Tadej Pogaar obliterated record after record on his way to a fifth career Tour de France title, in the fastest edition in the races history. But what do the pelotons ever-increasing speeds mean for the sport, its safety, and its credibility?

I have spots in front of my eyes, but its nothing to do with the heat or a headache, although the humidity is high and the crowd Im in is colossal and cacophonous. Im opposite the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, waiting for the arrival of the riders doing stage 21 of the 2026 Tour de France, along with thousands of other people, virtually all wearing polka dot t-shirts.These spotty tops, given out by the caravan and emblazoned with the logo of Tour sponsor hypermarket chain E.Leclerc, are inspired, of course, by the jersey won by the king of the mountains, who this year is Richard Carapaz, EF Education-EasyPosts popular Ecuadorian rider. South Americans appear to be here in Paris in large numbers, but its the Mexicans who are making all the noise on the bank of the bank of the Basilica opposite me, chanting the name of their hero, Isaac del Toro of UAE Team Emirates XRG, who beat the local favourite Paul Seixas (Decathlon) to win the best young riders white jersey.The final stage of the 2026 Tour de France might have been shortened, and the general classification competition neutralised, but theres no lack of excitement among the Montmartre crowds, who perhaps sense they are in for something special today.Its muggy as hell, and the bruised sky looks ready to unleash a payload, but spirits are high and theyre unlikely to be dampened by a little rain. If anything, a bit of moisture would be some relief, and it would inject a little excitement and jeopardy into the race. In truth, of course, the Tour was well and truly decided yesterday - if not some days earlier, at least in terms of the general classification, with Tadej Pogaar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) sealing his historic fifth victory. But each day of the Tour is also its own race, and today there is an opportunity for a bold rider to seize their last chance to take a stage. The crowd is six-people deep on my side of the road, and every street is thronging with fans. I very nearly never made it to the Sacre Coeur at all, having been caught up in a particularly boisterous haggle of people while trying to push past the Moulin Rouge, exactly when a group of cancan girls started performing. But I extricated myself and got to the church on time. Just about. I quickly realise Ive had it easy, compared to those around me. Mona and Sean Patel, standing next to me, have travelled all the way here from California specifically to watch this stage. They saw the Tour a few years ago, on the flanks of Mont Ventoux, and now they're back for more, thrilled at the thought of seeing Pogaar and VismaLease a Bike's American rider Sepp Kuss in particular. "We arrived yesterday," Mona tells me. "We're actually staying right in front of the Sacre Coeur, and we can see the race from our apartment, but we thought we'd come down here and soak up the excitement with the crowds."William and Amlie are here from Belgium, and they have been holding their spot on the barrier since 1.30pm, to get a prime spot to see the riders, who finally fly past for their first lap at five past seven in the evening. "It was tricky when he went to the toilet," Amlie admits. "But the atmosphere is fantastic."I ask them who theyre here to see, although Im pretty sure I already know the answer. "Tadej Pogaar," William reveals. Wait... what? "Yes. Normally in Belgium, you should support Remco [Evenepoel] even a little bit. But, Remco we think he has big ego. So, yeah, we want to see Tadej."In the end the clouds clear and, against all the odds, the stage turns out to be one of Tour's most exciting, with Mathieu van der Poel of AlpecinPremier Tech taking dramatic victory on the line. Van der Poel is Dutch, but was born in Belgium as I'm sure William and Amlie well know. I've long since lost the couple amid the crowd by the time the race ends, but I'm glad the riders put on such a sensational show for them and the thousands of supporters who have transformed the City of Light into a sea of polka dot for one very special day at the end of another incredible race.

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Mathieu van der Poel is already looking beyond the Tour de France as he prepares for a busy second half of the season. The Dutch star is expected to target the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships before shifting his attention to the Road World Championships in Canada, with several key races includ...

