Cycling-'Baby Cannibal' Pogacar claims vintage Tour de France title (updated)

Deceuninck NV

18/07/2021 18:31

* Pogacar wins second straight Tour title
    * Beats Denmark's Vingegaard by a massive five minutes 20
seconds 
    * Cavendish wins green jersey 

 (Adds Pogacar quotes)
    By Julien Pretot
    PARIS, July 18 (Reuters) - Tadej Pogacar became the youngest
rider to win back-to-back Tour de France titles on Sunday after
some vintage racing drew comparisons with cycling's greatest. 
    The 22-year-old Slovenian, who won the Tour on his debut
last year, hammered his rivals in the Alps with a long-range
attack on stage eight, reminiscent of the event in the 1980s,
and stayed in control for the rest of the race.
    He beat Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard by a massive five minutes
20 seconds as Ecuador's Richard Carapaz took third place, 7:03
off the pace as his Ineos Grenadiers team failed to spark once
again.
    "I'm gonna speak from the heart," said Pogacar on the final
podium.
    "Thank you to everybody who came along during the three
weeks. It was amazing to be riding along the route."
    Pogacar finished Sunday's 21st and final stage safe in the
bunch as Belgian Wout van Aert prevailed in the sprint to beat
compatriot Jasper Philipsen and Briton Mark Cavendish who were
second and third, respectively.
    Pogacar watched from the inside of the bunch, raising his
arms as he crossed the line.
    "I see him as the new Cannibal," said five-time Tour
champion Eddy Merckx, who earned that nickname due to his
insatiable appetite for victory and won his first Tour in 1969
at the age of 23. 
    "He is extremely strong. I see him winning several editions
of the Tour in the years to come. If nothing happens to him, he
can certainly win the Tour de France more than five times."
    
    ALL-ROUND QUALITIES 
    While Pogacar says he doesn't like comparisons, the UAE
Emirates rider threw caution to the wind when he attacked in the
Col de Romme on the eighth stage, in a move similar to those of
Merckx or fellow five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault.
    Pogacar won two mountain stages in the Pyrenees and an
individual time trial - a testament to his all-round qualities -
with his only sign of weakness coming in week two on Mont
Ventoux.
    He finishes the Tour with the white jersey for the best
Under-25 rider in the race and with the polka-dot jersey for the
mountains classification, just like last year. 
    The green jersey went to Cavendish after the Briton took his
tally of career stage wins to a record-equalling 34, with four
victories in this year's race although he was denied the 35th by
Van Aert on Sunday.
    It marked a spectacular comeback for the Manxman, who was
returning to the Tour for the first time since 2018 after years
of poor results and mental health problems.
    Cavendish was perfectly set up in the sprints by his
Deceuninck-Quick Step team mates as the Belgian outfit claimed
five wins in this year's edition.
    After losing the first mass sprint of the race, Cavendish
was untouchable, avoiding the multiple crashes that marred this
year's Tour and sent his potential main rival, Caleb Ewan, home
after the third stage. 
    Those crashes also ended the hopes of last year's runner-up
Primoz Roglic, who abandoned before the eighth stage, while the
chances of Ineos Greanadiers' co-leaders Geraint Thomas and Tao
Geoghegan Hart were also ruined when they hit the deck early in
the race.
    The last days were marked by a potential doping scandal as a
French prosecutor in Marseille opened an investigation into the
Bahrain Victorious team after the outfit's accommodation and
vehicles were searched by police on Wednesday.
    Bahrain Victorious said they were cooperating with the
investigation.
    They won three stages this year with Belgian Dylan Teuns'
solo raid in the mountains, while Slovenian Matej Mohoric took
two victories from the breakaway.

 (Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby
Davis)
 ((julien.pretot@thomsonreuters.com; +33149495370;))