Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar equals record with fifth yellow jersey as Mathieu van der Poel wins thrilling stage 21

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Former World Champion holds off Philipsen and Pedersen in frantic sprint to the line on Champs-Élysées

UAE Team Emirates - XRG's Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar celebrates his overall victory as he crosses the finish line of the 21st stage of the 113th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 88,7 km starting and finishing in Paris, on July 26, 2026. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)
Tour de France: Tadej Pogačar rides an aggressive stage 21 and finishes safely for fifth GC win (Image credit: Getty Images)
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Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) equalled the record for the most Tour de France yellow jerseys by winning his fifth overall title, arriving safely to the line on stage 21 after putting on an epic show on the final day in Paris as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) won an absolute thriller at the 2026 edition.

Only four all-time greats had achieved the feat of winning five Tours before the Slovenian joined them today: Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain; Pogačar is the first to match them in the 21st century. But that wasn't the only piece of history he was chasing.

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James Moultrie
James Moultrie
News Writer

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.

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