Slovenian rider Tadej Pogačar wins the Tour de France for the fourth time

By JEROME PUGMIRE PARIS AP Tadej Poga ar won his fourth Tour de France title by a content margin after Sunday s final stage which he tried to win even though he did not need to The -year-old Slovenian rider won the Tour last year and in and Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard finished the overall race minutes seconds behind Poga ar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was minutes adrift in third Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the st and last stage which broke with tradition and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill Because of the vulnerability of heavy rain and crashes organizers had earlier decided to neutralize the times kilometers miles from the end effectively giving Poga ar the win but providing he crossed the finish line Poga ar had no need to contest the stage win especially given the danger of crashing on slick roads Yet as the rain fell heavily he demonstrated his relentless thirst for preeminence and attacked anyway setting a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered all along the cobbled Rue Lepic with flags and fans hanging out of windows Only five riders were left with Poga ar on the third ascension of the -kilometer Montmartre hill After fending off American Matteo Jorgenson he was caught cold near the top as Van Aert launched a stunning attack to drop yes drop Poga ar the world s best climber on the steepest section Van Aert rolled back down for a prestigious stage win on the famed Champs- lys es Poga ar looked weary as he crossed the line in fourth place seconds behind But then it was time to celebrate title No Only four riders have won the showcase race five times Belgian Eddy Merckx Spaniard Miguel Indur in and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault Poga ar won four stages this year to take his Tour tally to and at major races including six at the Giro d Italia and three at the Spanish Vuelta Lipowitz secured his first career podium at a Grand Tour the alternative name given to the three major races His performance following his third-placed finish last month at the Crit rium du Dauphin suggests the -year-old German rider could challenge in the near future Developing with tradition Traditionally the last stage is largely processional with riders doing laps around Paris The Tour broke with tradition after the success of the Paris Olympics road race which also took in Montmartre famous for its Sacre Coeur basilica Five in a row It was the fifth straight year where Poga ar and Vingegaard finished - at the Tour Vingegaard was second in before beating Poga ar the next two years with the Slovenian second When Poga ar reclaimed his title last year Vingegaard was runner-up Five major titles Poga ar has also won the Giro d Italia doing so last year to become the first cyclist to secure the Giro and Tour double in the same season since the late Marco Pantani in But Poga ar has not yet won the Spanish Vuelta whereas Anquetil Hinault and Merckx won all three major races A century of success When Poga ar won the hilly fourth stage of this year s race it was the th professional accomplishment of his stellar career all events combined Poga ar is also the world road race champion He warmed up for this year s Tour with a dominant domination at the Crit rium continuing his excellent form in the spring classics where he won Li ge Bastogne Li ge for the third time After winning stage of the Tour Poga ar added three more stage wins including an emphatic uphill time trial What s left to win He would love to win the Paris-Roubaix classic and Milan-San Remo The -kilometer -mile Roubaix race is called The Hell of the North because of its dangerous cobblestone sections Poga ar s debut appearance at the one-day classic this year saw him seeking to become the first Tour champion to win it since Hinault in But powerful Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel won it for the third straight year Poga ar has also yet to win Milan-San Remo with Van der Poel also beating him there this year Expect a fired-up Poga ar next year at Roubaix and Milan-San Remo But it s unclear whether he ll tackle the Vuelta Tour de France coverage https apnews com tag TourdeFrance and https apnews com projects tour-de-france- -race-stages-maps