Tadej Pogacar said he felt "super happy" after putting the finishing touches to a second successive Tour de France triumph.
The 22-year-old Slovenian had led the general classification from stage eight, and 15 days down the road in Paris he wrapped up a supremely impressive performance.
As well as the top prize, Pogacar also collected the king of the mountain and young rider honours, and it is hard to imagine there not being abundant further success to come over the next decade.
Pogacar spoke on the podium after his win, saying: "Last year I should have written a speech for my first Tour de France victory but I didn't know how to write it.
"So also this year I said, 'OK, I'm going to speak from the heart and say what I have to say'.
"Thank you everybody that came here to support us cyclists through all the three weeks. To the French public and all fans of cycling from the whole world, it is so fantastic racing on the amazing parcours of the Tour this year."
He thanked his team, UAE Team Emirates, for helping him achieve the goals they set out to reach.
"I cannot describe how happy I am to be part of this family, it melts my heart," Pogacar said.
"They were with me every day of the whole year preparing for the Tour. I'm super happy and proud to be part of this team on this journey.
"I'm not going to cry. Thank you everybody. It was a difficult year with COVID and I really hope next year we come here without the masks.
"Of course I cannot forget my family, standing beside me, and my girlfriend and my friends. I hope I've told enough but I'm super happy. Thank you everybody."
Pogacar said it was "time for celebration".
"I will remain motivated in the coming years, but what come next will come next… I’m not stressed about it," Pogacar said, quoted on the Tour's official website.
"It's quite different. Last year, I felt strong, incredible emotions. This year I'm again here, standing atop the podium, but the feelings are quite different."
Tour great Eddy Merckx won the general classification five times from 1969 to 1974, and had such a ruthlessness he was nicknamed 'The Cannibal'.
Pogacar does not want to be compared to legends of the sport, insisting he should be allowed to plot his own career path.
"The new Cannibal? I don't like to compare myself to other riders," he said. "Each rider has his own style and personality. Every rider is unique. I don't think there is anything left. I just enjoy life, I work hard, I love cycling – and those are the most important things."
Pogacar did not quite secure a sweep of the Tour honours, with the green jersey – the points classification that rewards the best sprinters – going to 36-year-old Deceuninck-QuickStep star Mark Cavendish.
Cavendish's four stage victories took him level with the record of 34 that Merckx had owned exclusively for over 40 years.
"Ten years later, again with the green jersey, it's fantastic, it feels like getting younger," Cavendish said. "I'm back. It's a dream."
On this day 2013: Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announces retirement
Six-time Olympic champion Sir Chris Hoy announced his retirement from competitive cycling 11 years ago, admitting: “I know it is the right decision.”
The 37-year-old Scot had been contemplating continuing until the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but revealed he was quitting the sport at a press conference in Edinburgh on April 18, 2013.
Hoy was Britain’s most decorated Olympian after his haul of two gold medals at London 2012 saw him surpass rower Sir Steve Redgrave’s record of five, although he was overtaken by former team-mate Sir Jason Kenny in 2021.
In explaining his decision, Hoy said: “I think in sport at the highest level you’re dealing in such small margins and you can tell when you’re good but not good enough.
“It was very emotional coming in there (to the press conference) and I was trying not to watch the video montage with the sad music.
“I don’t want it to be a sad moment.
“I want to celebrate it and be happy because I know it is the right decision.
“It’s a decision that I didn’t take lightly and I thought about it very hard.”
As well as six Olympic titles, Hoy’s 13-year career featured 11 world titles and two Commonwealth crowns.
Hoy’s final race was the Olympic Keirin final on August 7, 2012 – on the final day of the London 2012 track programme.
Following retirement, Hoy pursued his passion for motorsport, including competing in the Le Mans 24 Hours, while he has also written children’s books.
In February 2024, the 48-year-old announced he was undergoing treatment for cancer.
Paul extends rich form with double gold; Browne, Campbell also among T&T's medals at PanAm Track Cycling Champs
Trinidad and Tobago’s ace cyclist Nicholas Paul continued his rich early season form as he wrapped up another double gold medal-winning outing at the just-concluded Pan American Track Cycling Championships in Los Angeles, California.
Paul’s medals were won in his customary events, the men's Keirin and Sprint, and followed his fairly successful outing at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong where he recovered from a two-cycle collision in the Keirin to win the Sprint.
The 23-year-old again expressed gratitude for the continued support as he represents the twin island republic with much gusto.
“It is always an honour to represent my country and the Pan American region. Thank you to everyone for all the love and continued support. The Journey continues and the next stop will be the Nations Cup in Milton, Canada. So, I just want to continue putting in the hard work and let it show in my performances,” Paul said.
In the Keirin, Paul topped Colombia’s Kevin Quintero, while another Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Kwesi Browne copped bronze.
However, it took a photo-finish to separate Paul and another Colombian Cristian Ortega for the Sprint crown. Paul bettered his South American rival in the first ride before edging ahead in the second ride on the line by millimeters to retain his title.
Meanwhile, Akil Campbell was also among the medals, as he won a bronze medal in the men's scratch race.
In other results at the meet, Alexi Ramirez finished eighth in the women's elimination race and in the women's scratch race, while Makaira Wallace and Phoebe Sandy placed 13th and 17th in the women's sprint qualification, respectively.
On this day in 2018: Scotland’s Katie Archibald wins Commonwealth Games gold
Scotland’s Katie Archibald added Commonwealth champion to her long list of accolades on this day in 2018.
Archibald, an Olympic, world and European champion in various disciplines, took gold in the women’s individual pursuit in Brisbane, having broken the Games record in a blistering qualifying session.
Her only previous Commonwealth medal was the bronze she won on home soil in the points race in Glasgow four years earlier.
Archibald, then aged 24, said before racing began gold was the only colour she wanted and swiftly delivered, covering the 3,000m distance in three minutes 26.088 seconds to beat Australian Rebecca Wiasak.
She had set the record at 3:24.119 in a qualifying session which saw three riders go under the previous record set by England’s Joanna Rowsell Shand in Glasgow.
“It means a lot, especially in the individual pursuit because it’s not an Olympic event,” said Archibald. “2014 always stands out as a big year for Joanna Rowsell to kind of echo, because she had the title and the Games record.
“You look at the success she carried from that point in her career. I’d be very proud.”
Fired up by his sister’s performance, Archibald’s brother John then added another medal to Scotland’s tally with silver in the men’s 4,000m individual pursuit as England’s Charlie Tanfield clinched gold.
“I watched her heat run and the pressure was on her,” said John Archibald.
“The Commonwealth Games record went and they all went better than her personal best so she had her back against the wall but she pulled out and delivered on the day and that got me going.”
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