“This was a very special day”, said Van Aert. “Winning again on the Champs-Élysées is incredible, especially with the Montmartre climb featured in the finale for the first time. Conditions were tough in Paris with the rain making things tricky, but the team never stopped believing in me. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

In the closing laps, Van Aert received crucial support from teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Victor Campenaerts. On the final ascent of Montmartre, the Belgian launched a decisive attack after responding to an earlier acceleration by Tadej Pogačar.

Speaking shortly after his win, Van Aert reflected on the effort. “We kept trying every single day this Tour. Even today, the team had full confidence in me. We managed to control the stage, and on the last climb I just went all out. That was the plan from the start, and it worked. I wanted to do this in other stages too. I came close a few times, but also had some days where I was far off. The hardest part was keeping faith in myself, but everyone around me continued to believe. Today, it finally paid off”, said the Belgian, celebrating his second win of the season. Van Aert’s triumph marked Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s 23rd victory of the year.

CEO Richard Plugge expressed pride in his team after three intense weeks of racing in France. “Of course, we aimed to be here with the yellow jersey, but we came up against a rider who was stronger this year. Still, we finish this Tour on a high note. Wout delivered something truly special today. With Jonas on the podium, Simon’s stage win, victory in the team classification, and the fighting spirit we’ve shown, we can look back with satisfaction.”

Head of Racing Grischa Niermann echoed those sentiments. “We raced well and gave everything as a team. We didn’t achieve our main goal, but we leave this Tour with our heads held high. The strongest rider won. Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar.”