Pogacar Nears Third Tour de France Triumph by Outsprinting Vingegaard

Tadej Pogacar is on the verge of his third Tour de France victory after defeating reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard in the penultimate stage. Pogacar now leads by over five minutes, with the final time trial between Monaco and Nice left. Other notable performances included Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz.

Tadej Pogacar inched closer to securing his third Tour de France title after outwitting his main rival, defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, to win the penultimate stage on Saturday.

The Slovenian claimed his fifth stage win of this year’s edition by outsprinting Vingegaard in the final meters of the 132.8-km mountain trek from Nice. Vingegaard ran out of steam in the final kilometers, trying to cement his second position overall. Pogacar showed no mercy, staying in Vingegaard’s slipstream and accelerating 250 meters from the line to claim victory.

Overall, Pogacar, who won the Tour in 2020 and 2021 before being toppled by Vingegaard in the last two editions, leads the Dane by five minutes and 14 seconds, with Belgian Remco Evenepoel in third place, a further 2:50 behind. It was a tough end for Vingegaard, who aimed to gain time over Evenepoel, but couldn’t maintain his pace. The Tour concludes on Sunday with an individual time trial from Monaco to Nice, a historic first where it will not finish in Paris due to preparations for the upcoming Olympics.