Jordi Meeus was a surprise inclusion in the Bora-hansgrohe Tour de France team, selected ahead of Ireland's Sam Bennett, but the young Belgian has come good at the last, taking a huge win on the final stage on the Champs-Élysées.
He timed his run at the line and his lunge at the last to perfection to just edge out Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), denying his compatriot a fifth victory on Tour 2023, though Philipsen still easily won the points classification.
After the line, the finish was such a close run thing, that neither rider was sure who had won, though Meeus seemed a little more certain than Philipsen. And when the verdict was confirmed, Meeus erupted in excitement, surrounded by his team mates.
His win, just the second of his season, completes the Tour on the highest note for the team, which had already won a stage and enjoyed a short stint in yellow, both with Jai Hindley. And while last year's Giro champion, Hindley, suffered a crash which dented his general classification aspirations, Meeus's win makes the Tour a real triumph for the team.
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Though Irish fans were disappointed he was given the sprinter's spot on the team ahead of Bennett, nobody could deny the quality of Meeus's win today. Not only was Philipsen 2nd but Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco AlUla) was 3rd, with former world champion Mads Pedersen (Lidl Trek) in 4th place.
While the final stage has a reputation of being a procession, at least until the pace ramps up around the final circuits in Paris, there were plenty of attacks today, including 2nd placed overall Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) really lighting it up.
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However, the sprinters' teams took control and closed down the late escapees with plenty of time to spare, setting up what became a blanket bunch sprint finish won by Meeus.
There was, of course, no change in the overall, with Jonas Vingegaard and his Jumbo Visma team suffering no drama or mishap today, ensuring the Dane held onto the race lead to win the race for a second year.
More to come.
