"There are still a few races I want to win in my career, but this was one of them" - Sensational Mathieu van der Poel writes history at Tour de France
Cycling
An injured Mathieu van der Poel sat and watched the 2025 Tour de France finale and promised himself that the 2026 Champs-Elysees would look different. As the 2025 edition brought a revamped finish of the race with a short Montmartre climb offering something for the classics.
Sunday evening certainly was different as the Alpecin - Premier Tech rider pulled off an astonishing performance to go over the iconic climb with Tadej Pogacar, hold off a chasing peloton and then drop the yellow jersey and win the sprint by centimeters ahead of the sprinters.
A sensational win for the Dutchman underlined a year of hard work as he finishes La Grand Boucle with two stage wins as well as an excellent catalog of temawork to support Jasper Philipsen - who also took a sprint win for the team.
“This means a lot to me. I’ve been working on this for a year,” the former world champion said in his interview after his Paris triumph.
Missing the 2025 Tour, he envisioned his winning moments twleve months before Sunday evening. Labelling the win a dream, van der Poel was proud to do it by out-riding Pogacar.
Sensational Tour de France finale
“Last year I was sick and had to watch this ride on TV. Even then, I was thinking about this moment,” he said.
“The way it went is a dream. It is incredible. It was super tough. To be at the front with the best cyclist in the world… I have a lot of respect for Tadej.”
With a chasing peloton intent on giving the sprinters their day, van der Poel admits he thought their day would be done before the line and didn't look back until he saw his teammate Philipsen inch behind in second place.
He added: “I thought we were going to get caught, but I kept my head down and just rode the last five hundred meters as hard as I could. I just waited for a wheel to pass me, but it just didn't happen. At the very last moment, I see a Pirelli tire next to me, Jasper [Philipsen]’s.”
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It reflects a strong finish to the Tour for Alpecin, who had to wait until week two to get their first win and the finale to make it three. Van der Poel admitted that the Paris win is amongst the biggest in his career.
“This shows that we never give up. The start of our Tour wasn't good, but if you finish first and second on the Champs-Élysées, that's not bad."
“I am super happy. Of course, there are still a few races I want to win in my career, but this was one of them.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
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