Tadej Pogačar wanted a yellow win in Paris, but Van der Poel stole the final Tour de France victory of 2026

Mathieu van der Poel has won the 21st stage of the Tour de France. After a thrilling battle through Paris, featuring three ascents of Montmartre, all the big names of this Tour were present. Tadej Pogacar and Van der Poel came to the front together, and many sprinters were still able to organize themselves. However, Van der Poel put on an incredible show by accelerating while completely exhausted and winning just ahead of the peloton. Teammate Jasper Philipsen finished second.

The Alps were still firmly in the riders' legs. The double finish on Alpe d'Huez was grueling, and stages 19 and 20 had two very deserving winners in Tadej Pogacar and Richard Carapaz. On to Paris, said the riders, who were taken to the French capital via the TGV. But not before the organizers had one more surprise in store.

Due to the forest fires in France, the police and fire brigade have their hands full. Consequently, the course of the final stage was adjusted: the start in Thoiry was scrapped, meaning only laps around the Champs-Élysées were ridden. The climb to Montmartre was still there, but the riders only had to cover 89 kilometers.

And of that, the first laps on the Champs-Élysées were ridden at a leisurely pace. In this way, a tradition was somewhat upheld: riders and teams thus had the space to take photos and even go to the toilet in the tunnel. After riding at a walking pace for two laps, the race started with 75 kilometers to go: UAE began to pick up the pace.

After the second passage through the main street in Paris, Lotto-Intermarché was the first team to make the move. A duo from the Belgian team took a few riders along in their wake, but—who else but—Baptiste Veistroffer was ultimately the only one who could really open up a gap. His maximum lead was 10 seconds, at the moment when Lidl-Trek, NSN, and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe were in control.

Veistroffer held out for a lap, but after the intermediate sprint, the Frenchman was caught by the peloton again. Half a lap later, a duo gained a larger lead: Mikel Azparran (Pinarello Q36.5) and Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies) took a half-minute lead. The Spaniard and Frenchman entered the Grand Tours as a duo with a lead of just under a minute.

Upon passing the finish line, the times for the general classification were first fixed: due to safety concerns and the risk of slippery conditions, the classification was thus frozen. A stroke of luck for Isaac Del del Toro, who had to change bikes and find his way back to the peloton. At the front of the peloton, positioning began for the first passage of Montmartre. Azparren started solo.

Naturally, we were on the edge of our seats as we blasted through Montmartre. Mads Pedersen rammed into the lead on the first climb, but quite a large group of riders managed to keep up. Del Toro didn't, due to his flat tire. Because it was a large circuit, the first peloton did grow larger, but on the second ascent of Montmartre, the big names were already pushing hard.

Pogacar had a lead-out done, and then the yellow jersey wearer attacked himself. Only Van der Poel could keep up, with Evenepoel and Pedersen crossing the summit with a small gap. The Belgian managed to catch up on the descent, but Pedersen was not yet with them at the bottom of the descent. He was dependent on a chasing group behind him, which included Olav Kooij.

Pogacar, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, and Pedersen; the four of them headed to the third and final ascent of Montmartre, but Kooij had a full Decathlon CMA CGM team with him, and the French formation rode back to the front with Paul Seixas as the third ascent of Montmartre approached. A solid peloton came back together, including fast men Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay.

Positioning for the final ascent of Montmartre was crucial, particularly for the sprinters. Florian Vermeersch was the man launching Pogacar, but the Slovenian didn't really get away. The yellow jersey was only released 400 meters from the finish line, but it was Van der Poel who thundered over it even harder. All or nothing, knowing that this was the moment to drop the sprinters.

At the top, there were still 10.4 kilometers to go, including the run-out after the climb. Van der Poel and Pogacar had to work together now, because due to the late attack, the gap wasn't too big. Once at the bottom, and with 9 kilometers still to go, the gap was 5 seconds to a first chasing group: Jasper Stuyven, Matteo Jorgenson, Per Strand Hagenes, Ben Healy, Matej Mohoric, and Jonas Abrahamsen. Decathlon CMA CGM regrouped after the climb and resumed the chase 7 kilometers from the finish. Seixas again, Daan Hoole again, everything for Kooij again. That small peloton was 17 seconds behind; the pursuers were slowly losing time. 6 kilometers to go and 10 seconds ahead, could it really happen? Pogacar and Van der Poel flew neck and neck through the streets of Paris.

The most beautiful battle of the entire Tour de France took place in the final 10 kilometers of the race. Van der Poel and Pogacar slowly emptied themselves, with an 8-second lead and 2 kilometers to go. The sprinters were ready, but after a final turn by Pogacar, Van der Poel accelerated in the final 500 meters. He seemed to be beaten at the line, but one blast on the pedals was enough to win after all. Alpecin-Premier saw Philipsen finish second, for a 1-2 finish.