'I hope Pogacar doesn't interfere' - Van Aert eyes Montmartre stage win
The Belgian star sees one last opportunity for a stage win at the 2025 Tour on the Champs-Élysées, with the addition of the Montmartre climb.
Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) has signalled his intent to try and win the final stage of the Tour de France in Paris, which features three ascents of the Montmartre climb. The Belgian was on the attack on stage 20, and despite not making the race-winning move, still proved that he has something more to give before the race rounds out on Sunday evening.
“It was another tough start,” Van Aert said to reporters after the finish in Pontarlier. “It took a long time for the right breakaway to get going,” he added.
Van Aert was active in the early portion of the stage but missed the crucial split when a strong 13-rider group forged clear with the stage eventually being won by a solo winner, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck). Van Aert finished 31st on the stage, inside the yellow jersey group.
“In the first part of the race, I didn't have the legs I'd hoped for. I tried, but I didn't have the acceleration to stay with them,” Van Aert explained.
Van Aert looked strong on the slopes of the Côte de Thésy with 65km remaining when the Belgian star was one of a number of riders who tried to break clear of the peloton and bridge the gap to the front 13 riders, which featured his American teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Van Aert drew a group clear.
"We weren't far behind on the steep climb, and then I knew the race would explode again. I joined a good group, but we were riding in no-man's land because there were more riders with a teammate in the front than riders who wanted to make the jump,” Van Aert said.
However, the Van Aert couldn’t eat into the advantage of the front riders, and were eventually caught when Jayco AlUla increased the pace in the yellow jersey group as they tried to defend Ben O’Connor’s 10th place in GC, which was ultimately snatched by Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) in the breakaway.
There was an innocuous crash in the peloton inside the final kilometre despite the stage already having been decided and nothing to gain in the GC, and Van Aert weighed in with his thoughts.
"On the one hand, it's strange that they're still taking so many risks for a top spot, but it's the biggest race in the world. You'd expect that, and then you still don't have to," said Van Aert.
Despite missing out on the fighting for the stage, Van Aert remains positive about his chances for the final stage in Paris, which takes the riders into uncharted territory with three ascents of the Montmartre climb, which was used in the Olympic Road Race in 2024.
"I'm eager to give it another try tomorrow. I'm much more motivated than before. I've occasionally gotten into a bunch sprint,” said an optimistic Van Aert, who will be aiming to add a second stage win of this Tour for Visma after Simon Yates’s success on Bastille Day.
The final stage is traditionally a last chance for the sprinters, but many fast men have already ruled themselves as unlikely to win on Sunday, and Van Aert even mentioned that he had thoughts about the yellow jersey, Tadej Pogačar’s potential involvement in the shake-up for the stage win in the French capital.
"I hope Pogacar doesn't interfere – even if it's for personal reasons. To be honest, he doesn't look very motivated anymore. Although a lot will depend on the weather,” Van Aert jokingly admitted, illustrating that he thinks the stage could be tricky enough to entice the yellow jersey.
