After three intense weeks on the roads of Spain and France, Dane Jonas Vingegaard won for the second time in a row.
What a turn! For three weeks, the peloton allowed spectators and television viewers to vibrate. With a very mountainous and particularly difficult route, this Tour de France was promising and the least we can say is that it kept all its promises. From the start in Bilbao on July 1, the crowd was present on the roads and the favorites showed up with the beginnings of an epic duel between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. During the 2nd stage, Victor Lafay offered the very first French victory of this Tour after a totally sublime stroke of panache during the last kilometer of a stage still animated by the favorites. It will moreover be the one and only French victory of this 2023 edition. After a thunderous start to the Tour, the sprinters were expected and a man, Jasper Philipsen, established himself as the fastest man in this Grande Boucle. Two consecutive victories, four in total with the green jersey as a bonus… The Belgian from the Alpecin team shone on this 2023 edition. During the very first big mountain stage, Jai Hindley, winner of the Giro in 2021, pulled off a big feat to take the yellow jersey. This stage also allowed Jonas Vingegaard to take more than a minute to Tadej Pogacar, in difficulty for the first time in this Tour. But the Slovenian has pride and he showed the next day by winning alone, distancing the Dane in the final of the 6th stage. On the eve of the first day of rest during the Puy de Dôme stage, Tadej Pogacar once again made up time for the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, returning to 17 seconds.
An epic duel
During the second week, the backpackers were honored. Pello Bilbao, Ion Izaguirre, Michal Kwiatkowski… All managed to take the right breakaway and win this Tour de France 2023. But once again, the eyes were totally riveted on the Vingegaard / Pogacar duel. The Slovenian, thanks to his explosiveness during his attacks, managed to outrun the leader of the Jumbo to regain 8 seconds. On the morning of the 14th stage, the gap between the two men was only 9 seconds and the two men seemed alone in the world in this Tour de France. Behind, the fight for the podium was raging and a young Spaniard, Carlos Rodriguez, managed to stand out and even took advantage of the marking like two track racers between Pogacar and Vingegaard to win during the 15th stage.
The knockout signed Vingegaard
The 16th stage of the Tour de France was the tipping point of this 2023 edition. On a demanding time, Jonas Vingegaard achieved an XXL performance, inflicting 4 seconds per kilometer on Tadej Pogacar, causing a wave of doping suspicion, swept away by the main interested party and the race management. But while the gap between the two men was tiny, 10 seconds, the latter already seemed irremediable, 1’48, so close were the two men since the start of this Tour. But unfortunately for the Slovenian, the worst was yet to come. The next day, during the Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc / Courchevel stage won by one of the revelations of this Tour, Félix Gall, Tadej Pogacar suffered a terrible failure, leaving almost 6 minutes to Jonas Vingegaard. Victory was now assured for the Dane. Combative, Tadej Pogacar, who received enormous support after his failure, got up and finished the Tour as he had started, winning the 20th stage at Markstein. A stage, particularly moving with the passage of Thibaut Pinot, alone at the head of the race, in a turn totally committed to his cause for his very last Tour de France. During the final stage, won to everyone’s surprise by the Belgian Jordi Meeus, Jonas Vingegaard officially won his 2nd Tour de France, ahead of Tadej Pogacar and Adam Yates.
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Classification of the Tour de France
Results powered by FirstCycling.com. At the end of each stage, discover the up-to-date classification of this Tour de France 2023, with the gaps between the riders.
What was the route and map of the Tour de France 2023?
The route of this 2023 edition will focus exclusively in the Center and East of France. Several recognized passes have punctuated this edition such as the Tourmalet and the Grand Colombier. In detail, this Tour de France offered 3,404 kilometres, 30 passes (Out of category, 1st category or 2nd category), 4 summit finishes and 22 kilometers of time trial.