“Tadej, on behalf of the Netherlands: thank you!”: Tom Dumoulin praises Tour champion after helping Van der Poel to unforgettable Paris victory
CyclingMonday, 27 July 2026 at 06:00
Mathieu van der Poel's sensational solo victory on the final stage of the 2026 Tour de France produced one of the race's most memorable finishes in years. While the Dutchman ultimately held off the charging sprinters on the Champs-Élysées, former Giro d'Italia winner Tom Dumoulin believes Tadej Pogacar deserves plenty of credit for making it happen.
“We got the winner we were hoping for”
After the third and final ascent of Montmartre, Van der Poel and Pogacar rode clear together, combining forces as they tried to stay ahead of the peloton. At the Flamme Rouge, their gap was down to five seconds as it came down to the wire in Paris.
Van der poel hit out with one last sprint, while Pogacar gave up as the group surged behind. In the end, Van der Poel narrowly held off the sprinters to seal a spectacular victory in what was a fitting finale to a thrilling Tour de France.
Speaking on De Avondetappe, Dumoulin said the finale was everything fans could have wished for. “We were treated to something special and got the winner we were hoping for.”
He also enjoyed seeing the Tour winner racing aggressively instead of simply defending his overall victory. “It's great to see the Tour winner racing like that as well. Pogacar really wanted to win this stage too, which makes Van der Poel's victory even more beautiful. The greatest rider of this era had this stage marked on his calendar.”
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Ignoring the unwritten rules
For Dumoulin, what made the finale so special was that neither rider followed cycling's traditional tactics. Normally, he explained, Pogacar would have sat on Van der Poel's wheel, knowing the Dutchman was the faster finisher, while Van der Poel might have stopped cooperating once victory looked unlikely against the Tour champion.
Instead, both riders committed fully. “Cycling's unwritten rules would say that Pogacar should tell Van der Poel he's the better sprinter. But he doesn't do that. It's the same as Van der Poel continuing to work all the way up the Oude Kwaremont even though he knows the chances of following are almost zero. That's exactly what Pogacar did here.”
Dumoulin was particularly impressed by what happened inside the final kilometre, when Pogacar unexpectedly returned to the front and pulled one more turn despite knowing it reduced his own chances of winning.
“You see Pogacar take the front again in the final kilometre. That's really to help Mathieu get that victory. He knows that otherwise he has no chance himself. But he still does it.”
The former Grand Tour winner finished with a humorous message for the Slovenian. “Tadej, on behalf of the Netherlands: thank you!”
A finale that must stay
For Dumoulin, the thrilling battle between two of cycling's biggest stars proved that the Montmartre circuit deserves to remain part of the Tour's Paris finale.
“This is cycling at its very best. You know Van der Poel wins nine times out of ten against Pogacar on this course. But even so, look at Pogacar suffering as well.”
“They should never change this. Montmartre has to stay on the route.”
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- In 2024 the records were reset on Plateau de Beille (a climb Armstrong won several times, once in 2002, 37th best of all time and in 2004, 25th best of all time) On this single climb alone, used as an example, Tadej holds the record of 1. 2024: 39:50 Tadej Pogacar 23.95 km/h. Lances best attempt in which he won the stage was 25th. 2004: 45:31 Lance Armstrong 20.96 km/h. If my math is right this is 5 minutes and 41 seconds slower than Tadej on a single mountain stage, a stage in 2004 that Lance completely dominated outside of finishing with Ivan Basso on the same time, third place was 1min 5sec down on those two. The record holder's first through third are, Tadej, Jonas and Remco. This illustrates my point that Lance, who was using all types of recovery drugs, and who was on a mission to win the stage that day, would have lost over five minutes to Tadej had they been racing together. Just another observation, in 2024 the finish temp was 35C while back in the 2004 Tour is was 30C that day.awp27-07-2026
- His comments here are an improvement on many previous ones, don’t see what you’re on about. Maybe explain a little instead of just posting?Mistermaumau27-07-2026
- Ok but in that line of thought, Merckx would have continued getting similar results for quite some time too if he hadn’t been put off cycling by some of the non-sporting events he endured towards the end. Real money might also have helped prolong his desire to put himself through all that s h i t just for some more wins.Mistermaumau27-07-2026
- what exactly was delusional in this article?Ketterechts27-07-2026
- Not so easy to judge so categorically, the climbs may be faster now but the stage averages were way higher on the queen stages back then and were often quite a bit longer. The race average then again was lower. I think it definitely shows racing has changed.Mistermaumau27-07-2026
- I doubt any rider is that observant or experienced to be sure they’ve won or lost when they are at their limit, so far apart and there’s only a tire’s breadth in it, ignoring that it would have been risky to suppose no-one else could sneak up. Still fun that these were the two battling it out for the last victory.Mistermaumau27-07-2026
- I thought this might bring you back here ;-)Mistermaumau27-07-2026
- Rain was forecastMistermaumau27-07-2026
- Pity jv can’t defend his red jersey this year - but, winning the Giro is still a decent season?Crashjames27-07-2026
- Armstrong may be right about one thing: the real debate isn't whether Pogačar is the most dominant athlete in the world—it’s whether anyone in cycling has a realistic path to beating him anymore. After this Tour, I don’t see Jonas Vingegaard closing the gap unless something fundamentally changes, and I don’t see anyone consistently challenging Pogačar for years if he stays healthy. The next rider who beats him may not simply be the next great talent; it may be the rider willing to think differently about the entire game. Imagine Paul Seixas choosing legacy over the biggest contract and joining a team like EF that is willing to build a completely creative project around one mission: finding a way to defeat Pogačar. Sometimes history is not made by the rider with the biggest salary—it is made by the rider who is willing to sacrifice comfort, challenge the impossible, and become the one who ended the greatest era of dominance cycling has ever seen.wambo27-07-2026
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