Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard sealed his second successive Tour de France triumph as Jordi Meeus sprinted to a surprise win on the final stage.<\/span><\/p>\n Meeus, 25, edged Jasper Philipsen in a photo finish in Paris to deny his fellow Belgian a repeat of last year’s win on the iconic Champs Elysees.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Vingegaard, 26, finished seven minutes and 29 seconds clear of nearest rival, two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.<\/span><\/p>\n Britain’s Adam Yates was third overall, one place above his twin brother Simon.<\/span><\/p>\n “I’m happy of course – we’re winning it for the second time and it’s amazing,” said Vingegaard. <\/span><\/p>\n “It’s been a super hard race and a super good fight between me and Tadej. Of course, I hope to come back next year to see if I can take the third win.”<\/span><\/p>\n Only eight men have taken three or more Tour wins since the race’s first edition in 1903.<\/span><\/p>\n Vingegaard’s more immediate target is victory at another Grand Tour, the Vuelta a Espana, which starts at the end of August.<\/span><\/p>\n He will ride alongside his Jumbo-Visma team-mate and three-time Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic – winner of this year’s Giro d’Italia – as they target a first clean sweep of the sport’s three biggest stage races.<\/span><\/p>\n Vingegaard revealed he will take no more than a week off before starting his preparations for Spain, but will find time to celebrate his success.<\/span><\/p>\n “It’s been an amazing year, what a Tour de France for us,” he added.<\/span><\/p>\n “We started the plans early and once again I could not have done it without my team. I’m so proud of every one of us.<\/span><\/p>\n “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.”<\/span><\/p>\n Meeus was probably the most unlikely man to make it to the top of the podium in the French capital.<\/span><\/p>\n Racing in his first Tour, Bora-Hansgrohe rider Meeus claimed the biggest win of his career by a rim from Philipsen, racing in the green jersey having won four stages of this year’s contest.<\/span><\/p>\n Meeus said: “It was a super nice experience already so far and to take the win today was an indescribable feeling. Everything went perfect.”<\/span><\/p>\n Vingegaard ended up a comfortable winner over Pogacar but his decisive move did not come until more than a fortnight into the Tour.<\/span><\/p>\n Only 10 seconds separated the pair after 15 stages but the Dane took total control of the race when it entered the Alps in the final week.<\/span><\/p>\n He extended that lead to almost two minutes with a superb ride in the <\/span>individual time trial on Tuesday<\/span><\/a> and then finished off Pogacar’s challenge on Wednesday’s queen stage, the toughest day of the race.<\/span><\/p>\n Pogacar, whose preparations were hit by a broken wrist when he crashed in April, <\/span>cracked with 15km left of the final climb<\/span><\/a> and told his team radio: “I’m gone, I’m dead.”<\/span><\/p>\n Vingegaard, who took the leader’s yellow jersey after the sixth stage, powered on to open a gap of more than seven minutes by the finish – and knew then that the Tour was won.<\/span><\/p>\n Italy’s Giulio Ciccone won the king of the mountains prize for best climber, while Philipsen took the green jersey for winning the points category.<\/span><\/p>\n Philipsen also won four stages, one of them narrowly from Mark Cavendish <\/span>on stage seven<\/span><\/a> to deny the Manxman the victory he needed to break the all-time record for Tour stage wins.<\/span><\/p>\n The 38-year-old Cavendish, who had already said he <\/span>intends to retire<\/span><\/a> at the end of this season, <\/span>crashed out the following day,<\/span><\/a> meaning he still shares the record of 34 wins with Belgian legend Eddy Merckx.<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Jordi Meeus (Bel\/Bora-Hansgrohe) 2hrs 56mins 13secs<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel\/Alpecin-Deceuninck) Same time<\/span><\/p>\n 3. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned\/Team Jayco-AlUla)<\/span><\/p>\n 4. Mads Pedersen (Den\/Lidl-Trek)<\/span><\/p>\n 5. Cees Bol (Ned\/Astana-Qazaqstan)<\/span><\/p>\n 6. Biniam Girmay (Eri\/Intermarche-Circus-Wanty)<\/span><\/p>\n 7. Bryan Coquard (Fra\/Cofidis)<\/span><\/p>\n 8. Soren Warenskjold (Nor\/Uno-X Pro Cycling)<\/span><\/p>\n 9. Corbin Strong (NZ\/Israel-Premier Tech)<\/span><\/p>\n 10. Luca Mozzato (Ita\/Arkea-Samsic)<\/span><\/p>\n 1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den\/Jumbo-Visma) 82hrs 5mins 42secs<\/span><\/p>\n 2. Tadej Pogacar (Slo\/UAE Team Emirates) +7mins 29secs<\/span><\/p>\n 3. Adam Yates (GB\/UAE Team Emirates) +10mins 56secs<\/span><\/p>\n 4. Simon Yates (GB\/Team Jayco-AlUla) +12mins 23secs<\/span><\/p>\n 5. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa\/Ineos Grenadiers) +13mins 17secs<\/span><\/p>\n 6. Pello Bilbao (Spa\/Bahrain Victorious) +13mins 27secs<\/span><\/p>\n 7. Jai Hindley (Aus\/Bora-Hansgrohe) +14mins 44secs<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Jonas](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/171C3\/production\/_130495649_toast.png\")
<\/span><\/span>![\"Jordi](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/CA93\/production\/_130495815_photo.png\")
<\/span><\/span>How the 2023 Tour was won<\/h3>\n
![\"Distinctive](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/onesport\/cps\/624\/cpsprodpb\/114CB\/production\/_130495807_jerseys.png\")
<\/span><\/span>Stage 21 results<\/h3>\n
Final general classification standings<\/h3>\n