Jonas Vingegaard Wins 2023 Tour De France; 2nd Straight Title for Danish Cyclist

Jonas Vingegaard claimed his second straight Tour de France title as the event wrapped up Sunday in Paris.

"I'm very happy to win my second Tour de France," Vingegaard said Saturday after putting one hand on the overall winner's medal following Stage 20. "It was my big goal of the year and once again I must thank my team a lot. I really appreciated the battle I had with Tadej. He's a super great guy. It's been an amazing fight since Bilbao."

The 26-year-old first claimed the yellow jersey after the sixth stage, the 145-kilometer journey from Tarbes to Cauterets. He didn't relinquish it for the remainder of the race.

Vingegaard's Stage 16 win also saw him build a massive lead that carried him through to the end. The gap between he and second-place Tadej Pogačar went from 10 seconds to 1:48 following the time trial.

"I think it was one of my best days on the bike ever," he told reporters. "I mean at one point I started doubting my power meter was broken. I think today all the hard work paid off."

Pogačar was immediately aware of the impact the stage had on the race as a whole.

"Today I could not do more, maybe it was not my best day," he said. "The Tour is not over but he gained a lot of time. We will try, but it will be much harder than last year. I gave everything."

Pogačar won the penultimate stage Saturday but still trailed Vingegaard by 7:29. That allowed Vingegaard to enjoy a leisurely stroll to the Champs-Élysées in the French capital.

Assuming he's back for the 2024 Tour de France, Vingegaard will look to be the first cyclist to win three straight since Chris Froome in 2017.

Perhaps Pogačar will manage to avenge his own back-to-back-to-back bid getting spoiled by the Dane in 2021.