There was another human to spoil an ET's party in Paris

It had never happened before; it had long been known that it would happen. Less than a month after the Criterium du Dauphiné, which brought together many of today's best riders, the Tour podium was shaping up to be a remake of that podium, with Tadej Pogacar beating Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz, the best of the remaining teams other than UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike. The battle's chapters were different, but the result was ultimately the same. Now, in Paris, the day of consecration arrived... in a different way.

Unlike usual, the final stage of the Tour de France wasn't just about the usual team photos over the virtual winner's champagne, with the three passes through Montmartre promising to get Tadej Pogacar's winning streak going before the finish at the Champs-Élysées. There could have been even (more) history in the mix: you'd have to go back more than four decades to Bernard Hinault to find a Tour winner finishing the final stage in Paris in the top three (1982). On a day of consecration, that was one of the points of interest surrounding the extraterrestrial .

"It's more or less done, but until I cross the finish line in Paris, I have to stay focused with the team. I hope tomorrow [Sunday] will be a calm day. We're all tired; we'll see after the first climb how we feel and whether we try to win or just enjoy ourselves," the Slovenian commented this Saturday, not forgetting João Almeida's retirement after a fall. "I'm really sad that we lost João because his presence would have made the last week a little less stressful for us. We could have aimed for another good overall classification and another victory in the Alps, but we'll never know... The rest of the team was incredible from day one to the last kilometer. Without them, this Tour would be miserable. I'm so happy to be part of this group," added the leader of UAE Team Emirates in the run-up to the finish.

Despite being just 26 years old, Pogacar was poised to win his fourth Tour, equaling Chris Froome's record and just one victory behind Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Induráin. He also added another Giro, joining Alfredo Binda, Primoz Roglic, Gino Bartali, and Felice Gimondi with five Grand Tour triumphs. The Classics, all the World Championships, and the Olympic Games will always be on the Slovenian's mind, but it will only be a matter of time before he closes the gap to names like Eddy Merckx (11), Bernard Hinault (ten), Jacques Anquetil, Fausto Coppi, Miguel Induráin, Chris Froome, and Alberto Contador (seven).

The cards were on the table, with weather forecasts effectively ruling out any possibility of a last-minute "surprise" by assuming the times 50 kilometers from the finish line as the times that would be used for the general classification, thus creating less "risk" before the first pass through Montmartre, at a stage when Lipowitz was riding with a small ten-second lead over the peloton alongside Quinn Simmons. In other words, the first serious moves only emerged 40 kilometers from the finish, in preparation for the first climb to the legendary site in the French capital.

Julian Alaphilippe was the first to attack on the climb, Victor Campenaerts responded to the Frenchman, and Pogacar came to the front of the group, closing the gap and showing he was truly fighting for the stage. The Slovenian still rode in front, but the fact that there were still 20 kilometers to the next climb, passing the Louvre and other historic Paris landmarks, slowed the pace, allowing the group to expand before it began to rain more heavily, with all the risks that this entailed on the cobbled climb and then on the descent. The second climb marked the final cut, with Tadej Pogacar, Wout Van Aert, Jorgenson, Mohoric, Trentin, and Ballerini remaining as contenders, given the 25-30 second lead over the chasing group.

Despite knowing he only had to finish the stage to earn the yellow jersey, given the "closed" times 50 kilometers from the finish, Pogacar made a point of demonstrating once again that what gives him the most pleasure is fighting for victories in cycling – even though he said he was tired and just wanted to go home. The final climb of the day arrived, with the Slovenian attacking again, but all his opponents managed to hold on without breaking the pack until Wout van Aert attacked and left Pogacar behind, proving that there was one more human being better than the alien besides Mathieu van der Poel. When nothing had suggested it, another Belgian shone in Montmartre after Remco Evenepoel's display of class at the Olympic Games, depriving the alien of the chance to close the Tour with a flourish.