Tour fever sweeps Copenhagen as Danes hail double champion Vingegaard

COPENHAGEN :Double Tour de France-winner Jonas Vingegaard returned to Copenhagen on Wednesday to be greeted by thousands of jubilant Danes standing in the streets to celebrate his second successive triumph in the sport's premier race.

The soft-spoken champion appeared on the balcony of City Hall to celebrate his triumph with his compatriots in front of a mass of fans decked out in red and white, the colours of the Danish flag, or in yellow shirts, as famously worn by the leader in the Tour.

"I'm a big fan of yours, and I am not the only one," Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Vingegaard during a speech at the City Hall.

"You've won the hearts of all Danes, and we are so proud of you," Frederiksen said.

Vingegaard, 26, is the first Dane to become a two-time winner of the Tour de France after last year joining 1996 champion Bjarne Riis as the only other Danish champion.

He moved into the yellow jersey after the sixth stage of this year's race and was then involved in a classic and hugely compelling mountain battle with Slovenian double Tour-winner Tadej Pogacar.

Vingegaard, however, stamped his authority on the race when he hammered Pogacar by a crushing one minute and 38 seconds on the 16th stage, an individual time trial, to effectively seal the deal.

Vingegaard himself said after the race that it might have been his best day on a bike ever and the Danish fans agree.

Mikkel Feldtmann Hansen, 24, has taken the day off from his job as a sergeant in the Danish Royal Guard to come and greet the Danish Tour de France riders.

"It's such an accomplishment to win the Tour de France and it's rare to see Danish sports achieve these big wins and get to be cheered on by their nation," he told Reuters.

"I still think it's