PARIS (AP) — Tadej Pogačar won his fourth Tour de France title by a comfortable margin after Sunday’s final stage, which he tried to win even though he did not need to.

The 26-year-old Slovenian rider won the Tour last year and in 2020 and 2021.

Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vinegaard finished the overall race 4 minutes, 24 seconds behind Pogačar in second place and Florian Lipowitz was 11 minutes adrift in third.

Belgian rider Wout van Aert won the 21st and last stage, which broke with tradition and featured three climbs of Montmartre hill.

Because of the risk of heavy rain and crashes, organizers had earlier decided to neutralize the times 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the end, effectively giving Pogačar the victory — but providing he crossed the finish line.

Pogačar had no need to contest the stage win, especially given the danger of crashing on slick roads. Yet as the rain fell heavily, he showed his relentless thirst for victory and attacked anyway, setting a tremendous pace in the Montmartre climbs as fans cheered.

Only five riders were left with Pogačar on the third ascension of the 1.1-kilometer Montmartre hill.

After fending off American Matteo Jorgenson, he was caught cold near the top as Van Aert launched a stunning attack to drop — yes, drop! — Pogačar, the world’s best climber, on the steepest section.

Van Aert rolled back down for a prestigious stage win. Pogačar looked weary as he crossed the line in fourth place, 19 seconds behind.

But then it was time to celebrate title No. 4.

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