Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard greeted by tens of thousands of fans in Denmark

Danish rider, who won thrilling battle with Tadej Pogacar, left stunned by reception in Copenhagen

Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard waves to fans during a reception in central Copenhagen on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. EPA

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard with his wife Trine Maria Hansen and their daughter Frida on the balcony of the City Hall in central Copenhagen. EPA

Jumbo-Visma team's Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the 2022 Tour de France, reacts as he is welcomed by fans upon arrival at Copenhagen City Hall in Copenhagen on July 27, 2022, a few days after the finish of the Tour de France cycling race in Paris. (Photo by Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP) / Denmark OUT

Jumbo-Visma rider Jonas Vingegaard, wearing the Tour de France yellow jersey, waves at fans in Copenhagen. AFP

Jumbo-Visma rider Jonas Vingegaard waves to fans in Copenhagen. AFP

Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard waves to fans in Copenhagen. AFP

Jumbo-Visma rider Jonas Vingegaard waves to fans in Copenhagen. AFP

Fans in Denmark greet Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard. AFP

Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard is taken from the airport to his reception in Copenhagen. EPA

Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard arrives at Copenhagen Airport. AFP

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Copenhagen to welcome back Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard.

The Jumbo-Visma rider came out on top in a thrilling battle for the title with two-time winner Tadej Pogacar and became the first Dane to win the Tour de France since Bjarne Riis in 1996.

Vingegaard's win will rank highly in the list of Denmark's best sporting moments, alongside the shock victory at football's Euro 1992.

In red and white livery, two Danish Air Force fighter jets escorted Vingegaard's private plane on its journey to Copenhagen.

“I'm almost completely speechless. I don't know what to say,” Vingegaard said, before stepping on to a balcony where he was greeted by a throng of flag-waving Danes on Copenhagen's town hall square.

“It's fantastic and mega moving … It still hasn't sunk in that I won the Tour de France. It's something I couldn't have imagined. It's unbelievable.”

Vingegaard thanked his first bicycle club Thy Cykle Ring, and sent his gratitude to volunteers in cycling sport clubs across the country, without whom he said he wouldn't have won the Tour de France.

His home town of Glyngore in northern Denmark will host Vingegaard for further celebrations on Thursday.

Denmark hosted the first three stages of the Tour de France, with the first stage a 13km time-trial through the Danish capital, known as the world's most bike-friendly city.

The 25-year-old, who five years ago was working as a fish packer in a factory in the morning before training in the afternoon, followed up on his surprise second place last year.

Vingegaard laid the foundations of his victory on Stage 11 of the Tour, when he and his teammate Primoz Roglic attacked UAE Team Emirates rider Pogacar relentlessly and made the Slovenian crack on the gruelling climb up the Col du Granon.

The Dane, who joined the Jumbo-Visma team in 2019, sealed the victory when he claimed another win at Hautacam in the final mountain stage.