photo credits @ ASO
Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) was crowned the winner of this year’s Tour de France today, marking the Danish rider’s second victory in a row.
Meanwhile, Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) sprinted to victory on the Champs-Elysées, beating Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) to the line to take his first stage win in the French Grand Tour.
Meeus, who hardly featured in the sprints amid Philipsen’s domination, chose the perfect moment to come good as he edged out his rivals in a four-up finish.
Race Highlights
A sedate approach to Paris was followed by a lively final hour, which all kicked off when Pogacar launched off the front with 48km remaining, a move that was closely marked by Nathan Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma), but sadly for the Slovenian rider, he was never going to overturn a 7’29” deficit on Vingegaard in the race for yellow. But, the duo was eventually they were caught, bringing the race back together.
Philipsen looked primed for win number five, as he sat on teammate Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel on the final straight. After Van der Poel moved aside, Groenewegen was the first to launch his sprint, allowing Philipsen a few more precious seconds in his slipstream.
From there, Philipsen moved around the Dutchman at what appeared to be the perfect moment. But, on the final straight Meeus was moved into perfect position by his teammate Marco Haller, before maneuvering himself to the left of Pedersen and making a perfect bike throw at the last possible second, with a photo-finish confirming his victory.
“I knew in previous sprints this was more possible than the results I’ve shown so far,” said Meeus, after the biggest win of his career. “Today everything went perfectly… I had the wheel of Pedersen and came out of the slipstream, and I could catch it on the line. To take the win today is an indescribable feeling.”
In the end, Groenewegen was awarded third place, with Pedersen fourth and Cees Bol (Astana-Qazaqstan) rounding out the first five.
In the meantime, Vingegaard crossed the line in the company of his Jumbo Visma teammates.
“Today, with all the spectators, all the Danish people here, was really amazing,” Vingegaard said, after securing his second Tour de France title. “I have to thank the whole of Denmark… I hope to come back next year to see if I can take the third win.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.
