Was this the greatest finish in cycling history? Tour de France legend thinks so as Mathieu van der Poel somehow holds off Tadej Pogacar and sprinters

It was the finish that had it all, and it may go down as the best the sport of cycling has ever seen. Mathieu van der Poel emerged victorious on the Champs-Elysees in the 2026 Tour de France finale but that only told part of the story.

Let us look back on the crescendo of events that saw the Flying Dutchman dramatically come out on top as Tadej Pogacar secured a fifth title.

First, Alpecin–Premier Tech's Van der Poel responds to an attack by Fred Wright (Pinarello–Q36.5) on the final ascent of Montmartre, going clear with only Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) able to respond in kind.

The pair then hurtle through the thronging crowd and down the descent with just over 10km to the finish.

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The greatest one-day racer in the world, together with perhaps the greatest rider ever seen, taking turns on the front in arguably cycling's most famous natural stadium.

Watch: Van der Poel and Pogacar detonate brutal attack together on Montmartre

Video credit: TNT Sports

Meanwhile, a chaotic, desperate charge was being organised from behind from the likes of Visma-Lease a Bike, as they sought to catch the two escapees.

The gap was down to five seconds as they came to the final straight up the Champs-Elysees, with Pogacar suddenly no longer able to hold Van der Poel's wheel, as the Alpecin man went clear on his own.

Past 300m to go and the catch - from the TV footage - looked certain...didn't it?

Then more drama, as a crash behind marred the finale, with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) having to take evasive action on the cobbles.

"Oh my word, I have never seen anything, for a long time, like this," exclaimed Rob Hatch on TNT Sports commentary.

Van der Poel's face said it all, grimacing in pain as the line refused to arrive.

Finally it did and for a second it looked like team-mate Jasper Philipsen might have snatched it on the line.

His raised arm, though, from just centimetres away, was in celebration for his team-mate rather than himself, as he saw Van der Poel launch his bike across the line just milliseconds before being caught.

"He holds on, he holds on. That is quite incredible. He has won World Championships, he has won Monuments, he has won on almost every terrain imaginable," Hatch reacted.

"But this, this is Paris. That, that was something we have not seen. That tops the Amstel [Gold Race in 2019], that tops everything."

Everyone needed a breath to take it in before it started to become clear what had been witnessed.

'He can't move!' - Van der Poel collapses to the floor after astonishing finale

Video credit: TNT Sports

"Is that the greatest finale we've ever seen?" asked Hatch to co-commentator Sean Kelly, a four-time winner of the Tour's green jersey.

Kelly responded: "Yes, that is the best I've ever seen and the best I've ever experienced.

"You can see that Van der Poel was really struggling. I thought he was going to get swallowed up in the last five metres, but you can see the way he just kept it going."

The TNT Sports studio were also agog at events on the iconic boulevard, with Matt Stephens reflecting the consensus among fans.

He said: "There's something beautiful about this sport isn't there? And that race those last few moments just embodied why we love cycling so much, especially in a theatre like this, with the crowd - it was utterly epic and I've never experienced anything quite like it.

"Everything about today was an utter celebration. You couldn't have scripted a better finale in a bike race. I'm hoarse and I'm quite emotionally drained.

"It was absolutely amazing. It really was something special and I think I'm not speaking out of turn to say that was probably the greatest ever finish we've ever seen on the Champs-Elysees."

Watch aerial and slo-mo of Van der Poel's sensational sprint to victory

Video credit: TNT Sports

Adam Blythe doubted if we will see anything like it again.

"This is what cycling is, this is how it should always be," he said.

"We always comment on the harder you make cycling the more predictable it is. Make every race like this where it comes down to something like that, because that's not going to be repeated for eternity."

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