Tadej Pogačar Wins Stage 21 Individual Time Trial of the Tour de France to Capture Third Career Yellow Jersey

 

Stage 21 would cap off the 2024 edition of the Tour de France on an individual time trial. The route covered 33.7 kilometers, starting in Monaco and finishing in Nice. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) was all but assured to finish the day keeping hold of the Maillot Jaune, but the challenging final day would serve to show off which riders had the most in their legs on the last spectacle of this year's Tour.

This would mark the 10th time in the history of the Tour de France that the race finishes with an ITT, but the very first time it did not finish in Paris, as the finish had to be moved because of the upcoming Olympic Games.

The stage has one categorized climb, the Category 2 La Turbie, which lasts 8.1 kilometers at an average gradient of 5.7%. There is also a shorter, steeper climb up the Col d'Éze, covering 1.6 kilometers with an 8.1% average gradient, before riders will then descend towards Nice.

Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan) was the first rider off the start on the day, and would ultimately set the initial time to beat at 53:10 to cover the challenging 33.7 kilometers in the south of France. Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) would set the pace early, completing the time trial in 48:24 and holding the leading time for a good bit of time. Martinez's lead would not last as the second half of riders began to finish their days however, with Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan) coming in 10 seconds faster than Martinez to overtake the fastest time of the day at 48:14. Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Dstny) put in a solid ride as well, holding onto third place behind Tejada and Martinez for most of the stage.

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) third overall and winner of the Stage 6 individual time trial at this year's Tour de France had been in strong form throughout. Evenepoel put in a great showing on Belgian National Day, where supporters were out in droves in Nice. He would finish the stage in Nice in a time of 46:38. However Evenpoel's lead would not last long, as second overall and Stage 11 winner at the 2024 Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), would soon better the Belgian rider's time, crossing in 46:27.

In the end, however, Tadej Pogačar solidified his dominance at the 2024 Tour de France and bettered both Vingegaard and Evenepoel.

Putting in a powerful, consistent approaching to pacing on the day, Pogačar flew through each checkpoint at top pace and would cross the line in Nice in a time of 45:24, clearly distancing himself from the rest of the pack at 1:03 faster than second place Jonas Vingegaard on the day and 1:14 faster than Remco Evenepoel.

This meant that Tadej Pogačar would capture his third Tour de France title, and first since 2021. Vingegaard would hold onto second place overall after his victories in 2023 and 2022, while Remco Evenepoel would stand on the final podium in third place, as well as being the Best Young Rider at the 2024 Tour de France.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché–Wanty) finalized his victory in the points classification, underscoring his sprinting prowess and ability to ride relentlessly on the highest stage. Richard Carapaz (EF Education–EasyPost) finished as the King of the Mountains, as well as voted as the Super-Combative as most combative rider at the 2024 Tour de France.

After some well-needed rest, a number of riders will turn towards the upcoming Olympics in France. The men's time trial will take place on July 27th and the men's road race will take place on August 3rd. The time trial will take place in Paris, starting at Invalides and finishing at Pont Alexandre III, at is a flat 32.4 kilometer route. The road race cover is 273 kilometers, and involved 2,800 meters of elevation gain over thirteen categorized climbs.