everyone to school. Belgians Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) finished second and third.

Of the riders chasing Pogačar (or more realistically, seeking to join him on the Tour’s final podium), Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran (EF Education-Nippo), Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) were the quickest to pounce when Pogačar began to struggle in the crosswinds near the end of the stage. Vingegaard was particularly aggressive, riding alongside van Aert to try and force a selection. The Dane is one of the best time trialists of the GC contenders, and looks like a good bet—at this point—to land on the podium.

Carapaz put in another aggressive ride, but again for no pay-off. He was also isolated for a bit in the crosswinds, leading us to wonder how long it will be before his wasted efforts come back to bite him.

Tomorrow’s stage climbs Mont Ventoux twice and should give us a better idea as to the riders with the best chances of either challenging Pogačar—or finishing beside him in Paris.

Stage 9 Winner - Ben O’Connor

Who’s Winning the Tour

It was another day of steady rain for the Tour de France, and riders regularly called up their team cars for deliveries of dry, warm clothing. The initial breakaway was massive, but quickly settled into several groups on the road with an ever-changing mix of leaders going off the front and being re-caught, only for others to counterattack. The winning move emerged when O’Connor joined Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) and EF-Nippo’s Sergio Higuita on the penultimate climb, the Cormet de Roselend. He was gapped on the descent, but re-caught the pair and went solo with 17km to go for his first-ever Tour stage (he also won a Giro d’Italia stage two years ago).

With such a large group, Pogačar’s UAE team struggled to keep the time gap in check, and at several points in the race, O’Connor, who started the day in 14th overall, was far enough ahead to be “virtual yellow jersey.” But on the final climb to Tignes, the Ineos Grenadiers team drilled it, partly to keep the gap down and prevent O’Connor from taking yellow, which keeps the pressure on UAE to defend. Pogačar, however, countered with his own late attack, and took another 32 seconds on his challengers.

O’Connor is in second overall, 2:01 down to Pogačar. He’s a solid climber, but has never finished higher than 20th in any of his four Grand Tours so far. Among Pogačar’s more likely possible challengers, there's a lot of work to do. Uran is 5:18 behind, with Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard and Richard Carapaz (Ineos) in 4th and 5th at 5:32. Pogačar enters Monday’s rest day with a massive advantage and is clearly the best rider in the race.

Who’s Not Winning the Tour

As expected, Primož Roglič did not start the stage. After losing major time the previous two days, it was clear that Jumbo’s leader wasn’t recovering from his injuries, making the smart choice to withdraw and heal, perhaps in time for the Olympic road race in a few weeks, and this fall’s Vuelta a España. The team will put its efforts behind Vingegaard for the podium and breakaways; American Sepp Kuss has factored in the break two days in a row, and will likely stay on the offensive in the Pyrenees.

Stage 8 Winner - Dylan Teuns

In the end, Pogačar efforts weren’t enough to net him the stage victory—that honor went to Belgium’s Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Victorious)—but it didn’t matter; with two weeks left to race, the Tour is clearly Pogačar’s to lose. He leads Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) by 1:48 and Kazakhstan's Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) by 4:38.

In addition to winning the stage, Bahrain-Victorious also took control of the Tour’s King of the Mountains classification, with Dutchman Wout Poels earning enough points over the day’s five categorized climbs to pull on the polka dot jersey as the leader of the competition.

Who’s Not Winning the Tour?

Um, anyone not named Tadej Pogačar? Seriously, with one attack Pogačar put minutes into his closest rivals, taking the yellow jersey in a style that calls to mind some of the greatest Tour riders in the sport’s history. But has he done too much too soon?

The short answer is: we’ll see. His team isn’t the strongest in the race, but with Pogačar enjoying the form of his life and holding a big lead, they don’t have to be. Better yet is the fact that many of the riders behind Pogačar on the Tour’s General Classification would be thrilled to finish second or third overall, which means they could give-up on chasing down the Slovenian and instead start worrying more about beating one another. Doing so would essentially concede the Tour to Pogačar, making life much easier for the Slovenian and his teammates.

