Tour de France 2023 Results

2023 Tour de France: How Vingegaard Defended His Title

Tour de France coverage has gotten complicated with all the hot takes and instant analysis flying around. As someone who watched every stage expecting a Pogačar-Vingegaard battle for the ages, I learned everything there is to know about how dominance can come from unexpected moments.

Got something even more dramatic – a dominant defense that left the competition scattered.

The Final Standings

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) won his second consecutive Tour de France, finishing over seven minutes ahead of second place. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) took second after a crash-affected race. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) rounded out the podium.

The margin wasn’t supposed to be that big. Pogačar started as many people’s favorite. But the race had other plans.

What Decided the Race

Stage 5 changed everything. Pogačar crashed on wet roads and lost time to Vingegaard. Suddenly the defending champion had an advantage he could protect rather than chase.

Then came stage 16 on the Col de la Loze. Vingegaard attacked and Pogačar cracked. The gap went from manageable to insurmountable. After that, Vingegaard controlled the race, letting Pogačar win stages while protecting his overall lead.

The Mountain Domination

Vingegaard won three mountain stages. More importantly, Jumbo-Visma dominated the mountains as a team. Sepp Kuss and Wilco Kelderman set brutal paces that isolated the GC contenders.

The strategy was simple: make the race hard enough that nobody could challenge Vingegaard. It worked perfectly.

Other Jerseys

Green Jersey (Points): Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) dominated the sprints, winning four stages and securing the green jersey convincingly.

Polka Dot Jersey (Mountains): Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) accumulated points through breakaways, claiming the King of the Mountains classification.

White Jersey (Young Rider): Pogačar, despite his struggles, still won the best young rider classification comfortably.

Stage Highlights

The individual time trial (Stage 16) saw Vingegaard destroy the field by nearly a minute. Pure dominance.

The gravel stage (Stage 9) created chaos and crashes, shaking up the GC before the mountains even started.

The Champs-Élysées finale went to Philipsen, capping his sprint dominance with the most prestigious stage win of all.

Jumbo-Visma’s Year

This wasn’t just Vingegaard’s Tour – it was Jumbo-Visma’s. The team won the team classification easily. Multiple riders could have been GC contenders elsewhere but worked entirely for Vingegaard.

That depth made the difference. When Pogačar was isolated, Vingegaard still had teammates. That gap in team strength showed in the final margins.

What It Meant

That’s what makes the 2023 Tour endearing to us cycling fans who watched it unfold. Vingegaard’s second Tour victory established him as the clear best stage racer in the world at that moment. The rivalry with Pogačar remains cycling’s main storyline, but 2023 was Vingegaard’s year.

For Pogačar, the crash was cruel luck. He showed his class when possible but couldn’t overcome the early deficit. The comeback would have to wait for another year.