UAE Team Emirates-XRG star rider Tadej Pogacar created history at the Tour de France on Tuesday as he won Stage 4 in Rouen to complete 100 career victories.
Slovenian superstar Pogacar, who is targeting his fourth crown at the iconic race, clinched victory at Rouen as Mathieu van der Poel kept the overall lead.
Defending champion Pogacar attacked on a late incline and finished narrowly ahead of a fading Van der Poel with Jonas Vingegaard third.
The 174.2km ride from Amiens to Rouen came down to a sprint finish between the top three in the overall standings, with the Slovenian world champion getting the better of Dutchman van der Poel, with Denmark's Vingegaard right behind them.
Pogacar is now level at the top of the general classification after his 100th career win.
“I think today everybody was on the limit. I tried with an attack on the last climb and then Jonas followed me and then everything came together,” Pogacar said after the win.
“Joao [Almeida] did such an amazing job to lead me out until the very end, even if people were attacking. I’m super happy and proud of the team today. I’m just without words. It’s such a nice victory.
“To win at the Tour is incredible, in this jersey even more, and to have 100 victories is amazing.
“With so many good riders in the final, you’re always a bit on the edge and nervous about what’s going to happen.”
A breakaway group of four riders – Lenny Martinez, Jonas Abrahamsen, Thomas Gachignard and Kasper Asgreen – got away early but the peloton, led by Van der Poel's Alpecin-Deceuninck team, kept them well within reach.
The action was always going to come in the closing 50km, with five categorised climbs packed into the finale, and Martinez was the last to be caught with 20km remaining, shortly after a crash had brought down several riders in the bunch.
Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates took control at the front coming to the penultimate climb, before Visma-Lease a Bike aned Vingegaard took over, pushing hard on the descent, as anticipation grew for a late attack.
When it came on the final climb, it was the expected break from Pogacar, but he was unable to shake off two-times champion Vingegaard, and the pair were joined by five other riders, including Van der Poel, to set up a high-stakes finish.
Van der Poel went first, looking for his second stage win in three days, but Pogacar had the legs to overtake before the line, and made up the four seconds which separated the pair overall thanks to the stage win bonus.
It was the Slovenian's 18th Tour de France stage victory.
Unlike the opening three stages, there was hardly a puff of wind and not a drop of rain, but there were still plenty of falls.
Stage 5 will shake up the overall standings with a 33km individual time trial around Caen. The stage is being billed as the day Remco Evenepoel aims for the overall leader's yellow jersey.
To do so the 25-year-old Belgian world and Olympic champion in the discipline will need to cover the 33km course almost a minute faster that Pogacar and Vingegaard.
