Tour de France 2026: Van der Poel triumphs in sensational finale

fotobureau Cor VosMathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar dominate the Montmartre climb in the final stage of the Tour. They then ride together towards the finish and, when they are almost caught in the final kilometre, the Dutchman kicks again. He manages to hold off the charging peloton to claim his second stage win of the Tour. The overall victory goes to Tadej Pogacar. (Slideshow route/profile)

Stage 21 Results – 2026 Tour de France

1. Mathieu Van der Poel (nld) 1:58:49
2. Jasper Philipsen (bel) s.t.
3. Mads Pedersen (den) s.t.
4. Max Kanter (ger) s.t.
5. Olav Kooij (nld) s.t.
6. Matej Mohoric (slo) s.t.
7. Rick Pluimers (nld) s.t.
8. Anthony Turgis (fra) s.t.
9. Milan Fretin (fra) s.t.
10. Clément Russo (fra) s.t.

Final GC 2026 Tour de France

1. Tadej Pogacar (slo)
2. Remco Evenepoel (bel) + 6:26
3. Isaac del Toro (mex) + 9:42
4. Paul Seixas (fra) + 11:56
5. Lenny Martinez (fra) + 13:02
6. Mattias Skjelmose (den) + 14:59
7. Juan Ayuso (spa) + 17:48
8. Richard Carapaz (ecu) + 20:00
9. Tom Pidcock (gbr) + 29:28
10. Jordan Jegat (fra) + 33:21

Race report
Baptiste Veistroffer is the first attacker before Xabier Mikel Azparren and Thibault Guernalec give it a go.

As the riders tackle the Montmartre climb for the first time, Azparren is the only attacker left out front. Just after the summit, he sees Mads Pedersen, Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, Jasper Stuyven, Michael Matthews, Maxim Van Gils, Kasper Asgreen and Vlad Van Mechelen flash past.

A large part of the peloton then catches back up with the attackers before Tadej Pogacar puts down such a powerful attack on the second ascent of the Montmartre climb, that he drops everyone except Mathieu van der Poel. Remco Evenepoel and Mads Pedersen make it back after the summit.

With 20 kilometres to go, the peloton catches back up with the four riders. Then, just as they did on the previous lap, the same duo attacks again on the steep cobbled climb. Van der Poel and Pogacar reach the summit a handful of seconds ahead of Per Strand Hagenes, Matteo Jorgenson, Ben Healy, Matej Mohoric, Jasper Stuyven and Jonas Abrahamsen.

The six chasers are then joined by a group containing Olav Kooij, Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay, and so a nail-bitier of a finale unfolds, with the sprint teams chasing the two attackers. The gap remains at 7 seconds for kilometres, and in the final 500 metres it looks as though it's all over for the two leaders. But then Van der Poel kicks again.

Behind him, Pedersen opens his sprint from a long way out. Philipsen follows him and keeps an eye on things to ensure the victory stays within the team. He comes past the Dane but does not press on, and crosses the finish line celebrating when he sees that his lead-out man, who has helped him so many times before, has just got his front wheel over the line a few centimetres ahead of his. Bam, bingo for Van der Poel!

Pogacar wins the Tour for the fifth time in his career, making him a joint record-holder, while Evenepoel and Del Toro complete the final podium.

Another interesting read: route 21 stage 2026 Tour de France.