WINNERS OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE: POGACAR AND FERRAND-PREVOT

by: Sophia Wang

The Tour de France is a challenging bike race, pedaling for days across dangerous obstacles and steep roads. The men’s race ended July 27, while the women’s race ended August 3.

The Tour de France is made up of a series of stages that bikers have to complete. Each stage has one separate win. The team of bikers is led by a leader. Their goal is to finish as many stages as quickly as possible by helping the leader get to the finish line. The winning team wears a yellow jersey to show they are in the lead. This race can be dangerous, including climbing up steep mountains and windy weather.

The men’s race lasted 3 weeks in total, and the race was as long as 2,052 miles. Tadej Pogacar, a 26-year-old from Slovenia, took first in the time of 76 hours and 32 seconds. He was closely followed by second-place Jonas Vinegaard by only 4 minutes and 24 seconds. Pogacar had won 4 stages, and this was his 4th time winning the tour. This marks the 5th year in a row with Pogacar in first and Vinegaard in second. Pogocar is tied with Chris Froome from the United Kingdom with four wins each. ” I’m already counting the years until my retirement,” said Pogacar.

The woman’s race, or “Tour de France Femmes,” lasted 9 days and is as long as 726 miles. Won by 33-year-old French cyclist, Pauline Ferrand-Prevot. She beat Demi Vollering to first place by 3 minutes and 42 seconds. She won 2 of the 9 stages. ” It’s a dream come true to put on the yellow jersey, it‘s a dream come true.” said Ferrand-Prevot after taking the lead. Ferrand-Prevot is a great cyclist in road races and has won Olympic gold medals and world titles, yet she has not participated in a single road race until very recently.