In the Vosges, the fifth mountain range on the route of this Tour de France, the organisers had prepared a difficult stage. With more than three thousand metres of climbing and six categorised climbs, the peloton had to deal with a challenging course for the penultimate stage. Ultimately, the top riders in the general classification had to fight for victory in a sprint on the final stage. Pogacar, among others, proved to be a little more nimble than Vingegaard.

However, Vingegaard will be wearing the yellow jersey for the second time when he crosses the finish line in Paris on Sunday. "It's an indescribable feeling. We have to be careful and not do anything crazy tomorrow”, said Vingegaard, who was as down-to-earth as ever. "But now I can say that the win is almost certain. It's great to take my second overall victory in the Tour de France. I can hardly believe it. I enjoyed the stage today as I have every day of this Tour. I felt good on the bike.”

Vingegaard praised the performance of Team Jumbo-Visma. "I could never have done this without this fantastic team. They were there for me every day. They gave it their all for three weeks. I am so happy for all of us. Once again, it feels like a team victory. So it is not difficult for me to know what my best memory of this Tour de France is. For me, it was the way we worked as a team. We had a plan, and we executed it well every day. Everything went according to plan”, a visibly pleased Vingegaard said.

"It was a great battle between Tadej and myself”, the 26-year-old Dane reflected. "We rode on the edge for three weeks. It must have been lovely to watch. It was fun for us too. It was a fight I will remember for the rest of my life. Tadej is a wonderful person. Since the start in Bilbao, we have given each other a hard time, but off the bike, we get on well. I hope we can have many more duels like this in the future.”