Carapaz conquers Alpe d’Huez with Pogačar poised for record-equalling title – Tour de France

Tour de France 2026

Stage 20

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) won a drama-filled final mountain stage 20 of this year’s Tour de France, beating Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) to the top of Alpe d’Huez after the US rider crashed twice in the final 10km.

The pair had been part of a 14-rider breakaway that went away on the first of four massive climbs that lined the 170km route on the penultimate stage, and after attacking each other up the Col du Galibier and Col de Sarenne, emerged as the strongest climbers in the move alongside Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Kuss made what could have been the winning move with 17.4km to go, dropping his two companions but only by around 20 seconds. As Hindley cracked, Carapaz never gave up the fight. As they made it back into the Alpe d’Huez town, Kuss came down twice, first in the exit of a dark tunnel and then almost over the side of a wall on a descent, thankfully saved by a concrete barrier and well-placed safety net.

Carapaz flew past him and extended his lead to 31 seconds from Kuss by the time he reached the line to take the biggest stage win of his career, and in the polka-dot jersey he confirmed would be his by cresting the Col du Galibier in first.

Kuss’ woes were compounded as he was overtaken by Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in the final 500 metres, who took second on the final stage 26 seconds behind Carapaz, banging his bars in frustration having missed out on the stage win.

In fourth was race leader Tadej Pogačar, who all but confirmed his fifth overall victory at the Tour de France with a day of working as a domestique for UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Isaac del Toro.

With the yellow jersey working for him, Del Toro secured the final spot on the GC podium behind his leader and Evenepoel, dropping Paul Seixas on the Col de Sarenne after he and his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates tried and failed to put the Mexican into difficulty. The 19-year-old’s efforts still meant he would finish the race in fourth overall, a remarkable feat as the youngest debutant for 89 years at the Tour, confirming his potential to become an overall winner in the future.

Despite Evenepoel attacking the UAE duo in search of the stage win, with a minute still to make up on Carapaz in the lead, Pogačar opted against trying to go with him, instead helping the struggling Del Toro – even with third and the white jersey secured – and the pair were able to celebrate together over the line.

“I did my best today to help Isaac. Massive respect for what all the guys have been doing for the last three weeks. I can say I finally experienced it myself, and now I even more – I already appreciated the work of the teammates before, but now it’s like another level, and I must say thank you to every single one of them for working so hard for these last three weeks,” said Pogačar with his record-equalling fifth yellow jersey in the bag.

“It was goosebumps,” he added, describing the moment when he and Del Toro celebrated arm in arm. “If I wouldn’t shave my arms, you would see the hair up, but it was fantastic and one for the memories.”

With first and third on GC wrapped up and the white jersey, it’s obvious to see Del Toro as the heir apparent at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, but Pogačar isn’t wanting to put too much pressure on his comrade for the moment.

“I definitely will not be doing this for for too much long time, I think, and Isaac showed great potential, but we don’t put any pressure yet on Isaac,” he said.

“I think he’s still young. He’s a quick learner. He’s super smart, big talent, big engine. So yeah, let’s see where the road takes us. But I’m happy to be with him in the team, and that we can ride like this together for now.”

There were attacks right from the flag being dropped on stage 20 of the Tour de France, but the move that would characterise the penultimate day of this year’s race didn’t form until the 152 kilometres to go mark, with 14 riders getting up the road.

Filled with strong riders and three Grand Tour winners, they were a force to be reckoned with, including stage 18 winner Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM), Thymen Arensman, Tobias Foss (Netcompany Ineos), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-QuickStep), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United), but most importantly four riders from Visma-Lease a Bike: Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson, Davide Piganzoli and Bruno Armirail, and seventh place overall Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek).

UAE Team Emirates-XRG, even with their reduced numbers, worked to control the group, but the action on the climb wasn’t over, with Carapaz attacking to get the KOM points and Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) fighting back after early struggles to attack out of the peloton in search of the intermediate sprint points.

Pedersen made it back on during the descent, and after Carapaz and Paret-Peintre had led briefly as a duo, the group came back together before the sprint in Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis, where the Dane all but confirmed a stunning win in the green jersey competition.

As Visma started to use their numeric advantage and pull in the breakaway, the presence of Ayuso up in front forced a change in the peloton, Bahrain Victorious taking over the pacing duties from UAE to protect Lenny Martinez’s spot in fifth overall.

In pursuit of confirming the polka-dot jersey, EF called for Healy to start upping the pace on the Telégraphe, allowing Carapaz to get the maximum points on offer before they headed for the highest point of the race atop the Galibier.

The 10 remaining riders in front reached the foot of the climb with a four-minute lead still intact, but the group was broken up by accelerations on the long climb, notably from Ayuso with 65km to go. This was countered by a huge surge from Carapaz, though, who rode solo until he was chased down by Hindley, Kuss and Riccitello.

Carapaz was able to take the KOM points on offer at the top and won the Souvenir Henri Desgrange with it, which mathematically confirmed he would win the polka-dot jersey in Paris tomorrow, even if he wouldn’t win the stage.

It was all kicking off behind, though, as once Felix Großschartner ran out of steam for UAE, it was Pogačar who went into domestique mode to protect Del Toro’s third place. The race leader rode all of the final few kilometres up the climb on the front, reducing the group to just five riders at the top: Evenepoel, Seixas, and Martinez joining the UAE pair.

Pogačar worked for the entire descent and valley roads leading to the final climb, reducing the deficit down to just more than three minutes.

