"I still see Mathieu and Wout as equals" - Armstrong, Wiggins and Hincapie praise Van Aert highly after Montmartre show

Mathieu van der Poel put on quite a show in the first half of the Tour de France, but there was something he could not do: Drop Tadej Pogacar - neither here or in the cobbled classics. After Wout van Aert succeeded in this, the first rider doing so successfully this year, there was nothing but praise for him from the hosts of The Move podcast who congratulated the Belgian on his victory in Paris.

Lance Armstrong readily pointed out that this was the only moment at the Tour de France where Pogacar was actually dropped with a direct attack, a sight that hasn't been seen since 2024 and was warmly welcomed by many. "This was classic Wout van Aert. He did something no one has managed in three weeks: dropping Pogacar. When you add it all up, with the weather, this course: this is one of the biggest wins. What he did was a boss move".

Van Aert took advantage of the rough weather and numeric superiority of Visma to put pressure on the yellow jersey, but few would've expected the Belgian to actually attack the final climb instead of relying on his sprint. Van Aert's attack on Rue Lepic proved to be one of the Tour's most memorable moments, in the climb's debut on the Tour route.

George Hincapie pointed out how what he did at the Giro d'Italia was now replicated at the Tour with great success. On two iconic stages of both events, the Belgian showed his very best level. "Look at what happened last year in the Vuelta. He crashed so hard there, but now he just bounced back with a super strong spring season and went on to win the Giro and Tour. They had a plan. We criticized their strategy, but this was magical."

Whilst van der Poel had a more lasting influence in the race overall, winning the final stage of the race is always something that will be marking for any rider and van Aert struck at the right time, in what was his last opportunity to save what had been a disappointing Tour. "Mathieu turned the Tour upside down in the first half with that stage win and the yellow jersey, but we don't remember that anymore. Wout has now won the most technical, difficult final stage of the Tour, and it was already his tenth stage win in total in the Tour. He simply never gives up."

Bradley Wiggins goes as far as comparing the two and putting them on the same level, albeit with different skillsets: "I still see Mathieu and Wout as equals. Mathieu is still on a different level in the classics, which Wout hasn't reached yet. But Wout has won on the Ventoux, time-trials, and now twice on the Champs-Élysées. He's so versatile. And he's committed to helping his team in the general classification".