Pogacar poised to join Tour de France immortals with record-equalling fifth title

Tadej Pogacar is one stage away from joining the most exclusive club in cycling. The 27-year-old Slovenian, riding for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, holds a commanding lead of six minutes and 26 seconds over Belgium's Remco Evenepoel heading into Sunday's final ride to Paris. If he simply finishes the ceremonial stage without catastrophe—a formality in the Tour's tradition—he will become the fifth rider ever to win the race five times, standing alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain as the sport's most decorated champions.

Stage 20, the race's penultimate and most grueling day, unfolded on the slopes of Alpe d'Huez with the kind of drama that defines cycling's greatest moments. The route climbed 5,450 metres across three hors category peaks over 170.9 kilometres, the sort of day when the strongest riders are supposed to separate themselves from the field. Sepp Kuss, the American climber from Visma-Lease a Bike, had other ideas. The 31-year-old, who won the Vuelta a Espana in 2023, launched a solo attack with roughly 25 kilometres remaining and appeared to have found the form that would carry him to victory. But as he descended toward the finish, Kuss crashed twice in quick succession—once coming out of a tunnel, then again on a right-hand corner where his rear wheel slid on dust at the road's edge. He nearly went over a sheer drop before safety netting caught him. The crashes allowed Ecuador's Richard Carapaz to sweep past and claim the stage win, his second in three days, while Kuss limped across the line in third place. "I was just annoyed," Kuss said afterward, noting he had scouted that corner that morning and thought he could take it at speed. "My wife won't let me race my bike anymore."

Pogacar, however, did something unexpected on a stage where he might have been expected to deliver a masterclass of dominance. Instead of attacking for the win, he spent the final climb supporting his 22-year-old Mexican teammate Isaac del Toro, who was struggling on the Col du Galibier. The pair crossed the finish line together, arms around each other's shoulders, with del Toro securing third place overall and the white jersey for best young rider. Pogacar finished fourth on the stage, more than a minute behind Carapaz. "I did my best to help Isaac," he said. "I finally experienced being a domestique myself and I already before appreciate the work of team-mates, but now it's like another level. It was goosebumps as we crossed the line together."

The gesture revealed something about Pogacar's thinking as he approaches the twilight of his dominance. When asked about his future, he suggested he would not continue in this role indefinitely. "I definitely will not be doing this for too much of a long time, I think," he said, acknowledging del Toro's potential while insisting the team would not burden the young rider with pressure.

Sunday's finale will look different than usual. Race organizers announced that the final stage distance has been reduced from 133 kilometres to 89 kilometres due to emergency services being redirected to combat devastating wildfires in the southwest of France. The traditional sprint along the Champs Élysées cobbles will be preceded by a new section over Montmartre, potentially offering opportunities for riders with sustained climbing power to steal a breakaway victory. For Pogacar, it is merely a formality—a final pedal stroke before history.