Vingegaard wins second consecutive Tour de France title

After an incredible battle with Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) over the first two weeks, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) showed that he was on a different level with two stunning performances to win the 2023 Tour de France overall title, sealing his victory in Paris.

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 23: Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark and Team Jumbo-Visma - Yellow Leader Jersey celebrates at podium as final overall winner with a custom yellow Cervélo bike during the stage twenty-one of the 110th Tour de France 2023 a 11 5.1km stage from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris / #UCIWT / on July 23, 2023 in Paris, France. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Source: Getty / David Ramos/Getty Images

The place to watch the Tour de France - LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE - plus the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is right here on SBS. Replays, mini stage recaps, highlights and live streaming can be found on the SBS On Demand Tour de France Hub and the SBS Skoda Tour Tracker, available for download on iOS and Android.

All Vingegaard had to do was stay near the bunch and cross the finish line on the Champs-Elysees to be crowned Tour de France champion, the Dane further establishing himself as the current best in the sport after winning his first overall title last year.

Once again the Dane beat two-time champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) who finished second overall, the pair further stoking the flames of cycling's biggest rivalry as they were separated by mere seconds throughout most of the race.

That was until Vingegaard landed two hammer blows to Pogacar, dominating Stage 16's individual time trial before leaving no doubt he would be the race winner after he surged on Stage 17 and Pogacar faltered on the slopes of Mont Blanc.

Those efforts propelled Vingegaard to victory in the general classification by a commanding margin of seven minutes and 29 seconds over Pogacar, the Slovenian's teammate Adam Yates rounding out the podium in third.

"It's been an amazing year. What a Tour de France for us," Vingegaard said in his winner's speech on the final podium in Paris.

"We started the plans early, and once again, I could not have done it without my team. It's been an amazing Tour for us, and I'm so proud of every one of us.

"Tonight we will celebrate, have a good dinner. It will be a nice evening. Thanks to my opponents who have been amazing. It's been an amazing three weeks fighting with you guys."

With a second consecutive overall win under his belt, Vingegaard has cemented himself as the man to beat at the Tour de France, and Jumbo-Visma have done the same as the sport's best team.

They were aggressive early on in the race, their leader going into the yellow jersey as early as Stage 6, and they never let it go with Wout van Aert, Sepp Kuss, Nathan van Hooydonck, Tiesj Benoot, Dylan van Baarle and Christophe Laporte all making huge contributions to give Vingegaard the best platform for victory.

The Dane now has two overall titles, three stage wins and a second overall to his name at the Tour de France, also winning the overall titles at this year's Criterium du Dauphine and Itzulia Basque Country races.