Dominator Tadej Pogacar is facing his second overall victory even without a further show of force, Germany's sprinter legend André Greipel will fight for a day's victory in the Tour de France for the last time on Sunday in Paris.

While the 39-year-old veteran with the nickname “Gorilla” will retire from professional cycling at the end of 2021, the era of the 22-year-old Slovenian may have only just begun.

After an absolutely outstanding tour, the defending champion was actually distanced on Saturday in Saint-Emilion and not only had to admit defeat to day winner Wout van Aert from Belgium in eighth place in the 30.8 kilometer individual time trial.

Pogacar, who is traditionally no longer attacked on Sunday on the way to Paris, will end the three-week tour with a lead of over five minutes on Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark) and Richard Carapaz from Ecuador.

Like the all-rounder this year, no one has dominated the tour since Lance Armstrong, who was now exposed as a doping sinner, around 20 years ago.

“Pogi”, as the UAE professional is called, has dominated the rivals in the mountains and has an excellent record in the tour time trials: three starts, two wins, one place eight.

"I'll quit after 2021"

However, the Slovenian never got the idea of ​​taking it easy in the blazing sun after winning the day on the Col du Portet and in Luz Ardiden. On the flat course in the middle of one of the finest wine regions in the world, Pogacar set the pace right from the start, but this time the specialists in the fight against the clock had an advantage: Behind the winner van Aert, the Dane Kasper Asgreen and his compatriot Vingegaard also made it onto the podium. The youngster confidently defended his second place overall in front of the mountain specialist Carapaz.

Seasoned Greipel had been there for hours and was so happy that he emptied a small beer bottle in one go in the finish area. “It sure is a relief. I was able to enjoy a little longer, the last time I climbed the Tourmalet and Mont Ventoux. The next time I'll have an e-bike or grill sausages, ”said the Rostock on ARD with a smile. His Israel Start-up Nation team published a video message that morning about the end of his career.

“After 2021 I'll be leaving. Then a new phase of life begins for me, ”said Greipel. He doesn't have detailed plans for the time after that, he wants to spend a lot of time with the family. An era for German cycling will end on Sunday: Greipel took part in the Tour de France eleven times and, with eleven daily victories, is one of the best-decorated Germans in the history of the race. “I'm super happy with what I've achieved in my career,” said the sprinter.

The German professionals around Emanuel Buchmann and Nils Politt had nothing to do with the top placements of the day after specialist Tony Martin was long out of the race due to a fall. But there was a small success for the German racing team Bora-hansgrohe: While captain Wilco Kelderman was unable to get past Australian Ben O'Connor in the fight against the clock, he will finish the race in fifth overall and thus reach the team's internal goal . Buchmann finished the tour in fourth place in 2019.