As Tadej Pogacar heads off on a well-earned holiday, the four-time Tour de France winner can look back with pride at his latest achievement.
On Sunday, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider secured his latest Tour crown in style on the streets of Paris which brought him level with British rider Chris Froome for all-time Tour de France wins.
Wout van Aert won the final-day cliffhanger on the cobbled roads of Montmartre, but Pogacar was spared any late challenge when the weather forced organisers to neutralise times to avoid potential accidents.
However, Pogacar more than played his part in the finale in a six-man breakaway during a thrilling climax before Belgian Van Aert pulled away on the last climb.
And the 26-year-old admitted defending his four-minute plus lead in the final week was a real challenge for his tired body.
“Winning four Tours, six years in a row on the Tour podium – I'm just speechless,” he said. “This one feels especially amazing. I'm very proud I can wear the yellow jersey.
“Obviously, I was in the lead, I had quite a big gap – 4:24 in Paris on Jonas Vingegaard. So we were comfortably in the yellow, but yeah, I was a bit tired in the last week, to be honest I just want to enjoy this moment.
“Everybody has different ideas about how to celebrate. I want some peace and beautiful weather, enjoying some quiet days at home.”
While Pogacar needs just one more title to match the record five crowns jointly held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, he insists this is not a motivating factor in his career plans.
“Obviously it's not the goal to win five tours. Right now, I have no clear goals. Maybe the world championships this year and [the Tour of] Lombardy, but for now I just enjoy the moment and will think about the next goals quite soon,” he said.
He also talked about how cycling's draining calendar and obsession with training are a danger that needs to be taken seriously.
“I'm at a point in my career where I could finish tomorrow, and I'd be happy,” Pogacar added, before making clear he was joking.
“Seriously, burnouts happen in sports, in a lot of sports, mental burnout, physical burnout. We train a lot. Cyclists are sometimes too obsessed with training, and everybody wants to train more and more and more.
“You see some riders have fatigue too early in the season and then the team needs you to race, race, race. In the end, you just keep going into this circle and you never recover.
“Then you come to October and you're like, finally a break. And then in December, you're trying to do it all over again. So burnout happens.”
Pogacar also credited rival Jonas Vingegaard for pushing him to higher levels, calling their five-year duel a privilege.
It is the first time that two riders finished first and second in five consecutive Tours, Vingegaard having beaten Pogacar in 2022 and 2023 while the Slovenian edged his rival out this year, in 2021 and 2024.
“It's incredible, we keep pushing each other to another level, we are privileged to have this competition because it makes us grow more and more,” said Pogacar, who was also eager to hail the support of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG colleagues.
“When you have such strong opponents, not just Jonas [Vingegaard] but everybody, you never know what is coming. So you can always have some doubts.
“But the team atmosphere helps you and if you go to races motivated and wanting to give it all, if you give it all on the road, you don't have anything to regret, you don't need to doubt. Or maybe always a little bit because – you never know.”
