{"id":254802,"date":"2026-07-26T23:19:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T23:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/26\/tadej-pogacar-wins-fifth-tour-de-france-now-prioritizes-rest-and-small-things-in-life\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T23:19:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T23:19:16","slug":"tadej-pogacar-wins-fifth-tour-de-france-now-prioritizes-rest-and-small-things-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/26\/tadej-pogacar-wins-fifth-tour-de-france-now-prioritizes-rest-and-small-things-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Tadej Poga\u010dar wins fifth Tour de France, now prioritizes rest and &#8216;small things in life&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-9d72dd8c-8940-11f1-8e37-fb81586079b1\">Tadej Pogacar told us in his press conference as the winner of the 2026 <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a> that he was &#8220;not thinking about any clubbing&#8221;. He wasn\u2019t talking about his plans for this balmy Paris night, which will surely extend well into Monday morning, but about the so-called <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/club-des-cinq-how-anquetil-merckx-hinault-and-indurain-won-their-fifth-tour-de-france-and-the-history-that-tadej-pogacar-seeks-to-emulate\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/club-des-cinq-how-anquetil-merckx-hinault-and-indurain-won-their-fifth-tour-de-france-and-the-history-that-tadej-pogacar-seeks-to-emulate\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/club-des-cinq-how-anquetil-merckx-hinault-and-indurain-won-their-fifth-tour-de-france-and-the-history-that-tadej-pogacar-seeks-to-emulate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u2018Club des Cinq\u2019 &#8211; the club of five-time Tour winners<\/a>, of which he is now a member.<\/p>\n<p>In <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/tour-de-france-tadej-pogacar-equals-record-with-fifth-yellow-jersey-as-mathieu-van-der-poel-wins-stage-21\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/tour-de-france-tadej-pogacar-equals-record-with-fifth-yellow-jersey-as-mathieu-van-der-poel-wins-stage-21\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/tour-de-france-tadej-pogacar-equals-record-with-fifth-yellow-jersey-as-mathieu-van-der-poel-wins-stage-21\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sealing his fifth yellow jersey on Sunday<\/a>, Poga\u010dar joined Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain as the most successful riders in the history of the Grande Boucle, and by doing so at just 27 years of age he looks well set to strike out on his own before his career is all said and done.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-article-category=\"pro-cycling\" data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-9d72dd8c-8940-11f1-8e37-fb81586079b1-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">But despite the place he has just taken in the pantheon of this sport, he does not seem remotely bothered with history or legacy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<p><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand\">Cyclingnews<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cRight now I just want to enjoy the moment of winning the Tour. If it\u2019s my fifth, or my first, it doesn\u2019t matter. It\u2019s unbelievable to wear the yellow jersey in Paris and cross the line wearing it,\u201d Poga\u010dar said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI\u2019m not thinking about any history, clubbing, or whatever. I just want to relax, come back home, and enjoy the small things in life.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI\u2019m really happy and proud to win a fifth Tour, but every single one has a different story, a different meaning, different emotions. Each one of them feels incredible and unbelievable for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The response was classic Poga\u010dar, the abnormally gifted champion athlete who also just wants to live a normal life. Not many manage it, but there again Poga\u010dar seems to be breaking new ground.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-9kHpbkZs9Jj8ESLTKooo2W\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-9kHpbkZs9Jj8ESLTKooo2W slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI\u2019m flying back home tomorrow, then I have some homework to do,\u201d he said of his first moves as a five-time Tour winner.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">While most yellow jerseys will cash in on their success on the lucrative post-Tour criterium scene, Poga\u010dar seemingly has no interest in going through the motions for the sake of a bit of extra cash. He has only once accepted Tour organiser ASO\u2019s invitation to their late-season exhibition criteriums in Asia, and that was in 2023 when he didn\u2019t have the yellow jersey to parade.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"van-image-figure inline-layout kiosq-b\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\" id=\"elk-0999d3da-8946-11f1-8623-1d4be70ef469\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:2000px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.70%;\"> <picture data-new-v2-image=\"true\"><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/2FuZY8c9uFPGbNLUko575m-320-80.jpg.webp 320w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\"\/>\n<\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Tadej Pogacar celebrates his Tour win on Sunday with his partner Slovenian pro rider Ur\u0161ka \u017digart <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p id=\"elk-0999d4c0-8946-11f1-9f06-374e4df71b94\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Poga\u010dar will be present at a criterium on Friday, but it will be his own event, in his home town of Komenda, Slovenia, kicking off a weekend that will culminate with the Pogi Challenge amateur ride on Sunday. The whole event will raise money for his own charity, the Tadej Poga\u010dar Foundation.