Tour de France: Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar becomes youngest champion in 116 years as iconic race defies Covid-19
- None of the 176 starters test positive in battery of tests, validating the hermetic bubble shielding them from infection and the decision to postpone the race
- The 21-year-old Tadej Pogacar is transformed from prodigy into cycling superstar and also a symbol of resilience, of learning to live with the coronavirus
In a first, the Tour de France winner wore a face mask on the podium on Sunday, bright yellow to match the colour of the iconic jersey so snug on his young shoulders. But at least there was a winner.
Three weeks ago, when 21-year-old Tadej Pogacar set off with 175 other competitors that he ended up beating, not even race organisers were sure they would make it through the storm of France’s worsening coronavirus epidemic and reach Paris.
“Really, I was scared we wouldn’t get to the end,” race director Christian Prudhomme conceded at the finish.
And so it was that Pogacar, up there on that podium, backlit by the pink hues of a Paris dusk, not only became the Tour’s youngest champion in 116 years but also a symbol of resilience, of can-do, of learning to live with – but not surrendering to – the virus still causing so much pain.
Sure, it all felt weird, as do so many things these days. Example: Pogacar’s mask puffed in and out, like an octopus glued to his face, as he sang the anthem of his native Slovenia. But so liberating and invigorating, too, in this most horrid of years.