One rider who’s fallen completely out of contention is Welshman Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers). Dropped on the final climb near the end of Stage 7, the 2018 Tour champion was able to rejoin the main group of GC contenders before the finish in Le Creusot. But today he was dropped early and lost over 30 minutes. He finished the stage beside one of the Tour’s other pre-race favorites, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) who has also seen his chances of winning the Tour disappear. Both riders will now be asked to support their teammates, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Richard Carapaz (INEOS Grenadiers), who sit fifth and sixth overall and both have a shot at finishing on the Tour’s final podium in Paris

Stage 7 Winner - Matej Mohoric

Mohorič is often overshadowed by his more-famous Slovenian compatriots, Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič, but today he took center stage with a perfect ride on a long and arduous stage. With his victory, Mohorič joins the club of riders who have won a stage in all three Grand Tours. For his part, Pogačar survived admirably and still leads all of his rivals, but with yellow jersey van der Poel up the road in the break, it fell to Pog’s UAE-Emirates team to do most of the work chasing. Since there are a few question marks about the team’s overall strength, that’s earlier than they’d like to have been forced into action. Elsewhere, Ineos’ Richard Carapaz showed that he’s going to race aggressively. His late-race attack was hauled back right at the line, but expect more from him.

The biggest story was Jumbo-Visma’s Roglič cracking on a late climb and falling down the standings. With the large breakaway (more than 25 riders), the pace was hot from the start. And the course’s length—249.1km—likely made things harder; strange things happen to riders when races go past 220km, especially after a hard week of racing.

But Roglič was clearly not recovering enough from his early-race crash injuries. His ride today, where he lost almost four minutes to his rivals, only underscores that his collapse would have happened sooner or later anyway. Tellingly, when he was dropped on the steep Signal d’Uchon climb, no teammates waited for him, which suggests Jumbo strongly suspected this was a possibility. They’ll likely put their efforts behind 24-year-old Jonas Vingegaard now.

Finally, it’s worth a look at one of the other jersey competitions: Points. Mark Cavendish (Deceuninck-Quick Step) has won two stages already in his remarkable comeback from several tough years, but it’s clear he wants more. He jumped in the break and took top points (20) at the intermediate sprint. He now leads the green jersey standings by a large margin, with 168 points to van der Poel’s 103 (van der Poel’s teammate, Jasper Philipsen, is one point back in third). Van der Poel himself didn’t really contest the intermediate sprint and is unlikely to make it to Paris. His main objective this season is the Olympic mountain bike race in just a few weeks, and he’ll need some rest. For all his 32 stage wins at the Tour, Cav has taken green in Paris just once, in 2011. He’d love to add another to the trophy cabinet. If he does, it will be a fantastic achievement. Despite his apparent run of form, it’s worth remembering that he wasn’t even supposed to be here, and his training this year was not designed around doing a three-week race, much less the Tour on a few days’ notice.

Stage 6 Winner - Mark Cavendish

Cav’s victory gives him 32 Tour stage wins, just two shy of Eddy Merckx’s overall record, which has stood for 45 years. It’s also Cavendish’s 50th stage win in a Grand Tour. It’s a remarkable comeback for the Manx Missile, who hadn’t won a Tour stage since 2016, and until this season, hadn’t won any races since 2018. Given that Cav wasn’t even slated to be on DQS’s Tour roster until he replaced Sam Bennett, who had a knee injury in early June, it’s even more impressive. Despite inevitable questions about his march on Merckx’s record (a line of inquiry which Cav has made clear he does not appreciate), he’s sprinting with remarkable confidence, dare we say joy. Van der Poel will spend a fifth day in the yellow jersey on Friday, and despite a long and challenging stage on Friday, he is a good bet to hold it until Saturday, the race’s first real mountain stage. Pogačar, the presumptive favorite for the overall, appreciated an uneventful day largely free of crashes and will look forward to Alpecin-Fenix’s defense of yellow for another day, limiting the work his UAE team will have to do.

Through five stages, not a single breakaway has survived to the finish yet. That’s not surprising: breakaways are often caught, and flatter sprint stages, with small moves of less than five riders, have the lowest success rate of any breakaway situation at the Tour. Stage 7 may see that streak finally broken, with a long, 249km day with several tough climbs near the end. But it may not be the early break that succeeds as much as a later move on those ascents.

Stage 5 Winner - Tadej Pogačar

Van der Poel doesn’t have a strong time trial resume, and today’s stage was both the longest TT he’s ever done and under the biggest spotlight. But he rose to the occasion with solid pacing throughout, hovering between 2nd and 5th at every time check. While his overall lead over Pogačar dwindled to just eight seconds, simply staying in yellow another day is a massive accomplishment for a rider whose main objective this year is actually in a few weeks at the Tokyo Olympics, where he’ll race the mountain bike event.

