It was inevitable that Tadej Pogachar would win the final mountain stage of the Tour de France.

When Pogachar loses what he wants to win, like a dog with a bone, he always comes back to win the next stage.

Pogachar outpaced an elite group of five, including Felix Gall (AG2R Citroen), archrival Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma), Simon Yates (Jayco Alula), and his UAE Team Emirates teammate Adam Yates.

The victory came just days after the Slovenian ended his yellow jersey battle with Vingegaard on the stage.

Pogachar walked into the press room as the Tour's runner-up, stage winner, and champion of the young rider of the year award, which will not be eligible next season, and smiled at the acquaintances of the press corps who were sitting in front of him waiting.

The color had returned to his face.

"Today I felt like myself again," Pogachal said.

"Sometimes this is just a bike race and I just want to feel good. When I don't feel good, it sucks. Today I was able to ride like myself again. So my smile came back."

Pogachar has become synonymous with the Tour in just four seasons; since 2020 he has won two yellow jerseys and finished second twice behind Vingegaard.

Their rivalry sent the race into a frenzy before the Alps, with only a few seconds separating the two in the overall.

Throughout, Vingegaard continued to insist that the Tour was decided in minutes, not seconds, and the Alps revealed why. Vingegaard, now a two-time champion, shocked UAE Team Emirates in the time trial to Combrue, and the following day, in the queen stage, Pogachar showed a rare lack of fault and had the world saying "gotcha."

After a very successful spring classics campaign, Pogachar broke his wrist during the Liege-Bastogne-Liege stage in April, leaving him with limited time to prepare for the Tour.

Vingegaard saw through him on stage 5, and although enthusiastic critics feared the end of the yellow jersey battle, Pogachar clinched victory the next day, taking a bow at the finish line in Cautaret-Cambasque.

Jumbo-Visma had a plan to crack Pogachar, who would take on the daunting task of defending his Vingegaard title.

Last season, the team's challenge to Pogachar's third consecutive Maillot Jaune was a brilliant tactical move on stage 11. However, Pogachar dismissed the notion that their strategy worked this year.

"The only moment they really tried to crack me was when they cracked me on Marie Bracq (stage 5).

"Then I cracked myself up.

"It was all my fault and nobody did anything about it. It was me and my bad feelings."

"I cracked myself."

Pogachar will reflect closely on his Tour performance after the Tour ends tomorrow in Paris. There has also already been some discussion about whether he will have to pass on bigger goals like the spring classics, or "challenges," as Pogachar calls them, if he wants to win the Tour again. In effect, would he have to concede his favorite race in order to win the Vingegaard?

Speaking to the press on Saturday, Pogachar said his immediate takeaway from the tour was that he learned what he can endure.

"I can suffer when I'm super, super, fucking low. And this was a big lesson for me. I will certainly get some good things out of this Tour de France."

"The last week was really tough. All the support from the team, my family, my girlfriend, my friends, the fans on the street, social media... it all motivated me.

"Even after a really, really bad day, second place [in the overall standings] is a good result, so I tried to get over the worst moments and always expect good moments. Ultimately, today was a good moment.