The Tour de France riders flew out to France late Sunday, with the hustle and bustle of the large Danish crowds still ringing in their ears, and finished the three days of racing in Denmark with a special memory of this year's Grande Pearl: love and support.

The race may not have been overly aggressive due to the headwind, but the millions of fans along the roadside celebrated the Tour de France and Denmark's love of cycling.

Magnus Kort's attack on stage 2 to take the polka-dot mountains jersey and his solo attack on Sunday gave Danish fans a special cheer. Mads Pedersen was unable to fulfill his dream of a stage win in Denmark, but his determination was well received by the crowd, with hundreds of fans waiting for him on the Trek-Segafredo bus, and the former world champion came down to show his appreciation.

Dozens of riders posted images of the huge crowd on social media, thanking him for respecting safety rules along the route and mobilizing to avoid causing a crash.

The Sunday afternoon shooting at a Copenhagen shopping center was a reminder of the global events, but the Tour de France had left the Danish capital on Saturday morning. The race offered its condolences to the victims and their families. [The Tour de France expresses its sympathy and pity to the people of Denmark for this event. The Tour is very shocked and saddened by what happened in Copenhagen," a statement from the race organizers said.

"The people of Copenhagen gave the peloton the best welcome in the history of the sport and had formed a deep bond with all their followers. The entire caravan of the Tour de France extends its heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families."

"The Tour de France is proud to have been a part of this great event.

For Tour de France organizers, the Danish Grande Pearl raised the bar for international Tour de France starts. Local organizers were criticized for the estimated 10 million euros paid to ASO, but it seemed a reasonable amount given the three days of racing.

For many, the days in Denmark reminded them of the 2014 Grande Pearl in Yorkshire; in 2023, the Basque Country will be forced to host the great Grande Pearl, and Florence, Italy is expected to host the 2024 Grande Pearl.

Peter Sagan was angry that Wout Van Aert had crushed him toward the barrier in the Sunday afternoon sprint in Sønderborg, but was happy to be racing in Denmark.

"It was a hectic day with the High Speed final, but it was great to race in Denmark.

Philippe Gilbert, in the 12th and final Tour de France of his career, thanked his fans with a life-size cardboard saying: "Merci Phil Gil"

"Merci à vous. To the Danish fans, overwhelming cheers and Thank you for your support. It was truly unforgettable, a real "Grand" Depart. mange tak." wrote Gilberto on social media.

Mags Colt embodied the exchange of sporting spectacle and loving support on both Saturday and Sunday. In doing so, he became a new national hero.

"It was great to be there," said the normally quiet Dane, clearly emotional as he spoke of his two days at the forefront of the race.

"The amount of people along the way was amazing. Danish flags were flying and names were written on the road. It was really special."

Cote, a successful sprinter, made plans the night before the race to go for the polka-dot jersey; the EF Education-Easy Post team backed him, and he jumped into the breakaway on stage 1, pulling away from Pierre Rolland of B&B Hotels, and winning stage 1 He took the lead on all three Category 4 climbs of the first stage. All of Denmark congratulated him.

It was a postcard memory of the Danish Grande Pearl. Cote attacked again on Sunday, spending most of the stage alone out front to cheers.

"After Saturday, I knew it was going to be a big crowd again, and it was a lot of fun to go out front solo," he said, his red polka-dot pattern clashing with the bright pink and tie-dye of the EF Education Easy Post and Palace colors.

"I was happy to go away by myself. I knew I wouldn't be bored if I had people there to cheer me on."

"There were so many advantages to being there. I was able to secure my mountain jersey for another day, and then I had the crowd all to myself. It was incredible to have so many people cheering just for me."

"Being at the front is not the same as winning a sprint.