UCI WorldTour: Jonas Vingegaard masters the time and the Tour

The Dane from Jumbo-Visma won his second Tour de France on Sunday.

Tadej Pogačar and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) complete the Champs-Élysées podium.

What a show all along the 3404 kilometres that saw the peloton of the Tour de France 2023 roll from Bilbao, home of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2023, to Paris, where Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) lit up the most beautiful avenue in the world with a victory in the sprint.

With 30 major ascents on the route, a record for this 110th edition, a duel naturally took shape between Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), winners of the three previous editions. And it was the Dane who showed his strength, especially during the event’s only time trial when he dominated his Slovenian rival, before building an even bigger gap the next day over the mountains. Pogačar nevertheless won two stages (the 6th and 20th) and brought back the white jersey of best young rider on the Champs-Élysées for the fourth time in four years, an unprecedented feat.

"It's incredible to win a second Tour de France," Jonas Vingegaard said. "I almost can't believe it. I enjoyed every day I spent with the yellow jersey, and I look forward to another battle with Tadej in the future.”

This 2023 edition also ignited a great fight for the polka-dot jersey, eventually won by Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). For the green jersey, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) imposed his speed and his mastery in the sprints. The Belgian took four victories (3rd, 4th, 7th and 11th stages) and the points classification.

The favourites and Philipsen show up from the start

With two demanding stages as appetizers, the Basque Country was set ablaze at the same time as it woke up the Tour. From day one, brothers Adam (UAE Team Emirates) and Simon Yates (Team Jayco-AlUla) dropped everyone on the way to Bilbao. And Adam took the first yellow jersey ahead of his twin... an unprecedented situation to launch the 110th edition of the Grande Boucle.

The next day, on the roads of Donostia San Sebastián Klasikoa, Frenchman Victor Lafay gave Cofidis a first victory in the Tour since 2008 (2nd stage), before his Spanish teammate Ion Izaguirre Insausti doubled up in Belleville-en-Beaujolais (12th stage).

Big manoeuvres in the Pyrenees and the great return of the Puy de Dôme

The high mountains arrived very quickly in this 110th Tour de France. And Vingegaard and Pogačar quickly took off to engage in a mano a mano. The first act towards Laruns (stage 5), where Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) took the stage and the yellow jersey in the breakaway, favoured the Dane with a first blow over the Marie-Blanque pass.

In Cauterets-Cambasque (stage 6), the Slovenian took the upper hand to clinch his first victory in this Tour de France 2023. But this was the day the Dane claimed the yellow jersey, which he would not relinquish until Paris.

On the way to the Massif Central, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) found an opening in Limoges (stage 8) to stop the hegemony of Jasper Philipsen. Then, the climbers took over in the ascent of the Puy de Dôme, part of the Tour for the first time since 1988. Canada’s Michael Woods (Israel – Premier Tech) wrote a new page in the history of the legendary Auvergne volcano.

A few weeks after the death of Gino Mäder, his teammates from Bahrain Victorious paid tribute to him through the successes of Pello Bilbao (stage 10), Wout Poels (stage 15) and Matej Mohoric (stage 19), who edged out Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step), victorious the previous day at Bourg-en-Bresse (stage 18).

Vingegaard stuns the Tour in the Alps

Suspense still reigned as the race entered the Alps. Race veteran Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) won at the Grand Colombier (stage 13) and his young teammate Carlos Rodriguez did the same in Morzine (stage 14). Meanwhile, Vingegaard and Pogačar kept trading blows and seconds.

The Combloux time trial (with the ascent of the iconic Côte de Domancy) promised to be decisive. Jonas Vingegaard established his dominance with a stunning performance, laying the ground for his final success with a gap of 1’38” to the Slovenian.

The next day, Pogačar faltered in the Col de Loze, while Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën Team) made the most of the slopes at 24% to clinch the greatest victory of his career in Courchevel.

During the final mountainous meeting in the Vosges (20th stage), Thibaut Pinot bade farewell to the public of the Tour de France with a memorable attack on the Petit Ballon, to the delight of his fans who had gathered in the “Virage Pinot”. A historic tribute to complete an edition of the Tour destined to remain in the memories.