Once the line was crossed, he couldn’t believe it! Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) did not realize that he had just worn the Jasper Philipsen green jersey, yet perfectly put into orbit by Mathieu Van der Poel, at the end of the sprint of the last stage of the Tour on the Champs-Élysées. A victory at the photo finish.
Jordi Meeus (top) throws his bike better on the line than his 3 opponents this Sunday on the Champs-Elysées.
In this stage traditionally contested at low speed, the first kilometers being reserved for photos of the main winners of the race, a man tried to kick in the anthill: Tadej Pogacar. Like last year, the Slovenian took advantage of the arrival on the Champs-Élysées to attempt a final banderilla for honor.
Pogacar’s panache
From the first of the eight loops planned on the most beautiful avenue in the world, the best young person of the Tour 2023 accelerated, followed by Nathan Van Hooydonck teammate of Vingegaard and joined by big names such as Michal Kwiatkowski and Mattias Skjelmose. But, the teams of sprinters, eager to end this very mountainous Tour with a massive explanation, watched over the grain to prevent this strong group from leaving 30 km from the finish.
Many other riders tried their luck in the final kilometers of the stage, like Frenchman Rémi Cavagna. In vain. The finish was disputed in a sprint, and Meeus could offer his second victory to Bora (Hindley at Laruns) while the yellow jersey, Jonas Vingegaard, got up to take advantage of his second success on the Tour.
