You could not have written a better finish to the 2026 Tour de France than Stage 21. (Apart from maybe an 88-km solo by Derek Gee-West.)

Alpecin-Premier Tech’s Mathieu van der Poel capped the 2026 Tour de France with one of the most dramatic stage wins of his career, (and he’s had many, talking to you, 2019 Amstel) surviving a late charge from the peloton to claim Stage 21 in Paris. Just behind him, Tadej Pogačar crossed the line after securing his fifth overall Tour title.

Stage 21

There was already a bit of drama before the final stage began. Stage 21 was reshaped before the start after organizers shortened the route in response to wildfires near Versailles, eliminating the good old procession into Paris. That meant the team cars had to put away the champs and the riders had to wrap up the photo ops quickly, because the racing was on almost immediately.

GC times were also frozen before the riders reached the first time up Montmartre, ensuring the yellow jersey battle was settled before the attacking began. It was potentially a controversial move, given that Isaac Del Toro finished a bit behind. Last year, it was super-sketchy and rainy so it made sense. This year though…

Game on

Once the race reached the famous climb, the pace exploded.

Van der Poel, Pogačar and Mads Pedersen were among the first riders to split the race, although the peloton regrouped before the second ascent. On that climb, Pogačar launched a fierce acceleration that only Van der Poel could initially match before Remco Evenepoel and Pedersen bridged back to form a powerful lead group.

The race came back together once more, setting up one final showdown on the last trip over Montmartre. Van der Poel attacked over the top, with Pogačar glued to his wheel, and the pair built a slender advantage as the kilometres ticked down.

The peloton, led by teams working for the sprinters, closed rapidly in the final kilometres. Pogačar sat up and was swallowed up just before the finish (something you don’t read much), but Van der Poel somehow found one final burst of speed, holding off the fast-closing bunch by barely a bike length.
His teammate Jasper Philipsen completed the team’s celebration by sprinting to second, with Lidl-Trek’s Mads Pedersen taking third, while Pogačar rolled home to officially clinch another Tour de France crown.

What. A. Day.

And although the Tour de France Fellas is now officially over, the Tour de France Femmes is about to begin. Canadian Cycling Magazine will have full reports of the race–in which you’ll see a bunch of Canucks. Start lists are still being finalized, but look for a preview soon.