The fastest race in Tour de France history ended on a boulevard decorated with the red and white flag of Denmark. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) was the favorite from the start of the race in drizzly Copenhagen three weeks ago, but perhaps not even he thought he would have beaten Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) by the time the Tour arrived in Paris three weeks later. He probably would have.

"I always had the feeling that I could at least compete for the championship," Vingegaard said on Sunday evening as he waited for the awards ceremony.

Bjarne Riis, the only Danish winner of the Tour, was considered persona non grata at the Grande Pearl in Copenhagen due to his doping past, but was hardly ignored during the race. in the mountains that became synonymous with victory in 1996. Vingegaard nearly secured the overall victory.

"In the end, it was after Hautacam that I really started to believe. I mean, I always believed, but at Hautacam, I knew something had to go wrong for me to win," Vingegaard said.

Four years earlier, he was still working part-time as a fish icing in a factory in Hanstholm on the North Sea coast. The following season he turned pro with Jumbo Visma, but his career accelerated in early 2021 when he won a stage at the UAE Tour.

When Primoz Roglic retired from the Tour de France in a crash last July, Vingegaard was in second place overall behind the unassailable Pogachar. But the Slovenian's yellow jersey must have seemed as distant as the light of a distant fire. In this Tour, he matched Pogačar when necessary and, crucially, dropped Pogačar at Col de Granon and Autacam.

"It's unbelievable, the biggest cycling race of the year, the biggest race you can win, and now I've won it," Vingegaard said. No one can take this away from me."

A few minutes later, Vingegaard was ushered onto the podium. He received the polka-dot jersey for the mountain prize and was hailed as the winner of the 2022 Tour, flanked by Pogachar and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).

Holding his young daughter under one arm, Vingegaard was handed a microphone and addressed the crowd. This is a tradition that began in 2005 when Lance Armstrong was given the opportunity to give a farewell speech after his seventh Tour victory. Since then, few speeches have been as memorable as that infamous "cynic and skeptic" speech.

"First of all, I want to thank ASO for bringing the tool to Denmark. The start in Denmark and the team presentation in Tivoli was one of the greatest experiences of my life," Vingegaard said, followed by the names of his Jumbo Visma teammates.

"Incredible," Vingegaard said each time, paying special tribute to Roglic, who dedicated himself to the cause at the Col du Galibier before being forced to leave at the end of the second week with an injury The Slovenian, who lost to Pogachar in the final week of the 2020 Tour, knew the pain He was.

"Primoš's crash was a really hard crash, and his comeback was really incredibly powerful," Vingegaard said.

But his strongest teammate in this Tour was Wout Van Aert, who helped him win three stages, the green jersey, and the super combination prize. The Belgian's performance in this Tour often made him one of the favorites to win the sprint on the Champs-Élysées, but Van Aert chose not to fight for the win, opting instead to roll up his sleeves and finish behind the peloton with his Jumbo-Visma teammate.

"After winning the time trial yesterday, it was hard to rest and recharge, so today on the bus I said I didn't want to focus on sprinting all day. I wanted to enjoy this moment with my teammates. I am very happy with my choice. It was a special moment for me to finish with my team.

The Tour now belongs to Jumbo Visma, whose overall strength has earned him six stage wins (three by Van Aert, two by Vingegaard, and one by Christophe Laporte) and three of the four jerseys. Van Aert's forcing, especially in his early attacks, resulted in the fastest average speed of 42.026 km/h, the fastest in the history of the Tour. The previous record, by the way, was set in 2005, when Armstrong gave his maiden speech.

Before signing off, Vingegaard thanked Pogachar for his "great effort." The Slovenian Pogachar finished the Tour in typical fashion, attacking with 5km remaining on the final lap of the Champs-Elysées. Pogachar may have lost, but he is not gone, stating that hunger will not be an issue in 2023.

Vingegaard echoed that sentiment shortly after finishing on Sunday. Vingegaard said, "Of course, right now I'm supremely happy with the win, and I want to celebrate and relax. 'But I want to go even higher