Richard Carapaz absolutely snatched victory in the Tour de France’s brutal final mountain stage on Saturday, leaving American Sepp Kuss in the dust after Kuss had two shocking crashes in the closing kilometers. The EF Education-EasyPost rider didn’t just win the 170.9-km route to Alpe d’Huez, he locked up his second stage win in three days and secured the mountains classification. Talk about a comeback!
The Early Breakaway That Turned Into a Disaster
This whole thing kicked off with an early breakaway on the first of the day’s four major climbs. Carapaz and Kuss were right there in the mix, alongside Australia’s Jai Hindley, looking like the strongest guys out front. Kuss, riding for Visma-Lease a Bike, decided to make his move with just 17 km left, opening up a small gap. He looked like he was flying, heading for a solo win. You could feel the tension building, right? Was this his moment?
Double Disaster Strikes, Carapaz Seizes the Moment
But then, everything went sideways for Kuss. He crashed, first in a tunnel, and then again on a descent. Brutal, absolutely brutal luck. You just hate to see it. Carapaz, who never gave up according to his sports director Charlie Wegelius, reeled him in and surged past. Wegelius said it best: “He showed perseverance. He just kept on going.” Carapaz crossed the finish line a dominant 31 seconds clear of Kuss. And get this: Kuss couldn’t even hold on for second, with Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe overtaking him in the final meters. Evenepoel finished 26 seconds behind the Ecuadorian, pushing Kuss down to third. What a dramatic finish!
Race leader Tadej Pogacar, from UAE Team Emirates XRG, kept it smooth through this penultimate stage. He’s practically got his fifth Tour de France title in the bag for Sunday, holding a monster lead of over seven minutes on Evenepoel. Instead of gunning for another stage win, Pogacar spent most of his day supporting his teammate Isaac del Toro, who solidified his hold on third place overall. Del Toro finished fifth on the stage, dropping French teenager Paul Seixas, and now leads Seixas by 2:14 overall heading into the finale.
The final stage on Sunday has been shortened to 89km, down from the original 133km, because of wildfires near Bordeaux. It means we get less riding, but after a stage like that, anything can happen! Pogacar’s got a big lead, but the Tour always delivers drama. Can’t wait to see how it all wraps up!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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