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            What to read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI have a crit race in my home town on Friday night, with some special guests, from the Tour as well &#8211; big riders, so thanks to them for coming. Then Pogi Challenge with kids and families and amateurs on Sunday. So it\u2019s a big weekend for me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">After that, it\u2019s back to France.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI hope I can see some stages of the Tour de France Femmes, to see Ur\u0161ka riding in the Tour,\u201d he added, referring to his partner Ur\u0161ka \u017digart, a fellow pro who rides for AG Insurance-Soudal.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The Poga\u010dar that sat before us uttering these words was very different to the one sitting in the same Parisian leisure centre 12 months ago. Back then, he was exhausted &#8211; physically injured but rather mentally spent, having gone the last few days of the race going through the motions.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">This time, he seemed almost as fresh as he did in Barcelona three weeks ago, cracking jokes and gently mocking his teammate Isaac del Toro to his left.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI don\u2019t say that last year I was burning out but I was well aware it can happen. I\u2019m also aware now even,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cThe burnout doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re sad one day or don\u2019t feel good one day on the bike. Burnout means chronic fatigue and you\u2019re not happy on the bike, and everything feels like a job for you and it\u2019s hard.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI\u2019m aware it can happen if you push so far. That\u2019s also why I don\u2019t say right now \u2018I go to the Vuelta, I do this and that and all the races\u2019. I also need to think about this and keep the feet on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The question mark over the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, which begins in his adopted home town of Monaco on August 22, has been there all season. It remains the one Grand Tour &#8211; and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/tadej-pogacar-can-win-all-three-grand-tours-in-the-same-year-eddy-merckx-predicts-tour-de-france-champion-could-be-first-ever-to-take-all-three-top-stage-racing-titles\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/tadej-pogacar-can-win-all-three-grand-tours-in-the-same-year-eddy-merckx-predicts-tour-de-france-champion-could-be-first-ever-to-take-all-three-top-stage-racing-titles\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/tadej-pogacar-can-win-all-three-grand-tours-in-the-same-year-eddy-merckx-predicts-tour-de-france-champion-could-be-first-ever-to-take-all-three-top-stage-racing-titles\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one of the only major race stops &#8211; that Poga\u010dar has yet to win<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Victory in Spain would further round out his palmares and cement his place in history, and the understanding is that he ideally wants to go for it this season, but as he has already pointed out, it\u2019s not history at all costs for Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cRight now, if the Vuelta starts tomorrow I say no,\u201d he said when asked about the Spanish Grand Tour, \u201cbut in two weeks I can still decide.\u201d<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Right now, Pogacar\u2019s only priority is what\u2019s immediately in front of him.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">\u201cI want to get some sleep but for sure we have a nice dinner planned with the whole team. We\u2019ll tell some nice stories and enjoy the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">And so Tadej Poga\u010dar wandered off into the Paris dusk, a changed man in the eyes of the world but very much the same inside.<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-0999d542-8946-11f1-9f1e-73bfcd743c21\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\"><em><strong>The world\u2019s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go!<\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong> <\/strong><\/em><\/a><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/subscription-paid\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=PreTDF26\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em><strong>Find out more<\/strong><\/em><\/a><em><strong>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/im-not-thinking-about-any-history-clubbing-or-whatever-tour-de-france-winner-tadej-pogacar-has-his-name-in-lights-but-keeps-his-feet-on-the-ground\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tadej Pogacar told us in his press conference as the winner of the 2026 Tour de France that he was &#8220;not thinking about any clubbing&#8221;. He wasn\u2019t talking about his plans for this balmy Paris night, which will surely extend well into Monday morning, but about the so-called \u2018Club des Cinq\u2019 &#8211; the club of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}