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The winners jerseys for the varied disciplines shall be awarded — yellow for total champion Vingegaard, white for Pogacar as greatest teenager, Giulio Ciccone polka dot for greatest climber and Jasper Philipsen the inexperienced for his 4 dash end wins.
The 150 or so remaining riders cycle into Paris alongside the banks of the Seine and roll previous the cafes and golf equipment of Saint Michel in direction of the culminating eight laps of the Champs Elysees.
Vingegaard, the champion additionally in 2022, described the race as “one of the best on the planet” after three intense weeks that began in Bilbao on July 1.
Jumbo’s sports activities director Merijn Zeeman informed AFP forward of the stage their star had repaid their perception in him.
“The enjoyment was extra excessive final 12 months, it is exhausting to check wins, maybe this time the enjoyment is deeper,” Zeeman mentioned.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme used boxing phrases to explain the wrestle between the 2 chief protagonists.
“They went 15 rounds after which there was a punch within the intestine, a knee on the ground and a knock out punch,” he mentioned Sunday.
Pogacar continually attacked within the rolling hills of the Basque Nation.
However Vingegaard surprised the Slovenian within the Pyrenees to take a lead of slightly below a minute earlier than his rival clawed again seconds right here and there within the vineyards of Bordeaux and Beaujolais and on the spotlight July 14 ascent of the Puy de Dome.
The race was determined over a quartet of Alpine levels in week three, the place Vingegaard appeared stronger however bided his time till a scorching time trial shattered his rival.
On the Queen stage climb to the stylish Courchevel ski resort Pogacar snapped, as Vingegaard skipped away to take a lead of over seven minutes.
Former champion Andy Schleck was impressed by Vingegaard’s technique on the stage 16 time trial.
“He might have completed it blindfolded. He did not a lot put together for the Tour de France as put together that particular stage,” Schleck mentioned Sunday.
‘It ain’t over til it is over’
Vingegaard mentioned he felt “euphoric” after surviving Saturday’s penultimate stage to just about clinch his second successive title.
After crossing the road excessive within the Vosges, Vingegaard now solely must experience into Paris to drag on the yellow jersey beneath the Arc de Triomphe as winner of the world’s biggest bike race once more.
“It ain’t over til it is over, so the sensation now could be much more euphoric than after I took the massive lead on stage 17,” mentioned the Jumbo-Visma rider.
“The Tour de France is the best race on the planet,” beamed the 26-year-old.
“There’s one thing so particular about it and I can inform you I will be again once more subsequent 12 months to try to win it once more.”
Pogacar gained the twentieth stage however Denmark’s Vingegaard leads the Slovenian by 7min 29sec forward of Sunday’s ceremonial experience to the end line.
“I do not know what occurred to me. I took on an excessive amount of this 12 months and after two weeks I began to look as white as this shirt,” mentioned runner-up Pogacar, pointing to his greatest under-25 rider’s white jersey.
Runner-up to Pogacar in 2021, the softly-spoken Vingegaard was the one rider to problem the Slovenian prodigy within the excessive mountains.
In 2022, he went one step greater and gained the title at altitude, and it proved to be the case once more in 2023.
In the meantime Vingegaard’s group confirmed he’ll compete within the Vuelta in Spain on the finish of August, as he bids to comply with Chris Froome, who gained each races in 2017.
The Danish climber will share the position of group chief with Slovenian Primoz Roglic, winner of this 12 months’s Giro d’Italia, and a three-time Vuelta champion.
Veteran British sprinter Mark Cavendish introduced he’ll make an announcement later Sunday over a possible participation on the 2024 Tour de France.
The Astana rider crashed out in stage eight to finish his bid to interrupt the all-time report of 34 stage wins which he shares with Belgian nice Eddy Merckx.
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