Tadej, with his team UAE Team Emirates – XRG, finished the 112th Tour de France in great style. In Paris, he not only celebrated his fourth overall victory, but he also tried to win the final stage on the Champs-Élysées, which this time took the peloton to Montmartre. Tadej persistently attacked in the rain, but finished in 4th place, with Wout van Aert (Visma Lease a Bike) being the strongest this time.
»The times for the overall standings were taken earlier, and there were no battles for positions at the front. Then we went all out, it was pure racing. We also had in mind that the Tour would end today, so it was mentally easier to prepare for racing, to leave everything on the road again, knowing that you won’t have to do it tomorrow. For me, it was a good day for racing, and I really enjoyed it,« Tadej said about the last challenge of the 2025 Tour.
»I am speechless after the fourth victory on the Tour and six consecutive podium finishes. I feel that this victory is really special, and I am extremely proud to wear this yellow jersey,« Tadej added after being awarded the yellow jersey for the fourth time in Paris. On the podium, he was accompanied by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) and Florian Lipozitw (Red Bull Bora Hangrohe).
His biggest rival was again Vingegaard, with whom he has taken the first two places in the Tour for the last five years. »Jonas has opened up more this year, we talked more often also during the Dauphiné race. I quite like the guy and I enjoy racing against him. Today, in the neutral zone, we talked about how incredible the last five years of our battles have been and how we push each other to the next level. We said to each other that we are privileged to have such a competition between us, that it makes us grow even more,« Tadej said about the Dane.
»When you have such strong competitors, not just Jonas, but everyone on the Tour, you never know what will happen the next day and you have doubts. But it helps if you have such a strong team around you and have such strong support that the atmosphere around you dispels doubts and you race motivated and energized. You want to give your all, and if you do, you have nothing to regret,« Tadej is aware that for great victories, you also need a great team.
With his fourth Tour victory, he equaled Chris Froome, and only five-time winners Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain remain ahead of him. »It’s not the goal to win five Tours. At the moment, I don’t have any special goals, maybe the world championship and the race in Lombardy for this year, but I’m not thinking about anything else. I will enjoy this moment and think about the next goals later,« he added.
Tadej was delighted by the news that there is a possibility that the Tour in 2029 could start in Slovenia. »I heard that there is a high probability that the Tour would start in Slovenia. As a Slovenian, it’s hard for me to believe. Whether I will still be racing or not, I will probably be there. This is exciting news for us, I am looking forward to this Grand depart, I think it will be beautiful,« Tadej added.