Pogacar nears record-equalling fifth Tour de France title
Tadej Pogacar is poised to secure a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, provided he avoids a race-ending incident on the final stage to Paris. The overall standings are traditionally not contested on the final day, positioning Pogacar to join an elite group of riders with five victories, including Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. Pogacar, representing UAE Team Emirates-XRG, concluded stage 20 in fourth place.
His efforts on the demanding ‘queen’ stage were notably directed towards assisting his 22-year-old Mexican teammate, Isaac del Toro. Pogacar helped Del Toro provisionally secure third place on the overall podium and the white jersey for the young rider classification. The two riders crossed the finish line together, with Pogacar pacing a struggling Del Toro during the final climb.
Pogacar’s lead in the general classification stands at six minutes and 26 seconds over Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Evenepoel finished stage 20 in second place, 26 seconds behind the stage winner. Pogacar expressed his appreciation for his team’s efforts, stating, “I finally experienced [being a domestique] myself and I already before appreciate [the] work of team-mates, but now it’s like another level.”
Dramatic stage 20 sees Carapaz triumph amid Kuss’s crashes
Stage 20, considered the most demanding of the entire race, featured a challenging 170.9km route with 5,450 meters of climbing across three hors category climbs, culminating in the iconic Alpe d’Huez ski resort. Richard Carapaz of EF Education-Easypost clinched victory on this penultimate day, marking his second stage win in three days and securing the king of the mountains competition.
The stage was marked by significant drama involving American rider Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike. Kuss, who was part of an early breakaway and attacked alone with approximately 25km remaining, appeared set for a solo victory. However, he experienced two crashes in the final kilometers. The first occurred coming out of a tunnel near Alpe d’Huez town, and the second on a right-hand corner where his rear wheel slid on dust, leading him to lean into safety netting that prevented a fall down a sheer drop.
Kuss described his reaction to the crash, saying, “I was just annoyed because we drove down it this morning and I looked at that corner and thought: ‘Ah that’s a pretty descent corner, no problem in the race,’ so I took it pretty full-on.” Carapaz capitalized on Kuss’s misfortune, sweeping past him to take the lead and ultimately the stage win. Evenepoel also passed Kuss in the final 50 meters to claim second place on the stage.
The stage also saw Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old French rider from Decathlon CMA-CGM, lose ground on the final mountain. Seixas is expected to finish fourth in the general classification, 11 minutes and 56 seconds behind Pogacar’s overall time. Britain’s Tom Pidcock of Pinarello-Q36.5 finished the stage 16th and is set to finish ninth overall in the general classification.
Final stage shortened due to wildfires
The final stage of the Tour de France on Sunday will be shortened from 133km to 89km. This decision was made by race organizers ASO in conjunction with the prefecture police to redeploy emergency services to assist with devastating wildfires in the south-west of the country. These wildfires, particularly around the Arcachon lagoon near Bordeaux and Biscarrosse in the Landes, have destroyed more than 36,000 hectares of forest.
The shortened final stage will now begin on the Champs-Élysées, featuring two laps of the avenue followed by circuits of the Butte Montmartre. While the final stage traditionally sees sprinters battle on the Champs-Élysées cobbles, the new section over Montmartre could offer an opportunity for riders with sustained power to secure a breakaway win. Denmark’s Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek is set to win the green points jersey by simply finishing, holding an uncatchable 82-point lead over Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech.
The 20th stage results saw Carapaz finish in 4 hours, 59 minutes, and 39 seconds, with Evenepoel 26 seconds behind, and Kuss 31 seconds behind. Pogacar finished 1 minute and 5 seconds back, with Del Toro at the same time. The general classification after stage 20 places Pogacar at 72 hours, 53 minutes, and 44 seconds, followed by Evenepoel at 6 minutes and 26 seconds behind, and Del Toro at 9 minutes and 42 seconds behind.
Source: bbc.com
Mason Reed
Sports reporter covering football, basketball and international competitions.