![\"Wout](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/woutvanaert-68868bc7890fa.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The remark is notable because the Montmartre duel was widely framed as a dramatic showdown between two of the sport\u2019s most versatile riders. Instead, Van Aert himself prefers to place the moment in a more measured context.<\/p>\n
Montmartre finale turned the traditional Paris stage into a real race<\/p>\n
The final stage of the 2025 Tour de France broke with long-standing tradition. Rather than the usual ceremonial run in to a bunch sprint on the Champs \u00c9lys\u00e9es, organisers introduced multiple ascents of the C\u00f4te de la Butte Montmartre, transforming the finale into a selective circuit through the narrow streets beneath the Sacre Coeur.<\/p>\n
Heavy rain earlier in the evening had already changed the dynamics of the stage. With the general classification neutralised before the decisive circuits began, the race for yellow jersey honours was effectively settled. Pogacar only needed to finish safely to secure the overall victory.<\/p>\n
What followed, however, produced a dramatic late battle.<\/p>\n
After attacks reshaped the front group on the Montmartre climb, Pogacar launched an acceleration on the final ascent. Van Aert was the only rider able to stay with him. Near the summit, the Belgian countered and quickly opened a gap, riding alone through the final kilometres back towards the Champs \u00c9lys\u00e9es.<\/p>\n
Behind him, the chase never closed. Van Aert crossed the line solo in Paris, sealing one of the most unusual stage victories ever seen on the Tour\u2019s final day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Van Aert took one of the most iconic wins of his career on the final stage of the 2025 Tour de France<\/p>\n
Van Aert plays down the performance<\/p>\n
Despite the spectacle of the moment, Van Aert insists the ride itself was less extraordinary than it may have appeared from the outside.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor my abilities, I didn\u2019t do anything extraordinary,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was very difficult, but it was \u2018only\u2019 an hour of real racing. I wasn\u2019t completely exhausted for a week afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
His comments offer a rare glimpse into how riders themselves evaluate such performances. What looked to many observers like a defining duel between two of cycling\u2019s biggest stars was, in Van Aert\u2019s eyes, simply a short and intense finale rather than a monumental physical effort.<\/p>\n
That perspective also helps explain why the Belgian was quick to acknowledge Pogacar\u2019s circumstances on the day. The Slovenian had already effectively secured the Tour and was racing in difficult weather conditions, factors that may have influenced how aggressively he approached the finale.<\/p>\n
A crucial moment after a difficult Tour<\/p>\n
Even with the caveats, the victory carried significant personal meaning for Van Aert.<\/p>\n
The 2025 Tour had not unfolded easily for the Belgian or for his team\u2019s broader ambitions. Opportunities for stage success had been limited, and the race had offered few moments of personal reward.<\/p>\n
That context made the Montmartre duel all the more important psychologically. \u201cImagine if Tadej had dropped me there on Montmartre, after a difficult Tour without any personal success or a chance at the overall victory with Jonas\u2026 then I would have gone home with a bad feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, the final evening in Paris delivered a very different ending.<\/p>\n
While Van Aert may now downplay the performance itself, the image of him riding away from Pogacar on the cobbled slopes of Montmartre remains one of the defining scenes of the 2025 Tour de France.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The remark is notable because the Montmartre duel was widely framed as a dramatic showdown between two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,85,6494,165035,2845,58412],"class_list":["post-522509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike","tag-tour-de-france","tag-wout-van-aert"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}