- Slovenian Tadej Pogačar riding on wheels made in Utah won his third Tour de France in a row.
- Colorado native Quinn Simmons earned the Tour’s best teammate award for the second time.
- Five of the six Americans who completed the 2,063-mile race placed in the top 30.
As illness ravaged his UAE Team Emirates the past few days, it didn’t slow down Tadej Pogačar as he cruised to his third straight Tour de France victory Sunday and fifth overall.
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But the stomach bug did cause one of his teammates — one of six Americans in the race — to drop out with just three days left.
The 113th Tour de France started July 4 in Barcelona, Spain. The race covered 2,063 miles in 21 stages over three weeks. It ended Sunday in Paris with Pogačar atop the podium after securing the leader’s yellow jersey at the end of the first week and never relinquishing it. He is the fourth five-time champion. He has never finished below second in his seven Tours.
“Happy that’s it over and that we won for the fifth time,” the Slovenian star said in a post-race interview, per the Tour de France. “Every victory is really special … It’s something you wouldn’t even maybe write in a storybook. It’s unbelievable also for me.”
How Americans fared in the Tour de France
The five Americans who finished the race placed in the top 30 among the 184 riders who started stage 1.
Brandon McNulty played a key support role in setting the tempo for Pogačar throughout the race until sickness ended his tour in the middle of stage 18 last Thursday.
“What seemed like a small cold two days ago turned into suffering more than I thought possible just to make it through yesterday. Today, I pedaled until I physically couldn’t anymore,” McNulty posted on Instagram.
“From Barcelona to, well … the start of the Alps, it’s been an amazing Tour, and I’m beyond thankful to have been part of this group. I wish the @uae_team_emirates boys the best of luck over the next three days to bring this thing home. No matter what happens, we’ll still arrive in Paris together to celebrate.”
Quinn Simmons, as per usual in the Tour de France, spent hours at the front of the peloton in his can’t-miss stars-and-stripes jersey, setting the pace for his Lidl Trek teammates, including Mads Pedersen, who earned the green jersey as the race top sprinter.
His effort earned him the award for best teammate race.
“Having already been named Best Teammate at the 2025 Tour de France, Quinn Simmons has once again been named Best Teammate for the #TDF2026 in recognition of the tremendous work he has done for his leaders Mads Pedersen, Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose,” the Tour posted on Instagram.
Also, Lidl Trek won the team competition. Simmons, the U.S. national road race champion, placed 18th overall.
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Always entertaining on the road with his Fu Manchu moustache and flowing red hair, Simmons high-fived his dad as he attacked on one mountain stage. He also high-fived a fan wearing a long, blond wig and waving a large American flag on another stage.
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Sepp Kuss was the top American finisher, coming in 13th place overall. After Visma Lease, a Bike team leader, and Pogačar’s closest rival Jonas Vingegaard crashed out on stage 15, Kuss and fellow American Matteo Jorgenson were more free to go for stage wins.
Kuss had the lead on the iconic Alpe d’Huez on stage 20, just a couple of miles from the finish line when he crashed twice during a descent on mountainous roads. Only a mesh fence atop a concrete barrier on a sweeping turn kept him from going over a cliff on the second one. Though he got back on his bike both times, two riders passed him in the end.
“I was so on the limit that I misjudged the corner a bit, first in the tunnel and then after I was still trying to make up too much time and misjudged another corner. A bit scary,” he said afterward. He managed a smile despite the disappointment of not getting a second career Tour de France stage win.
Jorgenson reportedly battled illness partway through the race as well. He played a major role in support of Vingegaard until the Danish star’s Tour ended in a crash. Jorgenson finished third on stage 18, the closest he would get to his first career Tour de France win. He placed 30th overall.
Sean Quinn, riding for the American team EF Education-Easy Post, placed 19th overall. He and Simmons finished in the top 10 on stage 4, the first time two Americans had done that on a stage since 2023. At one point early in the race, Quinn sat in second place overall, just 28 seconds shy of donning the yellow jersey.
Quinn also helped teammate Richard Carapaz grab two stage wins in the Alps in the race’s final days.
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Riding in support of 19-year-old rising French star Paul Seixas on the Decathlon CMA CGA Team, Matthew Riccitello acquitted himself well in his first Tour de France. His main job was to pace Seixas in the high mountains.
He got caught in a massive crash on stage 3, setting him back but he recovered to climb well in the Alps, though Seixas fell just short of the podium with a fourth-place finish. Riccitello was 24th overall.
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