The ‘race to the sun’ did not live up to its name in the last stage of this edition. In rainy conditions, the riders set out for a short but tricky ride around Nice. The pace was high from the start. Several riders tried to escape but could not get away thanks to Team Jumbo-Visma’s control of the peloton. Eventually, a select group remained, including four riders of Team Jumbo-Visma.

Led by Steven Kruijswijk and Rohan Dennis, the pace was kept high, but after INEOS increased the tempo, they had to let go as well. In this group, a very strong Wout van Aert maintained his position next to Primoz Roglic. After Martínez accelerated, five riders remained, including Van Aert and Roglic.

On the Col d’Eze, Simon Yates managed to break away from the group in front. Roglic and Van Aert stayed together and reached the top of the final climb with a gap of twenty seconds. The leaders of Team Jumbo-Visma then had to chase to the finish. Although the stage victory was no longer within reach, both riders could limit the gap, allowing Roglic to take the overall victory and achieve his second win of the season. It meant Team-Jumbo Visma’s seventh victory of the road season.

For Roglic, it was a bit tense. “It was a super tough day today. I wasn’t having my best day. The team was super strong again today. But we have Wout and Wout can do anything. I am very happy with him. We have had a great week. Everyone in the team had their part in this victory. It was tense at the end, but we reached our goal. I am happy and relieved with this victory.”

Van Aert again showed yet again that he is invaluable to his team. The winner of the green jersey guided his leader through the last difficult kilometres of the race. “I intended to stay with Primoz as long as possible. We tried to control the race, but the many climbs made it difficult. Towards the final, I thought we were in a good situation. I was hoping Primoz had the legs he always has, but he had a hard time today. I knew the second part of the climb would be a bit windier and it could be useful to be together there. From there, it was a matter of giving everything until the finish.”

For Van Aert, the green jersey was still waiting for him. “It was a nice goal to go for the green jersey. I was in good shape today and grabbed some more points, so I was sure of this classification. I am thrilled that we took the overall victory.”