From Intensive Care Units, Fables and Self-Presenters
The 111th Tour de France is over. And once again, it provided many stories: from Tadej Pogacar's records to Jonas Vingegaard, who went from the intensive care unit to the podium, all the way to fan favorites like Binim Girmay and self-promoters. The highlights and disappointments of the world's greatest race.
Winners and Stars of the Tour
Tadej Pogacar: Youngest three-time winner in Tour history. First professional since 1996 to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year. These are just the toughest of the facts. Pogacar dominated the Tour from start to finish, rode aggressively, and never faltered. A delight to watch, both on and off the bike. The Slovenian is a fairytale champion.
Jonas Vingegaard: From the intensive care unit to the Tour podium. The cycling world is still speculating about how serious Vingegaard's injuries from the Baskenland-Rundfahrt in April really were. Nevertheless: The Dane gave it his all on the bike, fought for three weeks - mostly defensively. A fit Vingegaard against a fit Pogacar at the Tour 2025 - that would be a dream match.
Binim Girmay: The feel-good story of the Tour. An Eritrean became the dominant sprinter, won three stages, the green jersey, and the hearts of the fans with his legendary camaraderie. In the capital of Eritrea, people danced in the cafes on the streets, "Bini" is a folk hero. Africa is pushing its way into the cycling world elite, and the World Championships 2025 will take place in Rwanda. A fantastic development.
Nils Politt: Locomotive, Bodyguard, Mental Monster: The Cologne classic lover transformed into a climber at the Tour, setting the pace for his captain Pogacar at the Tourmalet and the Bonette - with a height of 1.92 meters and a weight of 80 kilograms. Politt was the perfect team player, a hot contender for the best supporting role Oscar.
France: Win and Yellow for Romain Bardet on Day One, three stage victories before the first rest day - the French began fiercely. Although there was not much left sports-wise and the long-awaited first Tour victory since Bernard Hinault in 1985 was again light-years away, France celebrated its usual people's festival, especially and precisely at the finish line in Nice. Summer is the Tour is Sport is Mood is - fantastic and French. And now comes the Olympics.
Disappointments and Disappointing of the Tour
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe: So many names, so few results. The German top team underwent a makeover for the Tour, brought on a new main sponsor, and held a spectacular press conference in its Salzburg headquarters. In the race itself, things went badly: Primoz Roglic - out, Alexander Wlassow out, no stage wins, no rider in the top 15, a disappointing midfield in the team ranking. Investment and return were miles apart. The full effect of the Red Bull engagement, however, could only unfold in the future.
Primoz Roglic: Roglic lost the Tour victory to Pogacar in 2020 - he will likely never come that close to the yellow jersey again. The heavily overpaid captain, brought over from the Vingegaard team, stood symbolically for his disappointing team, made puzzling mistakes on the first stages, then crashed out. A new attempt at the podium in 2025? Unclear: Roglic will then be almost 36, and Red Bull may be betting on the traded Remco Evenepoel.
Mathieu van der Poel: Mathieu van der Poel, the second best cyclist in the world next to Tadej Pogacar, had to painfully admit that the Tour is not for him. The mountains? Too high. The sprints? Too fast. His best result was eleventh place on the gravel stage from Troyes, which is closest to his beloved classics. At least as a lead-out man for three-time sprint winner Jasper Philipsen, he had reason to celebrate.
The Sprinters: No easy Tour for the fastest pros: This time no sprint finale on the Champs Elysees, instead five days full of climbing and suffering. Several sprinters (Bauhaus, Gaviry, Bennett) couldn't handle it, the field thinned out. It's a shame, the stories about Girmay and Cavendish deserved a different continuation than in the gruppetto.
Selfie-takers: At least 99.9% of the fans who come to the Tour are fantastic, of course. But the 0.1%, who use the opportunity for TV presence for egoistic actions of rare shamelessness, remain an annoyance. And a danger. What goes on in the mind of a man (and they are actually always men) who rides hundreds of kilometers to a cycling race to then throw the contents of a chip tube naked in Tadej Pogacar's face? Probably something that shouldn't be known.
Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard's performances in cycling during the Tour de France were noteworthy. Pogacar made history as the youngest three-time winner, while Vingegaard overcame significant injuries to finish on the podium.
Despite the impressive showing by riders like Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the sprinting category in the Tour de France faced challenges. Several sprinters struggled with the climbing stages and missed out on the traditional sprint finale on the Champs Elysees.
