Tadej Pogačar won Tour de France

On Sunday, the three-week Tour de France cycling race concluded with a formal parade of champions to the Champs-Elysées in Paris.

It was historic for Slovenia. The Slovenians Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič achieved a double victory.

Primož rode as many as 11 stages in the yellow jersey of the leader of the Tour de France. On the penultimate, decisive stage, however, an incredible turnaround occurred. On the time trial his strength ran out.

Tadej, who turned 22 today*, rode his bike like a machine in a 36.2-kilometer time trial, overtook Primož by almost two minutes and wore the yellow jersey.

»I went full throttle. My dream was to just perform on the Tour, and now I’ve won. This is amazing,« said Tadej after the exceptional performance in the time trial of the 20th stage of the Tour.

Primož admitted that Tadej was better, and that he simply did not have enough strength in his legs.

Many have described Tadej’s ride as one of the best individual cycling performances of all time. In addition to the yellow, he also won a polka dot jersey for the best on mountain climbs and a white jersey for the best young cyclist.

His success is even greater because he did not have such a strong team with him as Primož.

»Every day for three weeks, we did everything perfectly. We planned everything carefully. We were ready for the celebration,« said one of the riders in Primož’s team, Jumbo Visma, who was disappointed.

This unfolding [of events] brings a nice message: life is not about planning down to the last detail, surprises are a part of life and for success you have to persevere and give your best.

Points to Consider

1. How do you feel when your friend is better than you something?
2. Do you follow cycling?
3. Why cyclists sometimes change their bicycles during a race?

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*The original version of this article was published on September 21st.

English translation courtesy of JL Flanner, Total Slovenia News, an English language website with news from and about Slovenia.