Saturday, July 25th, 20th stage: Le Bourg d’Oisans > Alpe d’Huez – The queen stage of the Tour de France 2026, with four major ascents en route to a historic second consecutive finish at Alpe d’Huez, crowned a special climber: Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), the winner of stage 20 after an attacking festival in the mountains and an exhilarating battle against Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike). The Eagle of Durango had opened a gap at the Col de Sarenne, the final giant of the day, but he crashed on the final run-in to the finish and saw Carapaz fly past him. Third yesterday at the first finish at L’Alpe d’Huez, the Ecuadorian climber takes his third Tour stage win, the second this year, two days after conquering Orcières-Merlette. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finished second ahead of Kuss. Completing the top 5 arm in arm, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates XRG) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG) are set to step onto the overall podium tomorrow in Paris, with the Mexican leader claiming the white jersey and the third position overall. Carapaz all but secured the polka-dot jersey, while Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) did the same for the green jersey.
L’Alpe d’Huez, Second Act
The Tour returned to L’Alpe d’Huez for a second consecutive day, and Stage 20 proved even more demanding than Stage 19, despite bypassing the legendary 21-hairpin ascent where Tadej Pogačar had prevailed the previous day. Instead, the route climbed the Col de Sarenne (12.8 km at 7.3%), with its summit 14.4 kilometers from the finish. Before reaching the final ascent, the peloton tackled the Hors Catégorie Col de la Croix de Fer, the Category 1 Col du Télégraphe, and the Hors Catégorie Col du Galibier. The route featured a punishing 5,450 meters (17,881 feet) of elevation gain, the highest total of this year’s Tour de France.
Carapaz Attacked Early
Attacks began immediately after the start in Le Bourg-d’Oisans, but the decisive breakaway formed on the ascent of the Col du Glandon (HC, summit at kilometer 33.7). Fourteen riders went clear: Bruno Armirail, Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli (Visma-Lease a Bike), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Richard Carapaz, Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Matthew Riccitello (Decathlon CMA CGM), Thymen Arensman, Tobias Foss (Netcompany Ineos), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), and Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ United).
Inside the final four kilometers of the climb, Carapaz attacked. Paret-Peintre briefly responded, but the Ecuadorian claimed the maximum 20 KOM points at the summit, strengthening his hold on the polka-dot jersey. Meanwhile, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) attacked from the peloton. The break regrouped in the valley, where Pedersen effectively secured the green jersey by taking 25 points in the intermediate sprint at Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis (kilometer 66.5).
Carapaz and Pogačar Raised the Pace
The race intensified on the back-to-back climbs of the Col du Télégraphe (Category 1, summit at kilometer 87.6) and the Col du Galibier (HC, kilometer 110.5). The breakaway splintered as Carapaz claimed both summits, all but securing the King of the Mountains classification. Only Sepp Kuss, Jai Hindley, and Juan Ayuso remained with him over the Tour’s highest point at 2,642 meters (8,668 feet).
Behind the leaders, Pogačar (UAE Emirates XRG) increased the pace, significantly reducing the general classification group. By the base of the final climb to the Col de Sarenne (HC, kilometer 156.5), the Slovenian led a reduced GC group that trailed the breakaway by 3:30.
Kuss Crashed, Carapaz Capitalized
After several attacks on the Col de Sarenne, Kuss broke clear of Carapaz and Hindley with 3 kilometers remaining to the summit. Carapaz fought to limit his losses and reached the top 18 seconds behind the American. The gap narrowed to 12 seconds on the descent before Kuss crashed twice – once coming out of a dark tunnel, and once on a sweeping right hander where he brushed up against the cement barrier, narrowly avoiding catastrophe. Following the second fall, Carapaz overtook him with 6 kilometers remaining.
Kuss commented, “I was so on the limit, I misjudged the corner a bit. First in the tunnel, and then after that I was still trying to make up too much time and I misjudged the corner. It was a bit scary, sorry to my wife and my family watching at home! That’s racing. I’m happy with the fight and the performance, and it was a big day out. That’s how it goes, you can’t always have good luck, of have everything in your way. We can be proud of the way we fought as a team. After Jonas [Vingegaard] was out the race, we made the most of every single day. I felt the support of the guys during the stage, I couldn’t pay it back but we can be proud of our effort.”
