Cycling: 'Baby Cannibal' Pogacar claims vintage Tour de France title

Tadej Pogacar became the youngest rider to win back-to-backTourdeFrancetitles on Sunday after some vintage racing drew comparisons with cycling's greatest.

The 22-year-old Slovenian, who won theTouron hisdebut last year, hammered his rivals in the Alps with a long-range attack on stage eight, reminiscent of the event in the 1980s, and stayed in control for the rest of the race.

He beatDenmark's Jonas Vingegaard by a massive five minutes 20 seconds as Ecuador's Richard Carapaz took third place, 7:03 off the pace as his Ineos Grenadiers team failed to spark once again.

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"I'm gonna speak from the heart," said Pogacar on the final podium.

"Thank you to everybody who came along during the three weeks. It was amazing to be riding along the route."

Pogacar finished Sunday's 21st and final stage safe in the bunch as Belgian Wout van Aert prevailed in the sprint to beat compatriot Jasper Philipsen and Briton Mark Cavendish who were second and third, respectively.

Pogacar watched from the insideof the bunch, raising his arms as he crossed the line.

"I see him as the new Cannibal," said five-timeTourchampion Eddy Merckx, who earned that nickname due to his insatiable appetite for victory and won his firstTourin 1969 at the age of 23.

"He is extremely strong. I see him winning several editions of theTourin the years to come. If nothing happens to him, he can certainly win theTourdeFrancemore than five times."

ALL-ROUND QUALITIES

While Pogacar says he doesn't like comparisons, the UAE Emirates rider threw caution to the wind when he attacked in the ColdeRomme on the eighth stage, in a move similar to those of Merckx or fellow five-timeTourwinner Bernard Hinault.

Pogacar won two mountain stages in the Pyrenees and an individual time trial - a testament to his all-round qualities - with his only sign of weakness coming in week two on Mont Ventoux.

He finishes theTourwith the white jersey for the best Under-25 rider in the race and with the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification, just like last year.

The green jersey went to Cavendish after the Briton took his tally of career stage wins to a record-equalling 34, with four victories in this year's race although he wasdenied the 35th by Van Aert on Sunday.

It marked a spectacular comeback for the Manxman, who was returning to theTourfor the first time since 2018 after years of poor results and mental health problems.

Cavendish was perfectly set up in the sprints by hisDeceuninck-Quick Step team mates as the Belgian outfit claimed five wins in this year's edition.

After losing the first mass sprint of the race, Cavendish was untouchable, avoiding the multiple crashes that marred this year'sTourand sent his potential main rival, Caleb Ewan, home after the third stage.

Those crashes also ended the hopes of last year's runner-up Primoz Roglic, who abandoned before the eighth stage, while the chances of Ineos Greanadiers' co-leaders Geraint Thomas and Tao Geoghegan Hart were also ruined when they hit thedeck early in the race.

The last days were marked by a potential doping scandal as a French prosecutor in Marseille opened an investigation into the Bahrain Victorious team after the outfit's accommodation and vehicles were searched by police on Wednesday.

Bahrain Victorious said they were cooperating with the investigation.

They won three stages this year with Belgian Dylan Teuns' solo raid in the mountains, while Slovenian Matej Mohoric took two victories from the breakaway.