Tadej Pogačar ticked off a "big goal" as he claimed his record-equaling fifth Tour de France title, while Mathieu van der Poel won a sensational 21st and final stage Tour de France 2026 around Paris on Sunday.
Two-time world champion Pogačar joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the most successful riders in TDF history.
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"I'm really incredibly proud to be a five-time winner of the biggest race in the world," Pogačar told France Televisions. "It was a big goal to get five and, I'm not going to lie, it's one goal achieved."
Pogačar had all but secured his historic title during the previous two mountain stages that finished on the iconic Alpe d'Huez climb.
The 27-year-old Slovenian won five stages and had been in yellow since his victory in the Pyrenean sixth stage.
He now has 26 stage victories in total, putting him fourth on the all-time list behind only Mark Cavendish (35), Merckx (34) and Hinault (28).
He also surpassed both Indurain and Chris Froome for total days spent in yellow with 70 and trails only Hinault (75) and Merckx (96).
Pogačar is the youngest rider to have won five Tours, more than a year younger than Merckx was in achieving the same feat, and is the first person to finish on the podium seven years running.
He also is the only rider to have been on the podium in nine consecutive Grand Tours.
And the Slovenian played his part in a stunning final stage, which was shortened to 88.7 kilometers due to wildfires raging in the southwest.
Van der Poel and Pogacar escaped together on the final climb up Montmartre with 10 kilometers to ride and then fought to the finish with a chasing group of sprinters closing in.
As Pogačar's strength sapped inside the last 700 meters, and with the chasers just seconds behind, Van der Poel struck out alone.
The cobbled classics specialist held on to win by half a bike length in a photo finish from his Alpecin Premier Tech teammate Jasper Philipsen, with Mads Pedersen in third.
"(For) a year, I was thinking about this, and I was sick last year and had to watch this stage on television," Van der Poel said. "I was already thinking about this moment, and the way it went, it's a dream. It was super hard to be up there with the best rider in the world, all my respect for Tadej."
Tour de France 2026 Historic In Many Ways
It was Van der Poel's second stage victory in the 113th edition of the Tour de France and his fourth in total.
Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel finished second overall, almost six and a half minutes back, with Mexican Isaac del Toro in third.
It was a successful TDF for Dane Pedersen, who won the sprinters' green jersey competition.
Richard Carapaz of Ecuador triumphed in the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey category, and Del Toro finished in the best young rider's white jersey.
Carapaz, who won two mountain stages, also was voted as the Tour's most combative rider.
French great Julian Alaphilippe, a two-time world champion, announced that he had competed in his final Tour de France.
The 34-year-old famously held the coveted yellow jersey for 14 days in 2019 but lost it two days before reaching Paris.
This year's Tour de France was historic in many ways.
It was only the third time in 113 editions, after 1926 and 1999, that no Frenchman won a stage.
But even more remarkable, is that it is the first time in 302 Grand Tours - including the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España - that no rider from either France, Italy or Spain won a stage.
By contrast, riders from Slovenia, Mexico, Ecuador and Denmark won stages - showing just how much cycling has expanded beyond its traditional western European founding base.
The entire peloton set a new record for the fastest road stage. That came in Stage 11 from Vichy to Nevers, which was ridden at an average speed of 50.9kph, beating the old record of 50.35kph from 1990.
By finishing third, Del Toro became the first Mexican to finish on a Tour podium, while fourth-place Paul Seixas, at 19, was the youngest rider in the Grande Boucle since Adrien Cento in 1937.
Tour de France 2026 Stage 21 Results – Top 25
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 1:58:49 (B10)
- Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Premier Tech) – 1:58:49 (B6)
- Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) – 1:58:49 (B4)
- Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) – 1:58:49
- Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 1:58:49
- Matej Mohorič (Bahrain - Victorious) – 1:58:49
- Rick Pluimers (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 1:58:49
- Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies) – 1:58:49
- Clément Russo (Cofidis) – 1:58:49
- Milan Fretin (Groupama - FDJ United) – 1:58:49
- Biniam Girmay (NSN Cycling Team) – 1:58:49
- Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) – 1:58:49
- Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla) – 1:58:49
- Filippo Ganna (Netcompany INEOS) – 1:58:49
- Huub Artz (Lotto Intermarché) – 1:58:49
- Marco Haller (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 1:58:49
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 1:58:49
- Javier Romo (Movistar Team) – 1:58:49
- Alexandre Delettre (TotalEnergies) – 1:58:49
- Brent Van Moer (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 1:58:49
- Simone Velasco (XDS Astana Team) – 1:58:49
- Alex Kirsch (Cofidis) – 1:58:49
- Alex Aranburu (Cofidis) – 1:58:57
- Mike Teunissen (XDS Astana Team) – 1:58:57
- Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 1:58:57
Tour de France 2026 Overall Standings – Top 25 After Stage 21
- Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 73:56:26 (B62)
- Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 74:02:52 (B26)
- Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 74:06:08 (B24)
- Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 74:08:22 (B8)
- Lenny Martinez (Bahrain - Victorious) – 74:09:28 (B6)
- Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl - Trek) – 74:11:25
- Juan Ayuso (Lidl - Trek) – 74:14:14
- Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost) – 74:16:26 (B28)
- Jordan Jegat (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – 74:25:54 (B8)
- Tom Pidcock (TotalEnergies) – 74:29:47
- Yannis Voisard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – 74:34:28
- Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – 74:53:03 (B6)
- Sepp Kuss (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 74:58:49 (B4)
- Davide Piganzoli (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – 75:00:09
- Jai Hindley (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) – 75:19:54
- Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 75:21:27
- Tiesj Benoot (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 75:29:22
- Quinn Simmons (Lidl - Trek) – 75:31:54 (B6)
- Sean Quinn (EF Education - EasyPost) – 75:43:31
- Egan Bernal (Netcompany INEOS) – 75:44:24
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) – 75:48:25
- Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) – 75:59:08
- Carlos Verona (Lidl - Trek) – 76:01:48
- Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) – 76:07:35
- Derek Gee-West (Lidl - Trek) – 76:09:25
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