Meanwhile, Isaac del Toro accelerated in the GC group, distancing Paul Seixas, his chief rival for the white jersey and third place overall. Remco Evenepoel attacked with 3 kilometers remaining, while Pogačar set the pace for Del Toro.
Carapaz crossed the line first to claim his 10th Grand Tour stage victory—his third at the Tour de France, third at the Vuelta a España, and fourth at the Giro d’Italia. He finished 26 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, with Kuss taking third, 31 seconds behind.
Carapaz exclaimed, “There was a moment when I couldn’t believe what was happening myself. At the start of the stage, I was only thinking about the King of the Mountains jersey. Then, once we’d got past the first two mountain passes, that’s when I went for the stage win. It was really, really tough! I was up against two riders who’ve won Grand Tours, Sepp Kuss and Jai Hindley. Sepp, in particular, was a very tough nut to crack. I was pushing myself to the limit the whole time.
On the descent, I don’t know what happened. I just kept going and going, and then I found myself facing the final climb… which, once again, was incredibly tough. I knew Remco [Evenepoel] and Sepp were right behind me, and I had to suffer immensely to secure the win. It was absolutely brilliant to win here, and in a distinctive jersey. I think I deserve it, because I’ve fought so hard in this Tour de France.
It’s been a dream Tour de France. Back in Barcelona, I knew I wasn’t in contention for the general classification. I was very clear in my mind about what I wanted, and we’ve achieved it with these two stage wins and the King of the Mountains jersey. Tomorrow will be a different story. This Tour de France has been incredible, with all the spectators and all the support I’ve received from Ecuador, where they’ll be jumping for joy right now.”
Pogačar and Del Toro crossed the finish line arm in arm, 1:05 behind the stage winner. Pogačar all but secured his fifth Tour de France title, while Del Toro positioned himself to join him on the final podium in third place, behind Evenepoel.
Stage 20 Highlight Video:
Stage 20 Results:
| 1 | R. CARAPAZ | EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST | 04h 59′ 39” | – | B : 10” | – |
| 2 | R. EVENEPOEL | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 05h 00′ 05” | + 00h 00′ 26” | B : 6” | – |
| 3 | S. KUSS | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 05h 00′ 10” | + 00h 00′ 31” | B : 4” | P : 01′ 00” |
| 4 | T. POGACAR | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 05h 00′ 44” | + 00h 01′ 05” | – | – |
| 5 | I. DEL TORO | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 05h 00′ 44” | + 00h 01′ 05” | – | – |
| 6 | L. MARTINEZ | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 05h 00′ 46” | + 00h 01′ 07” | – | – |
| 7 | J. HINDLEY | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 05h 01′ 54” | + 00h 02′ 15” | – | – |
| 8 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 05h 02′ 34” | + 00h 02′ 55” | – | – |
| 9 | J. AYUSO | LIDL-TREK | 05h 02′ 34” | + 00h 02′ 55” | – | – |
| 10 | P. SEIXAS | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 05h 02′ 34” | + 00h 02′ 55” | – | – |
General Classification after Stage 20:
| 1 | T. POGACAR | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 72h 53′ 44” | – | B : 01′ 02” | – |
| 2 | R. EVENEPOEL | RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE | 73h 00′ 10” | + 00h 06′ 26” | B : 26” | – |
| 3 | I. DEL TORO | UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 73h 03′ 26” | + 00h 09′ 42” | B : 24” | – |
| 4 | P. SEIXAS | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 73h 05′ 40” | + 00h 11′ 56” | B : 8” | – |
| 5 | L. MARTINEZ | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 73h 06′ 46” | + 00h 13′ 02” | B : 6” | – |
| 6 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 73h 08′ 43” | + 00h 14′ 59” | – | – |
| 7 | J. AYUSO | LIDL-TREK | 73h 11′ 32” | + 00h 17′ 48” | – | – |
| 8 | R. CARAPAZ | EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST | 73h 13′ 44” | + 00h 20′ 00” | B : 28” | – |
| 9 | T. PIDCOCK | PINARELLO-Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM | 73h 23′ 12” | + 00h 29′ 28” | B : 8” | P : 20” |
| 10 | J. JEGAT | TOTALENERGIES | 73h 27′ 05” | + 00h 33′ 21” | – | – |
