Tour de France 2024: Pogacar wins final stage to seal overall victory – live reaction | Tour de France 2024

That’s all from me today … thank you so much for all your emails and pictures. It’s been great hearing what you thought of the Tour de France 2024 and I’ve enjoyed hearing where you have been following the blog from. It’s been a pleasure covering stages of the Tour de France for you.

My colleagues will update with a race report shortly. I’ll leave you with this fun video. It looks like the riders (fans, family and friends) are having a great time in Nice …

Mark Cavendish has been presented with a special jersey to celebrate his record 35th stage win at the Tour de France.

On the podium:

Today’s stage winner, Tadej Pogačar, speaks: “I’m super happy. I cannot describe how happy I am after two hard years in the Tour de France … This year everything [went] to perfection. I’m on top of the world. It’s incredible.”

“I think this was the first Grand Tour where I was totally confident everday. Even in the Giro, I remember I had one bad day but I won’t tell you which one. This year, the Tour de France was amazing. I was enjoying it from day one until today. I had such a great support behind me. I just couldn’t let anyone down so I was enjoying [it] for them as well.”

“I felt super good over the top of the first climb and then in my head I had Urška’s [Žigart] sentence that she hates me for doing this road all the time in training. We did it so many times this year, so I was like I will not waste it today. I have it under control.”

What does winning both the Giro and Tour de France in the same year mean to you? “Yeah, it’s incredible. I would never have about this. Maybe for some people [they’d] think that Giro was the safety net if I didn’t succeed in the Tour de France, and for sure it would be if I did not succeed at the Tour de France. If I won the Giro only, that would already be an incredible year but to win the Tour de France is another level, and doing both together is another level above that level. So, I’m super happy and really proud that we did it.”

What’s next? “Van der Poel looks really good in the world champion’s jersey but I want to take it from him this year but we will see. I want one time to have a rainbow jersey on my back but I still have time for that.”

Top 10 on stage 21

Pogačar wins stage 21 and the Tour de France 2024

Vingegaard is pouring it all out, all the way to the line. He finishes and the clock stops at 46min 27secs – 11sec faster than Evenepoel.

Evenepoel crosses the finish line with a time of 46min 38sec – the new fastest time … for now.

Unbelievable – Pogačar took out so much time on Vingegaard with that descent. He’s gone through the third checkpoint with an advantage of 1min 4sec on his Visma-Lease a Bike rival.

There we go … Gee has been beaten already. Matteo Jorgenson finishes with a time of 47min 32sec at 42.5 km/h – that’s 23sec faster than Gee.

Derek Gee is in the hot seat for now. With a time of 47min 55sec, recorded at 42.2 km/h, the Canadian was 18sec faster than Tejada.

But Evenepoel, Vingegaard and Pogačar are on their way!

It’s worth remembering that these roads are Pogačar’s training roads, so he knows them very well.

Pogačar is descending too now and there’s about 13km to go. The ITV4 commentators think he’s been having issues with his radio and earpiece on this ITT.

Pogačar is punching uphill and through the second checkpoint. The Slovenian rider has increased his advantage on Vingegaard from 7sec to 24sec. Wow. He is a man on a mission. The advantage to Evenepoel is 51sec for Pogačar.

Evenepoel is on the technical descent with Vingegaard in pursuit.

Evenepoel has crossed through the second checkpoint 46sec faster than Gee.

The second checkpoint is coming up for Evenepoel. The fastest time so far today at this checkpoint belongs to Gee with a time of 30min 17sec.

Pogačar has gone 7sec faster than Vingegaard at the first checkpoint and 26sec faster than Evenepoel.

Vingegaard has gone through the first checkpoint. He was 19sec faster than Evenepoel. Pogačar has accelerated.

Ciccone is off the road bike and on to a TT bike. Derek Gee is flying and is up on the time Martinez set earlier. Pogačar is closing in on Vingegaard but the advantage is still to the Danish rider at the moment.

Simon Yates has just gone through the second check point. Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) has just had a bike change and is off again on his time trial bike.

ITV4 are saying that at the moment Vingegaard is going faster than Evenepoel and Pogačar.

Evenepoel is climbing up La Turbie. The ITV4 commentators are saying that the descent afterwards is fast and has some blind corners. For a rider such as Pogačar who knows these roads well, it’s such a benefit to know the descents in detail already.

Let me squeeze in a couple of reader highlights from this year’s tour quickly.

Peter says:

For me personally, the highlights for this year are Bardet getting a day in the yellow jersey, Bernard kissing his wife during the time trial, and the Campenaerts stage win. It’s been a pretty good year for the tour overall.”

