Championship

Mathieu van der Poel realised a dream of winning on the Champs Elysees in spectacular style, surviving a chase and beating the bunch to the line with the very last turn of his pedals. The finish, which saw Van der Poel survive after a two-rider break with Tadej Pogacar, even as the yellow jersey faded, was described by commentators Rob Hatch and Sean Kelly as ”the greatest Tour de France finale we’ve ever seen.”

Billed as a battle between the two best riders of their generation, Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel, the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France still managed to surpass the hype.

The stage, shortened by 40km and starting from the city-centre circuit, opened with seven laps of the traditional circuit and featured the usual flurry of forlorn attacks. It then headed for three laps of a longer circuit featuring the Cote de la Butte de Montmartre, the 1km climb that first featured in the Olympics in 2024. 

Xabier Azparren (Pinarello Q36.5) led the first time up the hill, before being overwhelmed before the top by a group of power chasers, including Mads Pedersen, Mathieu Van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Michael Matthews. The group was too large, and uncooperative to stay clear. Second time around, Red Bull looked to make sure Remco Evenepoel didn’t miss out on the move, driving the bunch through the right hand bend at the foot of the climb. Pogacar had Tim Wellens working for him as a launchpad, and when the Slovenian took off, he had Van der Poel right on his wheel. Evenepoel did enough to hang on as well. Although Mads Pedersen slid backwards, he was able to stay clear of the bunch and catch the front trio on the descent back into the centre of town. 

Despite the power in the group, their second attempt to stay clear was foiled by Decathlon CMA CGM, working to set up a bunch sprint for Olav Kooij. 

Third time lucky, then? Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5) ”floated to the front” of the reduced bunch on the cobbled Rue Lepic, leading the Tour de France for 600m, before ”aliens” Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel came charging past. This time no other riders could stay with them and a two-man pursuit began in earnest for the final 11km to the finish.

They established a visible gap, then a measurable one, to a group of Visma-Lease a Bike led chasers, with their best hope being a lack of cohesion and cooperation. The biggest lead the pair held was 20 seconds, 7km from the line. Decathlon got on the gas again, as the race reached speeds of almost 60kph as it hit the Place de la Concorde. With 2km remaining Pogacar and Van der Poel held below single digit seconds of a lead, but still had a lead. NSN Cycling laid it down for the chase to the flamme rouge, as Pogacar seemed to be fading.

Van der Poel knew, or could sense he had to go it alone, giving it one last heave with 500m remaining. The bunch kept coming, but it was enough, as the two-time World Champion sealed a second stage win by less than a bike length. Second place went to his team-mate, Jasper Philipsen, who had been waiting in the wings, and was the first to celebrate before Van der Poel himself even knew he’d won. Green jersey Mads Pedersen finished third, with Tadej Pogacar 30th on the stage, and a five-time Tour de France champion.