It had to be him. The most recent Tour de France finale in the history of the race managed to produce the most predictable endings, with Tadej Pogačar taking a crushing overall victory by taking his sixth stage victory.

When Nice’s final time trial was confirmed two years ago, ASO were no doubt dreaming of a repeat of 1989, when Greg LeMond snatched the yellow from Laurent Fignon in the final one. But there was no way they could defend this year’s race against Pogi. The Slovenian was on another level against all comers in 2024, and left the grand final free of all tension.