“I have to be honest: Tadej Pogacar was slightly below his best” - Wout van Aert surprisingly downplays one of his most iconic wins

When Wout van Aert powered clear on the final climb of Montmartre during the closing stage of the 2025 Tour de France, the images quickly became some of the most replayed moments of that year’s race. Dropping Tadej Pogacar on the streets of Paris and riding solo to victory on the Champs Élysées felt like a rare and symbolic triumph.

Yet months later, Van Aert himself is strikingly modest about what many fans regard as one of the most memorable wins of his career.

Reflecting on that stage in a recent interview, the Belgian suggested the circumstances of the race played a role in the outcome. “I have to be honest: he was slightly below his best, maybe because of that knee injury,” Van Aert said in conversation with Knack.

The remark is notable because the Montmartre duel was widely framed as a dramatic showdown between two of the sport’s most versatile riders. Instead, Van Aert himself prefers to place the moment in a more measured context.

The final stage of the 2025 Tour de France broke with long-standing tradition. Rather than the usual ceremonial run in to a bunch sprint on the Champs Élysées, organisers introduced multiple ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, transforming the finale into a selective circuit through the narrow streets beneath the Sacre Coeur.

Heavy rain earlier in the evening had already changed the dynamics of the stage. With the general classification neutralised before the decisive circuits began, the race for yellow jersey honours was effectively settled. Pogacar only needed to finish safely to secure the overall victory.

What followed, however, produced a dramatic late battle.

After attacks reshaped the front group on the Montmartre climb, Pogacar launched an acceleration on the final ascent. Van Aert was the only rider able to stay with him. Near the summit, the Belgian countered and quickly opened a gap, riding alone through the final kilometres back towards the Champs Élysées.

Behind him, the chase never closed. Van Aert crossed the line solo in Paris, sealing one of the most unusual stage victories ever seen on the Tour’s final day.

Despite the spectacle of the moment, Van Aert insists the ride itself was less extraordinary than it may have appeared from the outside.

“For my abilities, I didn’t do anything extraordinary,” he explained. “It was very difficult, but it was ‘only’ an hour of real racing. I wasn’t completely exhausted for a week afterwards.”

His comments offer a rare glimpse into how riders themselves evaluate such performances. What looked to many observers like a defining duel between two of cycling’s biggest stars was, in Van Aert’s eyes, simply a short and intense finale rather than a monumental physical effort.

That perspective also helps explain why the Belgian was quick to acknowledge Pogacar’s circumstances on the day. The Slovenian had already effectively secured the Tour and was racing in difficult weather conditions, factors that may have influenced how aggressively he approached the finale.

Even with the caveats, the victory carried significant personal meaning for Van Aert.

The 2025 Tour had not unfolded easily for the Belgian or for his team’s broader ambitions. Opportunities for stage success had been limited, and the race had offered few moments of personal reward.

That context made the Montmartre duel all the more important psychologically. “Imagine if Tadej had dropped me there on Montmartre, after a difficult Tour without any personal success or a chance at the overall victory with Jonas… then I would have gone home with a bad feeling.”

Instead, the final evening in Paris delivered a very different ending.

While Van Aert may now downplay the performance itself, the image of him riding away from Pogacar on the cobbled slopes of Montmartre remains one of the defining scenes of the 2025 Tour de France.