No one had a better day than Pogačar, who was fastest at every intermediate time check and gained time—often a lot—on all his challengers. The soonest Pogačar is likely to take yellow is Friday’s unusually long stage, but barring a crash or some major mishap, it’s almost a sure thing he’ll be in the race lead this weekend when the race goes into the Alps.

Elsewhere, contenders have to be asking themselves where are the cracks in Pogačar’s armor. His closest real rival on time is EF Education-Nippo’s Rigoberto Uran, who is almost a minute and a half behind before the mountains even start, and Pogačar is one of the best climbers in the world. INEOS’s Richard Carapaz and last year’s runner-up, Primož Roglič of Jumbo-Visma, are around 1:40 back, and things get more grim from there; there are only five more GC hopefuls within three minutes of Pog on the overall classification. Some of them, like Roglic and INEOS's Geraint Thomas, are dealing with injuries from crashes in the opening stages. There are two possibilities for the coming weeks: Pogačar didn’t lead last year’s Tour until the final day, so he never had to defend yellow, and his team is a question mark in terms of strength. And, Pog is clearly flying right now, but there are more than two weeks left to race. If his form peaked too early, rivals may be able to gain back time late in the race as he fades.

Stage 4 Winner - Mark Cavendish

But it almost didn’t happen. One day after Lotto-Soudal lost sprinter Caleb Ewan to a broken collarbone, Van Moer did his best to win the team a stage. On his first grand tour, the 23-year-old spent all day on the attack with France’s Pierre-Luc Périchon (Cofidis), then left his companion inside the final 10km to go solo. Underestimated by the chasing peloton, the Belgian held on until about 200 meters to go, when the hungry sprinters finally overtook him.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) finished safely within the leading peloton, holding onto the yellow jersey as the overall leader of the Tour. French puncheur Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) sits in second place, only 8 seconds behind the Dutchman; Ecuador’s Richard Capapaz (INEOS Grenadiers) and Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) stand in third and fourth, just 31 seconds behind.

Stage 5 brings the first of two individual time trials in this year’s Tour de France, a 27km ride from Changé to Laval that should shuffle the Tour’s General Classification. We’ve never seen van der Poel target a time trial before, so it remains to be seen how he’ll fare in terms of defending the yellow jersey. Maybe the yellow jersey will serve as additional inspiration, but with proven time trialists like Alaphilippe and van Aert, and a long rolling course, they’re both good bets to dethrone the Dutchman.

We’ll also be closely watching Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) and Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers). Heading into the Tour, Stage 5 was expected to offer the two favorites a chance to distance themselves from the Tour’s other GC contenders. Still, given the injuries they’ve sustained in crashes during the opening stages, they may not be able to take full advantage of their abilities

Stage 3 Winner - Tim Merlier

While his superstar teammate overshadows him, Merlier is a solid sprinter who’s having a career year (like van der Poel, he’s also a top cyclocross racer during the winter season). His Stage 3 win is his second in a Grand Tour after a victory in May’s Giro d’Italia. Not bad for a guy who’d never raced a Grand Tour until this year.

Merlier's victory—and Philipsen’s second-place finish—underscores that Alpecin-Fenix, not Deceuninck-Quick Step, is the top sprint team at this year’s Tour. DQS would be a top rival, but they were in disarray today. Their lead sprinter, Sam Bennett, is home with a knee injury while manager Patrick Lefevere starts needless feuds with him in the press. And Mark Cavendish, who could be the feel-good story of the race if he wins a stage in his return to the sport’s biggest stage, was well off after getting caught up and delayed by the late-stage crashes. Elsewhere, Ewan, another major rival, is now out with a broken collarbone. Van der Poel still leads the overall, eight seconds clear of DQS’s Julian Alaphilippe, who is at the top of the points standings after his fifth-place finish. INEOS Grenadiers’ Richard Carapaz was the only GC rider to finish in the front group. He jumps to third overall.

The chaotic nature of the opening stages has seen various riders pinball around in the overall standings. Carapaz is a perfect example: he lost 13 seconds on the uphill finish of Stage 1, but today bounced back with his savvy (and lucky) ride. Bora-Hansgrohe’s Wilco Kelderman managed to stay upright, and defending champion Tadej Pogačar lost minimal time after being delayed by a late crash.

