Tour de France: Pogacar dominates. But Carapaz wins at Alpe d’Huez. A grand finale in Paris
Barring any unexpected disasters, the podium is therefore set, with Pogacar ahead of Evenepoel (+6’26”) and Del Toro (+9’42”). Next comes Seixas, almost 12 minutes behind, and finally Martinez, 13 minutes behind
For once, now that the Tour is drawing to a close (it finishes in Paris this Sunday), we won’t start straight away with Tadej Pogacar, who was less fiery than usual and more concerned with acting as a big brother to his young team-mate Isaac del Toro, who was in danger of losing his third place on the podium.
No, on this 20th stage of the Grande Boucle, with the second finish at Alpe d’Huez after 170 kilometres of climbing up and down the Tour’s ‘Sacred Mountains’ (Télégraphe, the Croix de Fer, the Galibier and the Col de la Sarenne), the cover photo goes to Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, who claimed his second victory in three days following a long breakaway that saw him finish ahead of Belgian Evenepoel (+26”) and American Kuss (+31”).
Carapaz, wearing the polka-dot jersey as king of the mountains (now firmly his), was admittedly helped by Sepp Kuss’s two crashes, as Kuss had been leading the race right up until the final descent before the finish line. The Ecuadorian, who has been on the attack throughout the race, nevertheless fully deserved the victory.
“I still can’t believe it,” said Carapaz with a beaming smile. “I feel sorry for Kuss – he’s a brilliant rider who’s had some bad luck. But I gave it my all right to the very end. And I think I deserved the King of the Mountains jersey,” concluded the 33-year-old Ecuadorian, a hugely popular champion in his home country, winner of the Giro d’Italia in 2019 and a gold medallist in the road race at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Kuss’s double crash (he was saved by a safety net, having risked falling into the void) also allowed Remco Evenepoel to finish second behind Carapaz. The Belgian, now second in the general classification as well, trailing Pogacar by almost six and a half minutes, attacked on the final climb, breaking away from the group of favourites and beating the American in the closing stages. “I’m really pleased,” commented Evenepoel. “I’m pleased because I’ve finally shown my critics that I can win in the mountains and in long races like the Tour.” The Belgian has got something off his chest regarding those who see him primarily as a time-trial specialist. Indeed, Evenepoel is a phenomenon on the time trial, even better than Pogacar. He has improved greatly on the climbs in this Tour. And perhaps, had he not waited too long before attacking, he might even have won the stage.
