Vingegaard wins Tour de France for the second year in a row
The final leg of the Tour de France 2023 has a 115-kilometer route from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to its traditional destination of the Champs-Elysees. The journey through the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and the most famous landmarks and streets of Paris witnessed a fierce competition before the finish line.
Here, Belgian cyclist Jordi Meeus sprinted to surpass Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), finishing first with a time of 2 hours 56 minutes 13 seconds. "The first time I won a stage in the Tour de France. It was a super experience and to win today is an unbelievable feeling," said team driver Bora-Hansgrohe.
Not in the group that finished first, Vingegaard still won the final Yellow Vest with a total time of 82 hours 5 minutes 42 seconds, thereby, winning the Tour de France for the second time in a row. The Danish driver was ahead of Tadej Pogacar - the Slovenian driver who won the 2020 and 2021 championships twice - by 7 minutes and 29 seconds and Adam Yates - Pogacar's teammate at UAE Team Emirates - 10 minutes and 56 seconds.
Vingegaard drank champagne with teammates Visma-Jumbo and took a celebratory photo on the way to Paris. "What a great year and great tournament for us," the 26-year-old said after the coronation ceremony. "We started planning very early and again, I wouldn't have won the title without my teammates. Tonight we'll celebrate and dine together. It's going to be a fun evening."
Vingegaard and Pogacar competed fiercely in three intense weeks of competition on a 3,404 km journey with eight stages of climbing. The difference was made in stages 16 and 17, when Vingegaard widened the gap with the Slovenian opponent from 10 seconds to 7 minutes 35 seconds. The Danish rider has kept the Yellow Vest since it was won from Jai Hindley in stage 6.
"It's been a long journey, but it's also gone very quickly. It was a super tough race, a super good fight between me and Pogacar. I enjoyed every moment," added Vingegaard, thanking teammates, family and fans for their support along the way.
Unable to beat Vingegaard, Pogacar still had the third consecutive time to win the White Shirt for the best young driver. Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin–Deceuninck won the Blue Shirt for the sprint king with 377 points, and Giulio Ciccone of the Lidl-Trek team won the Red Shirt for the climbing king with 106 points.
Six years ago, the 2022 and 2023 Tour de France champion - Vingegaard was still working as a fish packer in a Danish factory. At that time, he went to the factory to work in the morning and only cycled in the evening to practice.
After setting a record climbing the Coll de Rates in Spain while with his old team ColoQuick, Vingegaard joined Jumbo-Visma in 2019 and made great progress. On his first appearance at the Tour de France in 2021, he shone and finished second after Pogacar himself and became the first male driver to finish second and first in two consecutive tournaments, after German cyclist Jan Ullrich in 1996 and 1997.