Outside of Carapaz, it’s been a dismal opening few stages for INEOS, with crashes for several riders. Thomas fell hard today, less than 40km into the stage, and reportedly suffered a separated shoulder that was reset on site by the team doctor. There’s no word yet on how severe the injury is. Still, it will almost certainly be painfully difficult for Thomas to hold his aerodynamic tuck in Wednesday’s crucial time trial stage, where he’d typically be among the favorites. Jumbo-Visma hasn’t been any luckier, with multiple riders caught in crashes. Team leader Primoz Roglič fell hard with 18km to go today. His team swiftly organized a chase, but they’d no sooner gotten back to the leading group before another crash delayed them. He finished 1:21 down today, but at least X-rays showed no fractures.

Stage 2 Winner - Mathieu van der Poel

Who’s winning the Tour?

It was clear that van der Poel was targeting the stage and the yellow jersey. He launched his first attack on the first of two ascents of the Mûr, taking eight bonus seconds for being the first over the top. Easing back into the bunch, he recovered on the downhill run-in to the final climb to the finish line, then covered attacks by Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) before going off on his own with an acceleration no one could follow.

As he crossed the finish line, he pointed to the sky to honor his deceased grandfather, Raymond Poulidor. One of the Tour’s most beloved heroes, “Pou-Pou,” never had the honor of wearing the yellow jersey despite finishing on the Tour’s final podium eight times. The 10-second time bonus that van der Poel took for winning the stage was enough to put him in yellow though, as France’s Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) finished fourth on the day, eight seconds back. Van der Poel now leads the Tour by eight seconds over the Frenchman; Pogačar sits third, 13 seconds down.

Who’s really winning the Tour?

We’re only two days into the race, but it’s clear that last year’s top two finishers, Slovenians Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), aren’t wasting any time. Both riders scored bonus seconds behind van der Poel on the day’s first climb of the Mûr de Bretagne, and the duo pulled away from the rest of the leading group to score more bonus seconds at the finish. If this keeps up, we could be headed for a Tour even closer than last year’s, when Pogačar overtook Roglič in the final time trial to win the Tour.

The Tour’s other top GC contenders are expected to come from INEOS Grenadiers, whose four-headed GC-monster became a 2-headed GC-monster in yesterday’s crashes. Both Richie Porte and Tao Geoghegan Hart lost lots of time, leaving the team to ride for Geraint Thomas and Richard Carapaz. Carapaz was the best finisher today; the Ecuadorian finished in the leading group of contenders, 8 seconds behind van der Poel. Thomas lost a bit of time, leading in the next group another 15 seconds down. He should recoup the time lost to his teammate in Wednesday’s individual time trial, but it will remain interesting to see how the hierarchy within the team continues to evolve over the course of the Tour’s first week.

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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Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France for 2nd straight year

Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, lifts his bicycle after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, drinks champagne with teammates during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, second placed Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, left, and third placed Britain’s Adam Yates, right, celebrate on the podium after the last stage in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, rides in the pack during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey passes the Louvre Museum during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (Pascal Rossignol/Pool Photo via AP)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, toasts champagne with teammates during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, poses with teammates during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. Belgium’s Nathan van Hooydonck, third left hold the race number of teammate Wout van Aert who left the race to be with his wife Sarah ahead of the birth of their second child. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, waits for the start of the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, poses with teammates during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. Belgium’s Nathan van Hooydonck, third left, holds the race number of teammate Wout van Aert who left the race to be with his wife Sarah ahead of the birth of their second child. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, rides under one of the arches of the Louvre museum during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, rides during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, toasts champagne with teammates during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs Elysees in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, Pool)

Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, and his teammates cross the finish line of the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

The pack speeds down Champs-Elysees avenue as the Arc de Triomphe is seen in the background during the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Italy’s Giulio Ciccone, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, celebrates on the podium after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, celebrates after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, celebrates after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

Teammates congratulate Tour de France winner Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, after the twenty-first stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 115 kilometers (71.5 miles) with start in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and finish on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

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PARIS (AP) — Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard won the Tour de France for a second straight year as cycling’s most storied race finished Sunday on the famed Champs-Élysées.

With a huge lead built up over main rival Tadej Pogačar, the 2020 and 2021 winner, Vingegaard knew the victory was effectively his again before the largely ceremonial stage at the end of the 110th edition of the Tour.

The 26-year-old Vingegaard drank champagne with his Jumbo-Visma teammates as they lined up together and posed for photos on the way to Paris.

“It’s been a long journey, yet it went by so fast,” Vingegaard said. “Day after day, it was a super hard race with a super nice fight between me and Tadej. I’ve enjoyed every day. I hope to come back next year and see if I can take a third win.”

