How it unfolded
Delayed to September by the pandemic, the 2020 Tour saw Primoz Roglic hold the yellow jersey for two straight weeks. His Jumbo-Visma team controlled the pace flawlessly on every mountain, and going into the final mountain time trial he led fellow Slovenian, 21-year-old Tadej Pogacar, by 57 seconds. The 36.2 km course finished with 5.9 km at an average 8.5% up to La Planche des Belles Filles. Pogacar led from the first time check, switched from a time-trial bike to a standard road bike at the base of the climb, and kept extending his advantage. He finished 1 minute 56 seconds ahead of Roglic to win the stage and flip the overall by 59 seconds. Roglic could barely move for a long moment after crossing the line. At 21 years and 364 days, Pogacar became the Tour's youngest champion since Henri Cornet in 1904.
Why it still matters
This race reconfirmed that a Grand Tour can be overturned in the final two days, and it announced the end of the era of calculated, controlled racing. Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have traded the Tour back and forth ever since, attacking from long range as the new standard, and winning the sport's biggest race at 21 is no longer treated as an exception.