In front, Ayuso descended well to reach the leaders, while Riccitello had the opposite fate, struggling in the winds on the rapid downhill road and losing contact from the breakaway.

Huge crowds welcomed the riders to the foot of the climb, though the upper slopes would be empty for safety and environmental reasons, and the attacks were starting in the front, with Hindley attacking Carapaz, Kuss and Ayuso, with the Spanish rider dropping first 24km from the finish.

Pogačar’s pace continued to reduce the gap to the breakaway, and despite an early move from Nicholas Prodhomme to potentially up the pace, Decathlon remained cagey until there were 20km remaining, where they moved to the front.

Utilising Prodhomme and Riccitello from the break, the French team tried to put third place Del Toro in an attempt to get Seixas on the podium, but the teenager was struggling to follow his teammates, and when they finished their efforts, he looked finished.

Visibly struggling, smelled blood, with Del Toro surging at the front, dropping Seixas with over 3km still to ride to the top of the Col de Sarenne. His valiant fight to finish on the podium on debut was over. In the front, this left just the UAE pair, Evenepoel and Martinez.

Not long before this, Kuss accelerated and left Carapaz and Hindley behind, looking the strongest of the breakaway trio as he danced on the pedals up the climb. He would lead over the top with a slim 20-second lead to the Ecuadorian.

Diving back down towards Alpe d’Huez, Kuss pushed the limits on the downhill roads, but came unstuck with 7km to go, slipping out just after a tunnel. He was quickly back up, though, and maintained a 10-second lead over Carapaz heading for the final uphill section.

However, likely rattled from the first incident, the drama followed Kuss and he came down again, this time almost crashing over a concrete barrier and over the edge of a descent. With a safety net present and some fortunate hand-placement, Kuss avoided anything more sinister, but Carapaz flew past him, and the US rider had to watch the stage win disappear up the road.

He chased bravely after a double crash, but his deficit was too wide, and he was hurt, eventually losing 31 seconds to the Ecuadorian as Carapaz surged away for his second stage win at this year’s Tour.

After Hindley dropped back from the break, Red Bull took over towards the end of the day, but with a minute still to make up to deny the break the win. Even still, Evenepoel showed off his strength, attacking away from the UAE pair without response.

His efforts would land him second on the stage to go with his confirmed second overall, but Pogačar opted to ride alongside Del Toro and finish alongside him after three weeks of dominating the race together. With a safe arrival, it all but confirmed a record fifth Tour de France title for Pogačar and maiden podium for the Mexican on debut.

At 89 kilometres, the final stage of the Tour starts and finishes on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Just like last year, the Côte de la Butte Montmartre once again features in the finale. This time, the cobbled climb of 1.1 kilometres at 5.9% comes 10.3 kilometres from the finish line.

After the one-off finish in Nice in 2024, Paris once again provides the finale – though, as last year, not with the usual sprinters’ stage. The cobbled climb towards the Sacré-Cœur produced such spectacular racing last time that it makes a return this year. The section, which runs for 1.1 kilometres at an average gradient of 5.9%, will be tackled three times in total, with the final ascent coming 10.3 kilometres from the finish line.

One difference from last year is that the climb now comes 4.2 kilometres further from the finish. In theory, that gives dropped sprinters – or rather, dropped riders in general – more time to regain contact.

Another difference is that the ASO decided at the eleventh hour to skip the planned run-in to Paris. The stage was supposed to start in Thoiry and then, after plenty of chatter and even more photo opportunities, the peloton would reach the French capital after roughly 50 kilometres. But the riders will be spared that this year. The day before the stage, the organisers decided not only to finish on the Champs-Élysées, but also to start the final stage there. As a result, the stage has also been shortened from 132.5 kilometres to 89 kilometres.

The news came after the interior ministry had said that it would need to redeploy officers initially mobilised to provide security for the race, to areas affected by the fire.

“In a spirit of national solidarity with the areas and communities affected, it was decided to adapt the route for the final stage from Thoiry to Paris,” organisers ASO said in a statement.

The wildfires in the Arcachon Bay area near Bordeaux in the Gironde region, and around Biscarrosse in the Landes, have destroyed more than 36,000 hectares of wooded area.

Instead of completing three laps of the regular 6.8-kilometre Champs-Élysées circuit, the riders will now do seven, before heading towards the Côte de la Butte Montmartre for the first time. The lap featuring the cobbled climb is 16 kilometres long and will be tackled three times.

Wout van Aert pulled off the unseen in last year’s finale: he dropped Tadej Pogacar. On the cobbles of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, the yellow jersey launched an attack, but the Belgian countered and rode away solo to a resounding victory. With that, the Slovenian missed out on his fifth stage win, but he still crossed the line in fourth place to secure his fourth overall Tour de France title.

Stage 20 result:

1. Richard Carapaz, (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, in 4:59:39
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +26
3. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +31
4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +1:05
5. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, same time
6. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain Victorious, +1:07
7. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +2:15
8. Mattias Skelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +2:55
9. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, same time
10. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon-CMA CGM, same time

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 72:53:44
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Redu Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +6:26
3. Isaac del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +9:42
4. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, +11:56
5. Lenny Martinez (Fra) Bahrain-Victorious, +13:02
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek,+14:59
7. Juan Ayuso (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +17:48
8. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +20:00
9. Tom Pidcock (Gbr), Pinarello Q36.5, +29:28
10. Jordan Jegat (Fra) TotalEnergies, +33:21