Pogacar set to equal Tour record as Carapaz wins stage
Tadej Pogacar is poised to win a record-equalling fifth Tour de France after finishing fourth on the decisive stage 20, while Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz won a dramatic Alpine stage on Alpe d’Huez. Barring a race-ending crash on Sunday’s final ride to Paris, Pogacar will join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the Tour’s most successful riders.
Carapaz took victory after Sepp Kuss crashed twice while leading late in the 170.9km ‘queen’ stage, which included 5,450 metres of climbing across three highest-category ascents. Pogacar is set to finish six minutes 26 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel, having helped UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mate Isaac del Toro protect a provisional third overall place and the white jersey; Carapaz is also expected to take the polka-dot mountains classification. Sunday’s final stage has been shortened from 133km to 89km because emergency services have been diverted to wildfires in south-west France.
- Pogacar is set to equal the Tour’s record with a fifth title.
- Carapaz won stage 20 after Kuss crashed twice late on.
- The Paris finale is shortened because of French wildfires.
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The Tour de France is a gruelling three-week cycling race held each summer, with competitors riding over 3,000 kilometres through France and neighbouring countries. Victory is regarded as one of sport's greatest achievements.
Tadej Pogacar, a Slovenian cyclist, is on the verge of winning the race for a fifth time. This would tie him with Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only riders to have won the Tour five times; no cyclist has ever won it more than that.
Pogacar has built such a commanding lead that he is almost certain to win, barring an unlikely disaster on Sunday's final stage. With the overall race winner effectively decided, attention shifts to secondary prizes within the competition, such as individual stage victories and the mountains classification.