Danish cyclist Vingegaard retains Tour de France title

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Team Jumbo-Visma's Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard was crowned the 2023 Tour de France champion to retain his title on French soil.

Vingegaard won this year's 3,401.3-kilometer (2,113.4-mile) tour with a total time of 82 hours, five minutes, and 42 seconds in the general ranking, beating out his nearest rival of UAE Team Emirates' Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, who was the 2020 and 2021 winner.

Pogacar came second in the general classification as the gap between him and Vingegaard was seven minutes and 29 seconds. UAE Team Emirates' British athlete Adam Yates was third.

Bora-Hansgrohe's Belgian athlete Jordi Meeus won the final stage in Paris, completing the 115.1-kilometer (71.5-mile) race with a time of two hours, 56 minutes, and 13 seconds.

Alpecin-Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen was second on Champs-Elysees, and Team Jayco AlUla's Dylan Groenewegen came third in the final stage, which was a very tight finish.

The final stage was held between Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines and Paris.

After the Tour de France, cycling's most prestigious race, concluded on Sunday, the Vuelta a Espana, another Grand Tour, will begin on August 26.