Despite being an epic, action-packed final day of the Tour de France, there were no GC changes as the times were taken before the final three long laps in Paris up the Montmartre hill, with safety concerns leading organisers to neutralise the times.
That didn't stop the big names from coming to the fore on the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, with yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) attacking away on the second time up and getting away with a group of superstars.
They were caught by what remained of the peloton, but as eventual stage winner Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) stormed away on the final lap of the climb, Pogačar went with him and cooperated until the final kilometre when he ran out of steam. The Dutchman narrowly survived in front, but the race leader was instead able to slow down and celebrate fully over the line.
Winning his fifth Tour overall in a time of 73:56:26, Pogačar equalled the record for the most yellow jerseys and joined the elite club alongside Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) followed the big attacks on the first two laps to Montmartre, but was out of position the final time up, instead rolling home in the peloton. He confirmed second overall thanks to his impressive performances in the Alps, and was able to arrive safely for his best Tour finish yet, 6:26 down on the winner.
Debutant Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished third overall in what has been a stunning Tour, joining his team leader on the final podium. The Mexican champion was unable to contribute in the finale due to a poorly timed mechanical, but still celebrated past the line with Pogačar, finishing 9:42 in arrears.
The youngest starter in 89 years, Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) finished fourth in what's been an incredible first time out at the Tour, 11:56 off of Pogačar's winning time. As mentioned, his team paced fully to try and give sprinter Olav Kooij a chance in the finale, including Seixas, but they came up short at the last. Still, it's been a Tour that's shown the 19-year-old has the potential to be on the podium, and maybe one day win this race.
France had even more to celebrate with Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) finishing fifth on GC, 13:02, a huge step up for him too after a great third week.
Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) finished in sixth place overall at 14:59 back, with his teammate Juan Ayuso taking seventh place at 17:48. It's been a great Tour overall for the German team, with their two leaders showing up.
Double stage winner, King of the Mountains, and super combative Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) moved up two spots thanks to his third place on stage 19 to Alpe d'Huez, and held onto his eighth place overall at the finish, 20:00 down, to cap off a stunning Tour.
Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) finished ninth for his maiden Tour top 10 GC, 29:28 back. Rounding out the top 10 is another French rider, Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), who ended the race 33:21 back on the winner.
Only two other riders finished within a full hour of Pogačar, Yannis Voisard (Tudor) in 11th at 38:02 and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) in 12th at 56:37.
As the Tour came to a close in Paris, the other jersey winners were also presented on stage in front of the thousands of adoring fans: Del Toro taking the best young rider's classification, Carapaz winning the King of the Mountains polka dot jersey, and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) adding the green jersey to complete his set of Grand Tour points classification wins
Tour de France final GC standings
Place |
Rider (Country) Team |
Result |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
73:56:26 |
2 |
Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
00:06:26 |
3 |
Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG |
00:09:42 |
4 |
Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM |
00:11:56 |
5 |
Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious |
00:13:02 |
6 |
Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek |
00:14:59 |
7 |
Juan Ayuso (Spa) Lidl-Trek |
00:17:48 |
8 |
Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:20:00 |
9 |
Tom Pidcock (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:29:28 |
10 |
Jordan Jegat (Fra) Totalenergies |
00:33:21 |
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