Pogacar wins fifth Tour as Van der Poel takes stage

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Tadej Pogacar is considered one of the greatest riders of all time By Matt Warwick BBC Sport Senior Journalist Published 18 minutes ago Slovenian Tadej Pogacar won the Tour de France for a record-equalling fifth time. The 27-year-old UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider crossed the line on Paris' Champs-Elysees in the peloton to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the sport's most successful male riders. The three-week Grand Tour's final stage was won by the Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Premier Tech after a frantic charge to the line on the French capital's famous cobbles in which he pipped Denmark's Mads Pedersen by inches. Pogacar's victory means he is positioned by many as the greatest cyclist of all time, superseding the achievements and status of Belgian legend Merckx. It also marks Pogacar's third Tour win in succession and includes a record-breaking ascent of the iconic Alpe d'Huez on stage 19, when he sealed another dominant victory. It was the last of four stage wins in a race in which Pogacar used his explosive launch and umatchable metronomic pace to see off his rivals, who for some time have had virtually no answer. Pogacar has won almost every major race in the sport, including the Tour of Flanders, Giro d'Italia, Milan-San Remo, Road World Championships, Giro di Lombardia and Liege-Bastgone-Liege. Pogacar was booed by some fans during the Tour, as his performances are often so far ahead of any of his peers that some feel frustrated the sport is losing its competitive edge. He now has 126 wins in an eight-year elite professional career. High drama on the Champs-Elysees The famous final stage, which for the overall contenders is an unchallenged formality, typically becomes a flat bunch sprint. Last year organisers ASO introduced a circuit which takes on a cobbled climb over the city's famous Montmartre hill, changing the parcours enough to encourage the heavier, more powerful riders to challenge for victory. On Sunday it was powerhouse classics legend Van der Poel who took victory after charging away with 11km remaining with Pogacar. Pogacar and Van der Poel led through the picturesque and narrow lanes over Montmartre and past Sacre-Coeur, where some fans had their mobile phones knocked out of their hands as the riders squeezed past at speed, before Pogacar began to fade after three weeks of dominance and showing no weakness. Van der Poel, whose strength and staying power allow him to pull out gaps in gruelling one-day races, just managed stayed ahead of a chasing pack which included several sprinters and was rapidly closing, before he collapsed off his bike and lay under a barrier, breathing heavily for several minutes. Van der Poel added this prestigious victory on the famous cobbles to many of the sport's biggest one-day races, such as multiple victories in Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. He said: "We have a saying in Dutch that it has t