The irrepressible Pogacar — who sparked much of the drama in the stage — crossed the line in fourth place to seal his fourth overall Tour de France title, at the age of 26.

A fourth Tour de France title was all but won anyway, so finishing safely in the pack would do fine for Tadej Pogačar.

The battle for the podium, however, kept the Alps alive — as first Oscar Onley pulled himself back into contention on stage 18, before Florian Lipowitz showed impressive maturity to shed him one day ...