Richard Carapaz rode into the record books at Alpe d'Huez on Saturday, soloing to victory on the hardest stage of this year's Tour de France after American rival Sepp Kuss crashed twice in the closing kilometres while leading the race up the mountain.
Stage 20 was always going to be brutal: a 144km slog from Bourg-d'Oisans over the Col de la Croix de Fer, the Col du Télégraphe and the Col du Galibier before a late detour over the Col de Sarenne and the finishing climb up Alpe d'Huez's 21 hairpins.
Kuss had forced his way clear and looked set for the biggest win of his career until he crashed twice inside the final seven kilometres, opening the door for Carapaz to sweep past and finish alone in front of the roaring crowds that line the mountain every July.
It was the Ecuadorian's second stage win of this Tour and his third career Tour de France stage victory, and it mathematically wrapped up the polka-dot King of the Mountains jersey for the EF Education-EasyPost rider, a fitting reward after days spent hunting points in the day's breakaways.
Remco Evenepoel crossed the line second on the stage, while Kuss picked himself up to salvage third place despite the crashes -- a cruel way to end a day in which he had ridden the strongest legs on the mountain.
Behind the stage drama, the overall picture barely moved. Tadej Pogačar defended the yellow jersey comfortably, and with only Sunday's ceremonial run into Paris left on the route, the Slovenian now heads to the Champs-Élysées with a lead of roughly six and a half minutes over Evenepoel.
Barring a mishap on the final stage -- traditionally a low-risk procession before a bunch sprint -- Pogačar will collect his fifth Tour de France title on Sunday, a tally that would equal the record held by Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain.
At 27, Pogačar would join that select company having already won in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025, cementing his place among the sport's dominant figures of any era.
Pogačar chose not to contest the stage finish himself, instead riding in support of teammate Isaac del Toro, who held onto third place overall. The young Mexican's closest challenger for the final podium spot and the white jersey, France's Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM, lost ground on the Sarenne climb and now trails del Toro by roughly 24 seconds heading into the last day.
That gap leaves Seixas, at just 19, with one last chance in Paris to snatch back the podium place and the best young rider's white jersey, though history suggests overturning even a small deficit on the largely processional final stage is a tall order.
For Carapaz, the win adds to a career that already includes Grand Tour victories at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España, and takes him to ten Grand Tour stage wins overall -- a marker of one of the most versatile climbers of his generation.
