Tadej Pogacar is about to secure his record-equalling fifth Tour de France title, but the drama on Stage 20 at Alpe d’Huez was next level, including a wild finish where Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz clinched a massive victory. If Pogacar avoids a race-ending crash on Sunday’s final stage to Paris, he’ll be cemented as one of the joint-most successful riders in Tour history alongside legends like Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain. No joke, this dude is making history right before our eyes.
Pogacar’s Epic Wingman Move
Dude, what Pogacar pulled off on Stage 20 was incredible. The 27-year-old from UAE Team Emirates-XRG finished the three-week Grand Tour’s ‘queen’ stage in fourth place. But here’s the kicker: he spent a ton of energy helping his 22-year-old Mexican team-mate Isaac del Toro. Pogacar paced a suffering Del Toro up that brutal final climb, basically dragging him to provisionally seal third place on the overall podium and snag the young rider classification’s white jersey. They crossed the line together, arms around each other’s shoulders, a moment Pogacar described as “goosebumps.” He said it was “fantastic and one for the memories.” He’d always appreciated his teammates’ work, but after experiencing being a domestique himself, he now sees it on “another level.” That’s real leadership, right there, looking out for the next gen while making your own history.
Alpe d’Huez Delivers Pure Chaos
While Pogacar was playing the ultimate team player, Alpe d’Huez was throwing punches left and right. This was the most demanding stage of the entire race, with riders climbing 5,450 metres across three hors category climbs over 170.9km. We saw American Sepp Kuss from Visma-Lease a Bike, 31, who won the Vuelta a Espana in 2023, attack alone with about 25km to go and look like he had found that strength and was set for victory. But then, absolute disaster! The often unflappable Kuss crashed coming out of a tunnel approaching Alpe d’Huez town. He actually maintained his lead, but then crashed again just after, on a right-hand corner, his rear wheel sliding after getting his line wrong. Talk about heartbreak! In the end, Carapaz exploded to take the stage win, and he’s gonna rock the king of the mountains polka dot jersey too. Meanwhile, Pogacar is set to claim his fifth yellow jersey in Paris by six minutes and 26 seconds over Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, who finished Stage 20 in second after a late charge.
So, Pogacar is rolling into Paris with an almost insurmountable lead. The final stage on Sunday is traditionally just a sprint fest, but get this: race organizers reduced the distance from 133km to 89km because emergency services got rerouted to help with devastating wildfires. A new section over Montmartre might even let a rider with sustained power snatch a breakaway win. But all eyes are gonna be on Pogacar. He said he won’t be doing this “for too much [of a] long time,” and that Isaac “showed great potential,” but they aren’t putting “any pressure yet on Isaac.” The dude just wrapped up his fifth Tour, but he’s already looking out for the next generation. That’s a true champion.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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