Tadej Pogačar of Slovenia secured his fifth Tour de France victory Sunday, finishing the final stage in Paris just before 8 p.m. local time.
Pogačar, wearing the yellow jersey, rode the ceremonial circuits on the Champs-Élysées after a race shortened and rescheduled because wildfires in southwestern France forced organizers to reassign police and security resources. The final stage’s start was delayed to about 5:50 p.m.; it had originally been planned to begin in Thoiry, roughly 56 kilometers west of Paris.
After the finish, Pogačar thanked fans and supporters and called the win “unbelievable.” He reflected on his record at the Tour: seven participations, seven podiums and five victories — a run he said felt like something out of a storybook.
The last day’s sprint was won by Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel, who crossed the line in 1 hour, 58 minutes and 49 seconds. Pogačar’s overall time for the three-week race was 73 hours, 56 minutes and 26 seconds, giving him a winning margin of nearly six and a half minutes over Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel.
With this fifth title, Pogačar joins Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin as the most successful riders in Tour history. (Lance Armstrong’s seven wins were later vacated after he was found to have used performance-enhancing drugs.)
The 2026 edition of the Tour de France will be remembered both for Pogačar’s dominance and for the disruption caused by the wildfires, which forced organizers to adapt the race route and start times in order to prioritize public safety.