“This is the greatest day of my career. After the previous sprints, I knew that more was possible than the results I had achieved so far. Everything went perfectly today and I’m super happy that I won,” beamed Meeus in the winner’s interview. “This is my first tour and it was a very nice experience. To get this win now is an indescribable feeling.”
Bora team boss Ralph Denk could hardly believe the coup on the Eurosport microphone, precisely “because this success came so unexpectedly”. This triumph also confirmed his decision to nominate Meeus as a sprinter for the Tour instead of the Irishman Sam Bennett, who had won in Paris in 2020.
“Jordi did everything right today and showed an unbelievable sprint. We couldn’t be happier than now,” said Rolf Aldag, sporting director at Bora.
Pogacar even attacks in Paris
Tadej Pogacar had even attacked again on the final laps in Paris on the Champs-Elysées and was able to stay ahead of the field for several laps. But the jumbo team had sent a teammate of Jonas Vingegaard to look after it, so it was just a last-ditch effort from the Slovenian. The field also thwarted all other attempts, resulting in one of the tightest sprints on the magnificent boulevard in the history of the Tour.
As in the previous year, the entire Jumbo team enjoyed the final kilometers together and crossed the finish line with a clear gap. Previously, they had already celebrated on the way to Paris and sent a greeting to Wout Van Aert, who had left to join the family.
Emotional words in honor: Vingegaard receives the coronation
“It’s so wonderful! A second tour win – and then there are so many fans from my home country here in Paris. I’m just happy,” said the 26-year-old, who has now won the “grande boucle” twice, “it was a crazy fight for three weeks. I really enjoyed the rivalry with Tadej”.
Vingegaard’s second overall victory was perfect after 3406 kilometers and 21 stages since the start on July 1 in Bilbao, the Dane repeated his triumph in the maillot jaune from the previous year. Pogacar was again second, ahead of his UAE teammate Adam Yates (Great Britain) in third on the podium. Despite the fall, Jai Hindley from Australia finished seventh overall for Bora, his teammate Emanuel Buchmann was the best German in 21st place.
Vingegaard’s jumbo team celebrate and greet Van Aert in Paris
Jumbo also beats UAE in team standings
The mountain jersey of the 2023 Tour was secured by the Italian Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), who also won the only mountain classification on the final day on the way to Paris. The superior winner of the points classification was Philipsen ahead of Mads Pedersen.
The junior ranking once again went to Pogacar. With a fourth win in the white jersey, he is now the sole record holder in this class, leaving Andy Schleck and Jan Ullrich behind. The team classification at Jumbo-Visma around Vingegaard just ahead of Pogacar’s UAE team, the gap of 7:13 minutes was almost identical to that of the individual classification.
Eisel’s top sprinter in the history of the tour: Two Germans there