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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 but was overwhelmed before the top by a group of power chasers, including Mads Pedersen, Van der Poel, Pogacar and Michael Matthews. The group was too large and uncooperative to stay clear.

Second time around, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe looked to make sure Remco Evenepoel did not miss out on the move, driving the bunch through the right 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, though Pedersen slid backwards before catching 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 Pogacar and 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 chasers. 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 when it hit the Place de la Concorde. With two kilometres remaining Pogacar and Van der Poel held below single digit seconds of a lead. NSN Cycling laid it down for the chase to the flamme rouge as Pogacar seemed to be fading.

Van der Poel 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 had won. Green jersey Pedersen finished third, with Pogacar 30th on the stage as he celebrated becoming a five-time Tour de France champion.