With the dust still settling at the end of Sunday's final stage following three weeks of complete and utter dominance from Tadej Pogacar, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was asked to name his top three moments from this year's Tour de France.
It was a race that had seen the Slovenian secure a third successive title, lifting him to a record-equalling five crowns alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
Pogacar had been victorious on five stages, taking his Tour tally to 26 with only three riders having now won more – Mark Cavendish (35), Eddy Maerckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28).
He became the first rider to reach the Tour podium for a seventh successive year and has now finished in the top three of all nine Grand Tours he has raced in [seven Tour de France races and two Giro d'Italias]. Pogacar also set a record for climbing Alpe d’Huez (Stage 19) having also beaten his own time up Col du Tourmalet earlier in the race (Stage 6).
So after all this relentless individual success, his response to the question put to him by British broadcasters TNT Sports was a telling one in that none of them actually involved a Pogacar victory.
“The highlights of this Tour was definitely the team time-trial, and the second stage, the last 200 metres, I will never forget. Goosebumps. And then also yesterday on Alpe d'Huez together with Isaac. These were my favourite moments,” he said.
That opening day time-trial had actually seen UAE Team Emirates-XRG come home in third place, with Pogacar finishing 12 seconds behind stage winners Visma-Lease a Bike and his old rival Jonas Vingegaard.
On Stage 2, a clearly delighted Pogacar had guided teammate Isaac del Toro to a first stage win in what was the Mexican's debut Tour as the pair powered over the line ahead of Vingegaard.
UAE Team 'another level'
Then on the penultimate stage on the Alpe d'Huez, one day after his record-smashing climb at the same iconic venue, Pogacar spent most of the day making sure Del Toro – third in the general classification – would be on the podium alongside him in Paris 24 hours later.
For all his remarkable success, Pogacar, 27, has made it abundantly clear that it is the efforts of his teammates that were the driving force in this year's race, especially considering Adam Yates, Tim Wellens and Brandon McNulty were all hit by illness – with the latter being forced to drop out on Stage 18.
“I already appreciated the work of the teammates before, but now it's like another level,” he said after Stage 20. “I must say thank you to every single one of them for working so hard for these last three weeks.”
And the bond built between Pogacar and Del Torro is clearly a strong one. “People might be talking a lot now about how I helped Isaac get on the podium, but they should also know that he helped me get the yellow jersey first,” added Pogacar on Saturday. “The whole team helped even more. It was an honour to ride for Isaac today.”
Del Toro gratitude
And Del Toro, who won the white jersey for best young rider, paid tribute to his team leader, while also admitting that he had also been struggling with illness.
“There was sickness in the team,” the Mexican said after the penultimate stage. “I tried to prevent people from noticing I was weaker, saying I was OK, but it wasn’t true. My teammates took care of me. I don’t know why they supported me this much. They wanted to see me reach places I had just been dreaming to be at.
“Tadej has shown how good a friend he is. I can’t feel more privileged than I feel today. If you could have seen through my glasses during the stage, you would have seen I was crying, and speechless.
“It’s beautiful to carry this white jersey to Paris. We were here to fight to try to win it, and I’m super happy I have been able to perform at the level they wanted me to be at. From now on, I just want to enjoy the moment. The suffering is past me.”
Pogacar 'not thinking about history'
As for Pogacar himself, he is now looking forward to some well earned time off and enjoy the “small things in life”.
“Right now I just want to enjoy the moment of winning the Tour,” he said. “If it's the fifth or the first, it doesn't matter – it's unbelievable to wear the yellow jersey and to cross the line in Paris winning it.
“I will just enjoy this moment, not thinking about any history, not thinking about [joining any club]. I just want to live this moment, come back home, relax, enjoy the small things of life.
“I'm really happy and proud to win a fifth Tour. Every single one has a different story, a different meaning, different emotions. Each one of them feels incredible and unbelievable for me.”
