Mathieu van der Poel's voice trembles as he recalls a year of dreaming and beating Pogačar: 'From the tips of my toes'
CyclingSunday, 26 July 2026 at 20:38
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Follow us on GoogleWHAT. A. FINAL. Mathieu van der Poel had to give it his all—absolutely everything—to win the final stage of the Tour de France. Together with yellow jersey wearer Tadej Pogačar, the Dutchman set off, and in the end, Van der Poel just managed to stay ahead of the sprinting peloton. At the finish line, Van der Poel was momentarily at a loss for words.
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As we’ve come to expect from MVDP, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider collapsed to the ground, opened his cycling jersey, and tried to catch his breath. Once again, the two-time stage winner of this Tour de France had to give it everything he had. “This victory feels really good,” the winner said in his post-race flash interview, his voice trembling and his eyes hollowed out.
"I've been thinking about this for a year now. Last year I was sick and had to watch it on TV. So I've been thinking about this moment for a long time. The way it all played out is a dream come true." Together with Pogacar, Van der Poel launched an attack on Montmartre. The peloton stayed within 10 seconds for a long time, but fell just a few tenths of a second short at the finish line.
"It's truly unbelievable," Van der Poel continued. "This was really, really tough. To race here with the best rider in the world... I have so much respect for Tadej (Pogacar, ed.). I thought we were going to get caught. I tried to keep my head down and go as hard as I could. I was waiting for a wheel to pass me.”
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Mathieu van der Poel had to dig deep: 'A victory I really wanted'
Just past the finish line, Van der Poel was overtaken by the sprinting peloton, which arrived just a little too late. Teammate Jasper Philipsen won the sprint in that group and crossed the finish line with one arm raised. “I saw someone cheering at the finish line,” said Van der Poel. “But that was Jasper. Winning on the Champs-Élysées is absolutely amazing.”
In fact, thanks to the route change and the addition of Montmartre, this final stage has made it onto the list of races Van der Poel would like to win. And he’s now succeeded. “I’m really happy with these two victories in this Tour. This was always one I wanted to win.”
Van der Poel concludes his interview with a Dutch saying. “In Dutch, we say: ‘It had to come from the tips of my toes.’ I don’t know where this one came from, but it certainly didn’t come from the tips of my toes,” Van der Poel says, once again putting his incredible effort into words. Right after crossing the finish line, Pogačar immediately congratulated Van der Poel: “You did it,” said the yellow jersey winner.
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Philipsen completes the one-two: 'Mathieu was really eager'
Teammate Philipsen was the first to celebrate with Van der Poel. “This was a fantastic race, and I think it was really exciting, too. It’s a fantastic victory for Mathieu,” Philipsen said in his first comments to Sporza.
In the sprint, Philipsen already knew how it would turn out. “I could see that we just wouldn’t be able to pass him. So it’s really great to finish first and second like this. I think Mathieu was determined to win this one. To actually pull it off is really great,” said the Belgian about the one-two finish by his team, Alpecin-Premier Tech.
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- - Wow, second place already? How big was the time gap to first in the end, and does that come mostly from the mountain stages or time trial? Gracias por la info, très curieux!sprocketspiny26-07-2026
- - Great piece overall, but quoting Vanthourenhout while noting he’s not on Tour duty with Remco feels odd. Would love more insight from BORA’s actual in-race DS.gearguru3326-07-2026
- - The idea that next year’s route with a 50 km TT flips the script is interesting. If ASO gives us that, Remco starts as 1A contender. But he still needs a mountain train that can blunt UAE’s tempo.michael5426-07-2026
- - “He should have gone sooner” is always easy to say. Carapaz was flying. Remco emptied the tank late and nearly bridged — fine margins at the end of a brutal Tour.andrewf26-07-2026
- - From third last year to second now, plus a stage tally that could’ve been three — that’s progression. BORA’s support looked miles better too, even after the Alpe d’Huez spat. Winning the Tour one day doesn’t look crazy.julien26-07-2026
- - Can someone explain why a longer time trial would help him that much? Is he that much better than Pogacar in TT over 50 km?jeremya26-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy Herygers’ “loyal to Pogačar” angle. Remco races to win. If he had the legs 5 km earlier, he goes. Feels like Monday-morning quarterbacking.pedalpowe2926-07-2026
- - Massive ride from Remco. Second overall and second on the queen stage isn’t “almost” — it’s elite. The way he paced that final 3 km was smart given the UAE/Decathlon tug-of-war behind.patriciaw26-07-2026
- - Pog is on another planet. Even rivals would doubt him? That quote from Gianetti is blunt but honest.julien26-07-2026
- - So if Cobo’s Vuelta got stripped for blood passport issues, why did it take so long? Feels like the system punishes fans retroactively. Confusing tbh.patriciaw26-07-2026
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