By its final week, the 2025 Tour de France had devolved into a meander through Whine Country—this edition was too long, too hard, too wet, too unlucky with injuries and illnesses to be compelling in the way the sport’s grandest competition habitually was.

* 2018 was Pogacar's breakthrough year. He won the Tour de l'Avenir, a stage race for young riders often seen as a springboard for the Tour de France. He also won the mountains classification in that race.

The roads were dangerously slippery after heavy rain. A fourth Tour de France title was all but won anyway, so finishing safely in the pack would do fine for Tadej Pogacar. Especially considering Sunday’s final stage had already been neutralized for safety reasons and he just had to complete the race.