Of those, Jasper Philipsen was the fastest on Stage 21, securing a one-two finish for Alpecin. Behind him, Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) finished third. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) came fourth, allowing him to round off the Tour with another strong result.

The final laps no longer had any bearing on the overall classification. The timing was recorded before the riders set off on the three laps around Montmartre. This meant there were no further changes to the standings: Pogacar celebrated his fifth Tour victory, thereby joining the ranks of Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil and Miguel Indurain. He finished ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) and his team-mate Isaac Del Toro.

For van der Poel, it was his second stage win in this Tour de France. “I’d been thinking about this stage for a year now, but back then I was sitting at home in front of the telly, feeling ill. The way it’s turned out now, it’s a dream,” said van der Poel after his victory on the Champs-Élysées. “I was just waiting for someone’s front wheel to overtake me. But it just didn’t happen. This was one of those races I absolutely wanted to win in my life,” said the 31-year-old. However, this also meant that, for the first time since 1999 – and only the third time in the history of the Tour de France – there was no French stage winner.

Pogacar: “It’s truly incredible, even for me”

Pogacar’s aim was also to win in Paris. However, the 27-year-old has plenty to take comfort in. “It was a brilliant day. But I’m also happy that it’s over now and that we’ve won for the fifth time,” the Slovenian explained after the race. “Every victory is truly special. I’ve now ridden the Tour seven times and stood on the podium seven times. And I’ve won five times. It’s truly incredible, even for me.”

Whilst Pogacar wore the Yellow Jersey to Paris for the fifth time, it was a first for del Toro in white and Pedersen in green. Richard Carapaz (EF Education - EasyPost), on the other hand, retained the King of the Mountains jersey, which he had first claimed in 2024. The Ecuadorian was also named the Tour’s Most Combative Rider. Lidl–Trek was named the best team, ahead of UAE and Red Bull.

Contrary to the original plan, the final stage had started directly on the Champs-Élysées. The approach from Thoiry was cancelled because the security personnel who would have been needed to secure the route were required to support their colleagues in the Bordeaux area, where severe forest fires have been raging for some time.

2026 Tour de France – Results of Stage 21

Here’s how the 21st stage of the 2026 Tour de France unfolded

The stage, which had thus been shortened from 133 to 89 kilometres, had to make do without champagne, but not without the usual photo sessions at a leisurely pace at the front of the peloton. After two laps along Paris’s magnificent boulevard, however, the gentlemen’s agreement came to an end and the attacks began. The first to make a move was a familiar face from the past three weeks: Baptiste Veistroffer (Lotto Intermarché).

However, just like all the other breakaway riders who had tried their luck before the Montmartre laps, they only managed to gain a few seconds. Xabier Mikel Azparren (Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling) and Thibault Guernalec (TotalEnergies) then managed to build up a lead of just under a minute on the way to the first climb (4th category). As in the previous year, the time for the general classification had already been stopped by that point, although this time rain or difficult weather conditions were not a factor.

The peloton began to break up for the first time on the initial ascent of Montmartre. At the front, the Tour’s big stars – Pogacar, Pedersen and van der Poel – rode over the cobbles, but the group subsequently swelled in size again. By the time they crossed the finish line, however, the peloton was almost back to full strength.

Pogacar caught on the home straight

On the second climb, Pogacar took the initiative. Only van der Poel was able to keep up with him straight away. After the crest, Evenepoel and Pedersen joined them. At the back of the peloton, Decathlon set the pace, catching up with the quartet again on the back straight leading to the finish line.

Neither van der Poel nor Pogacar were in the best position going into the final climb and were only able to make their move 400 metres from the summit. Although a gap opened up again, this time it was smaller. With seven kilometres to go, they were 15 seconds ahead of the peloton, which included Kooij and Pedersen, whilst a group of six riders, led by Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step), was still in between.

Yet although Decathlon had four riders chasing the leaders, the gap barely narrowed. It was only over the final one-and-a-half kilometres that the gap began to close. Whilst Pogacar was caught 400 metres from the finish, van der Poel put his foot down once more. Pedersen launched a long sprint with Philipsen on his wheel, but it wasn’t quite enough: Van der Poel held on to win two metres ahead of his team-mate and the Dane, whilst Kanter sprinted past behind them to take fourth place.