It had been a three-week slog over 3,405 kilometers (2,116 miles) with eight mountain stages across five mountain ranges. Vingegaard seized control of the race over two stages in the Alps.

Little had separated the two rivals until Vingegaard finished a time trial 1 minute, 38 seconds ahead of Pogačar on Tuesday , then followed up the next day by finishing the toughest mountain stage of the race almost 6 minutes ahead of his exhausted rival.

“I’m dead,” Pogačar said.

The Slovenian rider responded by winning the penultimate stage on Saturday, but Vingegaard still had an insurmountable lead of 7 minutes, 29 seconds going into the final stage – a mostly ceremonial stage which is contested at the end by the sprinters.

“We have to be careful not to do anything stupid,” Vingegaard warned Saturday, “but yeah, it’s amazing to take my second victory in the Tour de France.”

Vingegaard kept that lead and was able to celebrate early Sunday as organizers decided to take the times one lap before the finish when it started raining on the cobblestones of the Champs-Élysées. The decision invited the sprinters to fight for the stage victory – the only remaining uncertainty.

Belgian cyclist Jordi Meeus prevailed in a photo finish between four riders on the line, just ahead of Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen and Mads Pedersen.

“It was my first Tour. It was a super nice experience already so far, and to take the win today is an indescribable feeling,” said Meeus, who clocked a top speed of 68.8 kph (42.8 mph) on the last kilometer.

Pogačar, who attacked after just one lap of eight altogether on the Champs-Élysées, was wearing the white jersey as the best young rider for the 75th day – extending a career Tour record. The 24-year-old Slovenian rider has won the best young rider classification every year since 2020.

But Pogačar had to be content with second place in the general classification again.

British rider Adam Yates, Pogačar’s teammate, finished third overall, ahead of his twin brother Simon.

Colombian rider Egan Bernal, the 2019 Tour winner, completed the race as he made his impressive comeback from a life-threatening crash. The 26-year-old Bernal said he narrowly avoided becoming paralyzed after an accident with a bus while training in Colombia in January 2022.

“It’s difficult to compare with the year I won but it’s almost the same feeling because for me it’s a great victory,” Bernal said. “Yesterday, in the last climb, I was so lucky I was alone and could enjoy the last kilometers. I was so emotional.”

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Tour de France winner taken into ambulance on stretcher as crash leaves cyclists in concrete ditches

T wo-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard and several other contenders suffered a horrific crash that led to Stage 4 of the Itzulia Basque Country being halted.

On Thursday afternoon, the crash took place with approximately 35 kilometers to go in the run from Etxarri Aranatz to Legutio. As riders attacked a sweeping right turn in a dense woodland area, multiple stars fell with some landing in concrete drainage ditches that were left unprotected by barriers.

Roughly 10 riders were affected by the fall, including the likes of Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic, and Remco Evenepoel. Multiple ambulances arrived on the scene while six riders were transported to hospital following the incident - including Vingegaard, who was seen moving and talking while being treated, and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates).

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Evenepoel fell after powering through the trees, limping with his right arm held close to his side, while Vingegaard ended up lying prone face down on the side of the road. Roglic, the race leader who suffered a crash on Wednesday, then fell heavily.

Roglic was forced to withdraw but was not injured seriously and ultimately departed the race in his team’s car. Several riders remained motionless on the ground as ambulances swiftly arrived on the scene.

EF Education-EasyPost confirmed that both Alexander Cepeda and Sean Quinn were involved in the crash. The team took to social media to write: “Sean Quinn was forced to abandon. Medical evaluation is ongoing. Further updates to come.”

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Lidl-Trek confirmed that Natnael Tesfatsion was also involved in the incident. Riders from UAE Team Emirates were also affected, confirming Vine had been taken to hospital.

Stage 4 of Itzulia Basque Country has since been neutralized to ensure riders are properly treated following the worrying crash. The race organization released a statement that read: “The mountain pass of Untzilla is canceled and the race is neutralized until Eskoraitza. The race organisers are waiting for the doctors to rejoin the peloton.”

Spanish star Mikel Bizkarra of Euskatel-Euskadi was not involved in the race but offered his thoughts on why the crash happened. He posted: “On that road, there are a lot of tree roots under the asphalt, which makes the road very bumpy. It's "easy" to go flying.”

The organizers of the Itzulia announced the peloton will ride together to the end of the stage. However, the six cyclists who led prior to the crash will be able to compete in a final sprint toward the finish line for a partial victory.

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