Vingegaard wins maiden Tour de France title

Paris: Jonas Vingegaard of Denmark claimed his first Tour de France title in the 109th edition of the most prestigious road cycling race here.

Vingegaard, who finished second behind Tadej Pogacar last year, has become the first Danish rider to have won the competition since Bjarne Riis in 1996.

The 25-year-old Dane finished the three-week race two minutes and 43 seconds ahead of Pogacar, thanks to his excellent performance in the mountain stages. He also won the polka-dot jersey for the mountains classification.

White jersey holder Pogacar finished runner-up overall, and the 2018 winner Geraint Thomas rounded out the podium, Xinhua reports.

Vingegaard’s teammate Wout van Aert became the winner of the green sprint jersey, and team Jumbo-Visma combined for six stage wins out of 21.

Jasper Philipsen won Sunday’s ceremonial final stage to the Champs-Elysees, outclassing Dylan Groenewegen and Alexander Kristoff in the sprint.