DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:
The Tour de France finished in Paris today. The least surprising news for cycling fans - the winner. Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogacar emerged victorious. This is his fifth Tour de France win, which ties the all-time record. Pogacar's performance is not just impressive, though. Some say it's historic. As some commentators and former professional cyclists say, he may be the greatest of all time. To hear more about the Pogacar phenomenon at the tour this year, we reach Jason Gay, who covers sports for The Wall Street Journal. Hi there.
JASON GAY: Hi, how are you?
ELLIOTT: I'm good. So give us a little background on Pogacar. Who is he? Why has he been making such a splash in the cycling world? And really, is he the GOAT?
GAY: Well, you're absolutely right to ask the question. He's been on this historic tier. He has now won the Tour de France five times. But what makes him such a dominant figure in the sport is not just his performance in these long, three-week races like the Tour de France. He's also dominating these long one-day races that take place in the spring. He really doesn't have a weakness as a rider. Typically, you've had specialists in the sport. People are good at time trials. People are good at climbing. People are good at sprints. Pogacar can do it all. And I think that's the thing that really stands out and reminds people, really, of only one cyclist in history - a Belgian named Eddy Merckx, who is widely regarded as the greatest ever.
ELLIOTT: Now, this is his fifth time to win, which ties the record. Were there any particular moments that impressed you as you watched this race?
GAY: I mean, he just has the command right away. There was a moment early in this race where he just seized control - a big time margin in a mountain stage victory - and just continued it throughout the race. There was never a moment where it looked like his dominance was in doubt. His closest competitor - a guy from Denmark named Jonas Vingegaard - actually crashed and fell out of the race. He was not in any position, though, to challenge Tadej. So it was pretty much a three-week uninterrupted run.
ELLIOTT: So the tour came this year as Europe has been experiencing this blistering heat wave. How have the riders been handling the heat?
GAY: I mean, as well as can be expected. It's not a great situation. It's not a great situation for the riders. It's also not a great situation for the crowds. There's been discussions of maybe you could move the races to early in the morning - have the start at something at, like, 8:00 in the morning and have them wrap by midday. That's not terribly hospitable to the crowds, but it's going to be a trade off at some point. 'Cause you're absolutely right - the temperatures have been soaring, and it definitely could affect performance and also just the livelihood of people who are on the course.
ELLIOTT: And didn't they have to cut the race short because...
GAY: Yeah.
ELLIOTT: ...Security crews had to be redirected to go help with the wildfires, right?
GAY: That's right. And that's not the first time that this happened. There have been interruptions because of wildfires elsewhere. And yes, conditions did force the abbreviation of one of the stages.
ELLIOTT: Now, what about smoke? Did the riders have to deal with any smoke?
GAY: Did the riders have to deal with any smoke? You know, that's a good question. I mean, it's possible that they, at some point, did encounter it. I can't speak specifically of that one stage. But it's always a factor, you know, when you consider the number of wildfires and the fact that most of these stages, especially late in the race, are happening in mountainous regions.
ELLIOTT: Well, thanks for the update. Jason Gay is a sports columnist for The Wall Street Journal. I appreciate you talking with us.
GAY: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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