Tadej Pogacar: Cycling superstar makes more history with century of victories

Just four days into the 2025 Tour de France and three-time champion Tadej Pogacar is making history once again.

When he edged out Mathieu van der Poel and great rival Jonas Vingegaard in a thrilling sprint finish on Tuesday to claim stage four of this year's race, it was the UAE team Emirates-XRG rider's 100th victory in an already remarkable career.

In less than a decade, Pogacar has become a new sporting superstar. From a young boy in Komenda with dreams of greatness, to one of the most decorated riders of all time – and showing no signs of slowing down.

It was victory at the Tour de l’Avenir in 2018 that brought him to the attention of the cycling worked and UAE Team Emirates moved quickly to sign up the young Slovenian. With that, a dream partnership was forged.

On his La Vuelta a Espana debut in 2019, Pogacar delivered a breakout performance that saw him claim three stage wins and a place on podium with third place overall.

But it was a solo victory on Stage 20 that made him a true Grand Tour contender – a thrilling performance of fearlessness and aggression that would become a trademark. 'Pogi' style had arrived.

A year later, and on cycling's biggest stage for the first time, a new marker was to be laid down. Considered too soon to be a real challenger at the 2020 Tour de France by many, Pogacar set out to prove doubters wrong

Having stayed in touch with race favourite Primoz Roglic and helped by two stage wins in the mountains, the fight for the yellow jersey came down to the wire.

In the Stage 20 time trial, Pogacar produced one of the Tour's great performances as he overturned a 57-second deficit on Roglic to snatch the overall lead in dramatic fashion.

At 21 years of age, he had become Slovenia’s first Tour de France winner and the youngest champion in more than a century.

In 2021, he returned not as an underdog, but as the man to beat. Pogacar dominated the race from start to finish. He claimed another three stage wins and a second Tour de France title, this time with the authority of a now double champion.

He followed it up with a monument win at Il Lombardia - the first rider since French great Bernard Hinault in 1979 to win that race along with the Tour in the same year.

By 2022, the battles with Jonas Vingegaard had become cycling’s main storyline. Pogacar would finish second behind the Dane in two successive Tour de France races as a new great sporting rivalry emerged.

2023 marked a new evolution: Pogacar the one-day specialist. No longer just a Grand Tour operator, he turned his attention to the Spring Classics – and took them by storm.

At Ronde van Vlaanderen, he dropped the best cobble riders in the world on their own terrain, becoming only the third man in history to win both the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de France.

He followed it up with a masterclass at Amstel Gold and a searing uphill sprint to win La Fleche Wallonne. Each win came with control, each attack with intent. He blurred the lines between stage racer and classics specialist, which was was once thought impossible. For Pogacar, it was just another challenge accepted.

It was 2024 that elevated him from generational talent to all-time great. Pogacar had his sights set on cycling’s rarest feat - the triple crown. He began by conquering the Giro d’Italia on debut, winning six stages and finishing nine minutes clear of his nearest rival in a show of absolute dominance.

Then came the Tour, where UAE Team Emirates once again took command of the race, and Pogacar delivered.

Another six stage wins, another yellow jersey. His third in five years. But the true masterpiece came in Zurich. At the World Championships, he launched a blistering solo attack with over 100km to go. No one could follow and the triple crown was his.

He rode alone into the history books, claiming the rainbow bands and becoming only the third rider ever to win the Giro, Tour and World Championship in the same season. A once in a generation dream, completed.

And the wins just keep coming in 2025. The 26-year-old has already won six races this year, including the UAE Tour and Liege-Bastogne-Liege – both for a third time – while also lifting his first Criterium du Dauphine crown in June.

All eyes are now on the Tour de France and whether the Slovenian superstar can make it title number four with the record five wins of Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain in his sights.

UAE v United States, T20 International Series

Both matches at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free.

1st match: Friday, 2pm

2nd match: Saturday, 2pm

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Rameez Shahzad, Amjad Gul, CP Rizwan, Mohammed Boota, Abdul Shakoor, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat

USA squad: Saurabh Netravalkar (captain), Jaskaran Malhotra, Elmore Hutchinson, Aaron Jones, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Jannisar Khan, Xavier Marshall, Monank Patel, Timil Patel, Roy Silva, Jessy Singh, Steven Taylor, Hayden Walsh

Why are you, you?

Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.

Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.

Ben Okri,

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SQUADS

South Africa:
JP Duminy (capt), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, Robbie Frylinck, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Mangaliso Mosehle (wkt), Dane Paterson, Aaron Phangiso, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Tabraiz Shamsi

Bangladesh
Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed

Fixtures
Oct 26: Bloemfontein
Oct 29: Potchefstroom

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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

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Available: Now

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

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What is an ETF?

An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.

There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.

The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.

There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.

While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.

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%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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Studying addiction

This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.

Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.

The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative