"It has been the time I have pushed myself to the limit the most": Van der Poel and Pogacar turn the end of the Tour into a historic spectacle

Decades had to pass for the Tour de France to find the formula to end one of its most criticized traditions: the final stage turned into a ceremonial stroll to the Champs-Élysées. The inclusion of the climb to Montmartre last year was already a success, but the 2026 edition has definitively confirmed the organization's good judgment. And not only because of the route, but because the protagonists decided to race until the last meter.

Van der Poel turns Paris into a work of art and signs one of the most memorable victories of the Tour

If in 2025 it was Tadej Pogačar who, with the Tour already decided, launched himself to contest the victory against Wout van Aert, this time the Slovenian once again offered a spectacle alongside Mathieu van der Poel. Both broke away in the final ascent to Montmartre and collaborated until the end, even when Pogačar himself sensed that his chances of winning were minimal if he reached the sprint alongside the Dutchman.

It was yet another demonstration of the way two riders understand cycling who rarely speculate. While the peloton was charging at full speed from behind, neither stopped taking turns. The scene seemed straight out of a movie. Javier Ares summarized it during the broadcast, stating that the outcome had a cinematic script, while Carlos de Andrés confessed that, for the first time in many years, he genuinely wanted to comment on a final stage of the Tour, as he was used to finishes where statistics and anecdotes took more time than the race itself.

A finish that had been a year in the making

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The reality is that much of that outcome began to be written twelve months earlier. Van der Poel could not contest the end of the 2025 Tour after abandoning due to pneumonia and watched from the sofa of his home as Van Aert conquered the stage by attacking precisely in Montmartre.

After the victory, the Dutchman explained in statements to NOS that that moment was etched in his mind. “I had been thinking about this for a year. Last year I was sick on the sofa watching Wout win here, and then I thought that the following year I was going to give it my all to conquer this stage,” he confessed.

And he executed that plan exactly.

The most agonizing sprint of his entire career

The final meters were a true exercise in survival. Van der Poel reached the final straight after leaving behind someone he himself considers “perhaps the best cyclist in history,” referring to Pogačar, and still had to withstand the return of the best sprinters in the peloton.

The champion himself admitted that he had never pushed his body to such limits.

“I think everyone has seen that I can go very deep in a finish, but this time it was probably the time I pushed myself to the limit the most in my entire career,” he explained.

NAIL BITING!

EPIQUE !#TDF2026 | @Continental_fr pic.twitter.com/v27ldNmfFr

— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2026

With just 500 meters to the finish, he considered victory lost, but decided to empty himself completely.

“I thought it was all over. With 500 meters to go, I thought I had nothing to lose, I lowered my head and went as hard as I could to the finish line,” he recounted.

The image of the finish perfectly summarizes that effort. Van der Poel squeezed every muscle in his body to the limit. He even joked afterward, claiming that in the last meters he was pushing “even with his big toe.”

A victory decided by half a wheel

In just a few seconds, absolutely everything happened. While Van der Poel was agonizing to maintain a few centimeters of advantage, Jasper Philipsen also played a decisive role, coming in just ahead of Mads Pedersen and hindering the Danish rider's comeback. Finally, the Dutchman crossed the finish line with barely half a wheel to spare.

After more than four hours of racing and having been part of the decisive attack alongside Pogačar, Van der Poel was still able to produce extraordinary explosive power in the final sprint, a combination of endurance and explosiveness that very few riders can offer after such exertion.

The emotion also surfaced after the finish, something unusual for a rider who has built a palmarès filled with Monuments, world titles, and historic victories.

“I usually don't get very emotional, but today I did feel a bit emotional,” he admitted before placing this triumph among the top three of his entire career.

Because beyond the prestige of winning on the Champs-Élysées, this victory has a special meaning. It was dreamed of for an entire year, executed with precision on the perfect stage, and culminated with the deepest sprint of his entire career. A true cycling masterpiece that deserves to be seen time and time again.