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The 2021 Tour de France, the 108th edition of the prestigious race, featured 21 stages and covered a total distance of approximately 3,414 kilometers (2,121 miles). The event was held on 26 June to 18 July 2021. The race began in Brest, Brittany, and concluded in Paris on the Champs-Élysées.

Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates won, securing his second consecutive victory. Pogačar took the yellow jersey after Stage 8, a mountain stage ending in Le Grand-Bornand, and maintained his lead with dominant performances in the subsequent mountain stages and time trials. He finished the race with a lead of over five minutes ahead of Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard of Team Jumbo-Visma, who placed second, and Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers, who took third place.

British sprinter Mark Cavendish made a remarkable comeback. Riding for Deceuninck-QuickStep, he won four stages, tying the record for the most career Tour stage wins at 34, matching the legendary Eddy Merckx. Cavendish also won the green jersey for the points classification, marking a successful return to form after several challenging years. In the mountains, Pogačar's dominance was evident as he won both the polka dot jersey as the King of the Mountains and the white jersey for the best young rider.

Trivia

• Tadej Pogačar became the youngest rider to win the Tour twice
• In addition to the general classification, Pogačar won the mountains and young rider classifications, repeating his result from last year. He is the only rider to ever win these three classifications simultaneously, and no he has done it twice.
• Third placed Richard Carapaz of Ineos Grenadiers was the first Ecuadorian to finish on the podium in the Tour de France.
• There was a notable incident caused by a spectator holding a sign, which led to multiple riders being injured and dropping out of the race.
• The Grand Départ for the 2021 Tour de France was originally planned for the Danish capital of Copenhagen, but was transferred to Brittany due the coronavirus pandemic. This would have been the first time the Tour de France had visited Denmark. They will get that chance in 2022.
• The tour was originally scheduled for 2 to 25 July 2021, though was moved to 26 June to 18 July 2021 to avoid clashing with the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

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Related Pages

• Information about each of the tours
• The previous tour in 2020, and the next in 2022
• Tour de France home
• About the World of Sport in 2021
• About Sport in France