James writes:

Victor Campanaert’s stage win and interview. Fantastic that he gambled on the sprint (he isn’t known for a sprint and Kwaitkowski is fast) and won with aplomb. And his interview was emotional without drifting into buttock clenching or bitterness.

A rider not blessed with exceptional talent, who compensates with hard work, intellectual curiousity about training, and an ability to suffer that’s unusual even for a cyclist.

Plus, his YouTube channel is brilliant. The man makes videos on cleaning your bike and waxing your chain enjoyable and amusing. He’s wonderfully eccentric.

The day after his stage win, guess who was hammering off the front trying to force a breakaway as soon as the flag dropped? The man was insatiable. Brilliant stuff.”

Pogačar rolls down the ramp and the game is on!

Vingegaard has attacked the start of his ITT and he’s off too now.

Landa is out on the course and Evenepoel is off too now! The time trial specialist is not messing around and has got off to a smooth and speedy start.

Matteo Jorgenson is down in the fourth minute of his ITT. It looks as if he slid out on a corner. He’s back up and on his bike.

Caroline has sent in a virtual postcard. She’s in Nice seeing all the action I’m reporting on:

Currently watching the TT in Nice, just as the course turns back on itself on the Promenade des Anglais, about 2.2k before the finish.

The reception and support for the riders is phenomenal and epitomises just what an amazing job Nice has done to welcome the final stages. Paris will have a serious challenge to match this next year when the race returns to the French capital.”

Top ten of the GC start their ITT on stage 21

According to the offical Tour de France race centre, Mark Cavendish is this Tour’s lanterne rouge. He has been overtaken in the General Classification by his teammate Davide Ballerini by 25sec, so Cavendish will finish in last position in his last Tour de France, at which he has broken the all-time record for most stage victories.

Van Aert has just been interviewed and was asked what it has been like being a teammate to Vingegaard. He said it has been “more challenging than other years” but calls the Danish rider a “true champion”.

Van Aert suggests that Vingegaard has had some difficult moments and “doubts”, but that he has tried to “motivate” his teammate and “give him some belief”. Although Vingegaard has had some difficulties in this Tour, coming so soon after a serious crash on stage four of the Itzulia Basque Country in April, Van Aert says Vingegaard has “suprised” him with his performance.

At this stage 120 riders have started stage 12, 95 riders have arrived and 21 are left to start. While we wait for the top GC contenders, I’d be interested to hear about what your Tour de France 2024 highlights have been. Send me an email with thoughts.

Enjoy some more images of the riders so far who’ve taken on the ITT today:

Bardet has been warming up with a special fan by his side, his son Angus.

Chris has got in touch to say let’s not forget about Geraint Thomas:

There will be much focus on Cav today and all that he has achieved in the Tour, and rightly so, but it is also likely to be G’s last stage in the race as well. Both men are absolute legends of British men’s cycling and have given many happy memories to cycling fans over the last two decades.

I was fortunate to be in London for the Prologue and Grand Depart when the Tour started on our shores in 2007. Both Cav and G made their Tour debuts that year. G was the youngest rider in the race and the first Welshman since 1967 – he finished 140/141, before reaching the pinnacle of the race with yellow in 2018.

Cav went on to DNF in his first edition, but the following year won his first four of 35 record-breaking stages. Today’s unusual final time trial stage means that both riders begin and end their Tour careers with a race against the clock. Chapeau, gentlemen, and thank you!”

Van Aert is approaching the first check point and seems to be taking it easy. He’s 3min 35sec down.

Geraint Thomas is on the course too.

Guy has been in touch and says:

I know this will be about the podium and the lead jerseys Amy, and rightly so with a peerless ride from Pogačar for the ages to do the double.

But I’m here for the emotional end of Mark Cavendish’s career. Since number 35, he’s been mostly struggling to be in contention but after the release of getting the record, who can blame him? To me, he’s one of the greatest to ride a bike.

The Jimmy Anderson of sprinters, still going an era later than his original rivals. He’s earned to go on his own terms.”

Harold Tejada has taken Martinez’s spot in the hot seat. The Astana Qazaqstan rider crossed the line in a time of 48min 14sec.

Kross has emailed in to mention Ben Healy. Let’s not forget Healy – what an effort the guy has put in on numerous breakaways this Tour. He came ninth in the stage seven time trial too, and the route today is likely to suit him with its climbs.

Kross says:

Unlikely but should get top 10 I reckon … took it easy the last two stages.”