Remco Evenepoel, still only 26, boasts one of cyclings all-time greatest palmars. A Grand Tour win, two Olympic golds, four World Championships, a couple of Monuments, and third and now second on GC at the Tour de France.Yet still doubt surrounds him. Still questions linger if the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe rider can cut it in the high mountains. Still debate rages if hell ever be a true contender to win the Tour de France. The Belgian has just silenced most of them.In his third Tour, and the second hes completed, Evenepoel finished runner-up behind runaway winner Tadej Pogaar. Theres absolutely no shame in losing to the five-time winner and greatest of all time. And its absolutely true that Evenepoel was the only rider in the race who bettered Pogaar. Not once, not twice, but three times. In winning stage 15s stage up the HC climb of Plateau de Solaison, stage 16s time trial, and finishing second to Pogaars fourth on Alpe dHuez on stage 20.Perhaps now Evenepoel, finally, will get the status he merits. Maybe expectations from my the outside world were lower after my climbing level in the spring, so the UAE Tour and [Volta a] Catalunya, but from myself and also inside the team, we achieved what we were aiming for: to get a stage win and to finish on the podium like in 2024, Evenepoel said in Paris, while drinking a sponsor-obligatory Red Bull. Two stage wins and two very nice second places [also on stage 10] in very hard stages, really shows that Ive stepped up in terms of my climbing level and performances in the hardest stages.For me it was more the fact to prove to myself that I did well to not let go of my dream of stepping on the podium of Grand Tours as much as possible and aiming to try to win them because thats my career goal.After this result Ive shown towards myself, the team and also the outside world that I deserve to dream and aim for that.(Image credit: Getty Images)The scepticism over Evenepoels Grand Tour prospects mostly stem from him collapsing midway through the 2023 Vuelta when he was defending champion only for him to respond by taking two stage victories and the mountains jersey and a similar collapse, also on a stage involving the Col du Tourmalet, at the 2025 Tour.This year, though, his first season away from Soudal Quick-Step, has heralded a change: he is leaner, and he forgo competing in stage races before the Tour in favour of spending longer at altitude. The changes worked.The fact is, I was still on a very good level on the second weekend and in the third week, in terms of my climbing performance, Evenepoel reflected. Stage 15 and also yesterday [stage 20] was really good, and on the climb in the time trial I did one of my best ever 15 minutes [power numbers].I think that showed my level at the end of the Tour was really good, and also that I showed no signs of cracking.After perfect preparation, I showed to myself and to the team that I was on a good level for three weeks and even now I feel pretty fresh with no real fatigue in the body. Thats good and we take that towards the future.The constant noise around Evenepoel is to be expected. Hes Belgian, after all, the only county in the world that often prioritises cycling over football. Its also the country of Eddy Merckx, the greatest of all time until Pogaar came along, and so the comparisons between Evenepoel and Merckx are as inevitable as they are tedious and unhelpful.Fervent speculation over his future was last years news and in the many years before and this year it was over his co-leadership with Florian Lipowitz. Wherever Evenepoel goes, whatever he does, there is a story. He generates additional headlines, too. Hes outspoken, hes a footballer in a cyclists body, hes an entertainer. Hes also matured and settled into his status as one of the sports best. In 2024 he was in tears with his third place at the Tour; two years on he looks more comfortable on the podium at home, even.I think back then it was special because it was my first Tour and then straight away I was on the podium and in the white jersey. It was actually something I did not dare to dream of at that point, he said.Now we came into this Tour with the mindset of getting a stage and trying to step on the podium, and I just felt in control of myself during the whole Tour. The team as well, in control of how things went.Already Ive had so many setbacks in my career that I kinda started to know how to deal with everything. I just know for myself that when everything goes well, Ill always be calm and have control of situations.Pointing to his wife Oumi who was sat front row in his press conference, he continued: Its not because shes sitting here, but its true that when I come home we almost never speak about cycling.I do my training but when my bike is in the garage we are not living in a cycling world, even though everything is done for cycling. I think were very good at managing the on-off button.Despite his more relaxed demeanour than two years ago, Evenepoel said that perceptions shouldnt disguise his delight at his second spot at the Tour. Its a very big achievement in my career, to come second behind the guy who equals the record [of most Tour wins]. Its a really big honour to be on that podium, to live that moment, and its something special that maybe I can tell my kids that I was second in the edition where someone equalled the record. Its something Ill never forget.Even though I appear to be calm, Im very happy and proud with everything I did in the last month.

The 2026 Tour de France will be remembered not only for Tadej Pogacar's record-equalling fifth overall victory but also for rewriting the history books as the fastest edition ever raced. With a record average speed of 43.326 km/h, the peloton surpassed the benchmark set just one year earlier, contin...

Lenny Martinez arrived at the 2026 Tour de France targeting stage wins and the polka dot jersey. Three weeks later, the Bahrain Victorious climber leaves Paris with something even more valuable: a fifth place overall that firmly establishes the 23-year-old among the sport's elite. Martinez safely n...

Mathieu van der Poel's sensational solo victory on the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France produced one of the race's most memorable finishes in years. While the Dutchman ultimately held off the charging sprinters on the Champs-lyses, former Giro d'Italia winner Tom Dumoulin believes Tadej Poga...