On the final day, the riders had to cover 145.3 km with start and finish in Barcelona. In the second part of the stage they crossed the Montjuïc slope six times on a local circuit (2.5 km at 4.8 percent). Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny) took his chance in the final lap but was swallowed up again by the first pursuers on the climb, more than 5 kilometers before the finish.
Ultimately, a group of about twenty riders sprinted for the day’s victory. Pogacar proved to be faster than the French Dorian Godon (Décathlon A2R La Mondiale) and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).
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The 25-year-old Pogacar won a total of four stages in Catalonia this week. In the final standings he has a 3:41 lead over Spaniard Mikel Landa (Soudal Quik-Step). Colombian Egan Bernal (INEOS Grenadiers) is third at 5:03.
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Pogacar is the successor to his compatriot Primoz Roglic on the honors list. He won the 102nd edition last year for Remco Evenepoel. “Today we had to adjust the plan a bit. We sent Marc Soler well ahead, although he already took the lead in the first local lap. In the end I was able to save my legs for the sprint and managed to win it.”
Pogacar has had an excellent start to the season with four stage wins and a win in the Strade Bianche. “That gives me a lot of confidence. The form is very good and as a team we have also delivered a strong performance here. I feel really happy and always get on the bike with a smile and that is perhaps the most important thing.”
The Slovenian will now recover for his next goals: Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro of course. “That is necessary, because it has been a very intense week. The last six days we had to climb a lot and today it was certainly difficult. In any case, I hope to continue like this and then we’ll see what the future brings.”
Result stage 7
1. Tadej Pogacar
2. Dorian Godon
3. Guillaume Martin
4.Stephen Williams
5. Patrick Konrad
6. Sergio Higuita
7. David Gonzalez
8. Antonio Tiberi
9. Aleksandr Vlasov
10. Wout Poels
General classification
1. Tadej Pogacar in 28h21’19”
2. Mikel Landa +3’41”
3. Egan Bernal +5’03”
4. Aleksandr Vlasov +5’56”
5. Enric Mas +6’01”
6. Chris Harper +6’01”
7. Lenny Martinez +6’02”
8. Antonio Tiberi +6’33”
9. Joao Almeida +6’33”
10. Lorenzo Fortunato +7’27”
Tags: wins sprint Tadej Pogacar Tour Catalonia final victory shine win final stage
