Pogačar wins Tour de France 2026 for fifth career title
Tadej Pogačar won the 2026 Tour de France as wildfires forced organizers to shorten the final stage in Paris.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
Tadej Pogačar won the Pogačar Tour de France 2026 title on Sunday, giving the Slovenian rider his fifth victory in cycling’s most watched race, NPR reported. The win moved him into a tie with the most decorated champions in Tour history.
Pogačar crossed the finish line in Paris shortly before 8 p.m. local time, wearing the yellow jersey as the overall leader. His final time for the full race was 73 hours, 56 minutes and 26 seconds, according to official Tour de France rankings.
Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel finished as Pogačar’s closest challenger, nearly six and a half minutes behind him, NPR reported. The result capped a Tour whose last day was reshaped by wildfires in southwest France.
Why was the 2026 Tour de France final stage shortened?
Tour organizers said the final stage route was cut because security and police assigned to the race were redirected to help respond to wildfires in the southwest of the country. The stage had been scheduled to start in Thoiry, about 56 kilometers west of Paris, before riders continued into the capital.
After the change, the final stage began on the Champs-Élysées in Paris at about 5:50 p.m. local time, according to NPR. The start was delayed slightly after the wildfire-related adjustments.
The shortened stage still ended with a separate stage winner. Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel took the final stage in 1 hour, 58 minutes and 49 seconds, according to the Tour’s official rankings.
How many Tour de France titles has Tadej Pogačar won?
Pogačar has now won the Tour de France five times. That total puts him level with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin, the riders recognized among the event’s most successful winners.
NPR noted that Lance Armstrong had previously recorded seven Tour de France victories, but those titles were stripped after it was revealed that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Pogačar’s fifth official win therefore places him alongside the race’s leading champions rather than behind Armstrong in the record book.
The final stage took place with a start and finish in Paris, where the Tour traditionally concludes. Pogačar’s victory confirmed the overall standings after three weeks of racing and gave Slovenia another Tour de France title through its dominant rider.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.