🏁 Wout van Aert Unleashes Parisian Power as Tadej Pogačar Clinches Fourth Tour de France Title in 2025 Rain-Soaked Finale 🌧️🇧🇪🇸🇮
Van Aert conquers Montmartre in solo glory, Pogačar rides into history books with dominant yellow jersey defense
💥 The Grand Paris Finale: Anything But Ceremonial
The 2025 Tour de France didn’t simply end—it erupted on the cobbled heights of Montmartre.
Instead of the usual Champs-Élysées parade, this year’s Stage 21 gave us a rain-drenched, cobble-infused classic-style war, turning Paris into a gladiator’s arena. And at the center of it all? Two giants: Wout van Aert, the Belgian powerhouse, and Tadej Pogačar, cycling’s reigning monarch.
Van Aert attacked on the final climb with the kind of ferocity only he can summon. Rain lashed the streets, tires slipped on glistening stones — and yet he surged ahead, alone, magnificent, defiant.
🥇 Stage 21 Results – Paris (Montmartre)
| Position | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣ | Wout van Aert | Visma | – |
| 2️⃣ | Davide Ballerini | XDS Astana | +19″ |
| 3️⃣ | Matej Mohorič | Bahrain Victorious | +19″ |
| 4️⃣ | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | +19″ |
| 5️⃣ | Matteo Jorgenson | Visma | +19″ |
🏆 Final GC Standings – Tour de France 2025
| Rank | Rider | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🟡 1. | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates – XRG | — |
| 2. | Jonas Vingegaard | Visma | + 04′ 24” |
| 3. | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe | +11′00″ |
| 4. | Oscar Onley | Picnic – PostNL | +12′12″ |
| 5. | Felix Gall | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale | +17′12″ |
See all Final standings after Finale.
🇧🇪 Van Aert: 1,100 Days and 10 Victories Later
It’s been a long road back. Wout van Aert’s last Tour stage win was in Rocamadour, 2022. But after injuries and setbacks, he’s now a 10-time Tour de France stage winner—joining an elite group of just 37 riders in Tour history.
“This win… it means everything. I felt like I had something to prove, and today, I proved it to myself,” Van Aert said, soaked to the bone and glowing in triumph.
🇸🇮 Pogačar’s Reign: Four Titles and No Sign of Slowing Down
Tadej Pogačar didn’t need to win the stage to shine. With calm authority and bursts of brilliance, he sealed his fourth Tour de France title — joining legends like Anquetil and Froome in the record books.
At just 26, the Slovenian sensation remains undefeated in any Tour he has finished (2020, 2021, 2024, 2025). And though he didn’t claim Paris, he threw punches to the very end, attacking repeatedly and finishing 4th on the day.
“It was one of the hardest Tours I’ve ever ridden,” Pogačar shared. “But I’ve loved every second. What a way to finish — Montmartre, rain, and that crazy final hour!”
⚡ The Race Within the Race: A Final Stage Full of Drama
From the gun, Stage 21 was no parade. The breakaway shattered early, the peloton splintered, and heavy hitters like Alaphilippe, Mohorič, Jorgenson, and Trentin launched wave after wave of attacks.
And then came the Montmartre climb… not once, but three punishing ascents.
- Pogačar attacked.
- Jorgenson countered.
- Van Aert waited. Then pounced.
On the final rise, Van Aert gapped the group and simply flew. Behind him, chaos unfolded — Pogacar cracked slightly, while Mohoric, Ballerini and Jorgenson scrambled for podium scraps.
🌧️ Paris in the Rain: A Wet, Wild Finale
This wasn’t just a stage win — it was redemption for Van Aert. After a winless Tour in 2023 and a family break in 2024, the Belgian beast returned in full fury, taking his 10th Tour de France stage win, his second in Paris, and reminding the world why he’s still one of the sport’s most thrilling talents.
“This is for everyone who believed in me,” Van Aert said. “I knew I had one big win left in me this Tour.”
🏆 Final Jersey Classifications
| Jersey | Rider | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 🟡 Yellow (GC) | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates – XRG |
| 🟢 Green (Points) | Jonathan Milan | Lidl – Trek |
| 🔴 Polka Dot (KOM) | Tadej Pogačar | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG |
| ⚪ White (Young Rider) | Florian Lipowitz | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE |
| 🥊 Super Combativity | Ben Healy | EF Education–EasyPost |
🐐 Tadej Pogačar: Building a Legacy Among Legends
With his fourth Tour de France title now secured in 2025, Tadej Pogačar isn’t just dominating the present—he’s carving out a place among cycling’s all-time greats.
📈 All-Time Ranking – Career Points
| # | Rider | Career Points | 2025 Season Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eddy Merckx | 3,859 | — |
| 2 | Sean Kelly | 2,172.3 | — |
| 3 | Francesco Moser | 2,129.2 | — |
| 6 | Alejandro Valverde | 1,910.5 | — |
| 7 | Jacques Anquetil | 1,842.2 | — |
| 8 | Tadej Pogačar | 1,718 | 315.6 |
| 9 | Rik Van Looy | 1,706.4 | — |
| 10 | Laurent Jalabert | 1,582.4 | — |
🔹 At just 26, Pogačar is ranked 8th all-time—ahead of legends like Van Looy and Jalabert, and closing in on Anquetil and Valverde.
🏁 2025 Season Snapshot
- Tour de France champion (4th career win: 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025)
- 5 Tour stage wins this year
- 2nd in Points Classification (294 pts)
- 1st in KOM Classification (119 pts)
- 99% selection in fantasy teams—cycling’s most reliable GC icon
- On the final Paris podium alongside Jonas Vingegaard for the fifth time—a historic rivalry for the ages.
🏆 Grand Tour Podiums & Records
| Record | Stat |
|---|---|
| Most Tour stage wins (active riders) | 21 |
| Most final GC podiums with Vingegaard | 5 (historic tie record) |
| Final top-3s in Grand Tours | 7 total |
💥 On Track for Immortality
If Pogačar’s current form holds—and all signs say it will—he’s on a path to challenge records once thought unreachable:
- Merckx’s 5 Tours? Within striking distance
- Tour stage wins record (Merckx: 34)? Already at 21
- Points + KOM + GC in a single year? He nearly did it in 2025.
His 2025 Tour campaign, blending brute strength, elegance, and unmatched consistency, proves what many already believe: Pogačar isn’t just the best of his generation—he may be one of the best ever.
