Carapaz wins Tour de France stage 20 on Alpe d'Huez after Kuss crashes twice; Pogacar holds yellow
Richard Carapaz claimed the 20th stage of the Tour de France atop Alpe d'Huez after Sepp Kuss, the solo leader with 23 km to go, crashed twice in the final kilometres. Tadej Pogacar finished fourth and is set to keep the yellow jersey into Paris.
How the stage unfolded
A large breakaway formed early on the 170.9 km route from Bourg d'Oisans. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Sepp Kuss (Visma Lease a Bike), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) and Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) emerged as the strongest on the series of hors catégorie climbs: Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe, the Galibier and the Col de Sarenne. Kuss attacked alone 23 km from the finish and built a lead that appeared decisive.
With the finishing line on the famous 21 hairpins of Alpe d'Huez approaching, Kuss lost control and hit the tarmac twice. Carapaz, who had been sitting around 20 seconds behind, overtook him and powered to a solo victory. Remco Evenepoel attacked from the group of overall contenders, dropping Isaac Del Toro and Tadej Pogacar, to take second place at 26 seconds. Kuss recovered to cross third, 31 seconds down.
This win means everything. I never gave up, even when Kuss was strong.
The Carapaz comeback
Carapaz had spent the previous day in a breakaway as well and looked the fresher of the two leaders after Kuss's misfortune. The Ecuadorian, who already held the polka-dot jersey as the race's best climber, notched his second stage victory of the 2026 edition. He crossed the line in 4 hours 59 minutes 39 seconds, beating Evenepoel by 26 seconds and Kuss by 31.
Overall standings and the fight for the podium
Pogacar, who had broken the record up Alpe d'Huez during his stage 19 win, dedicated his effort on stage 20 to protecting teammate Isaac Del Toro's third place on general classification. Del Toro stayed with the group until Evenepoel's attack and finished fifth on the day, matching Pogacar's time. The result solidified Del Toro's hold on the white jersey as best young rider and kept him on the final GC podium ahead of Sunday's procession into Paris.
French teenager Paul Seixas tried to bridge up to the front on the Sarenne but cracked, eventually finishing tenth at 2 minutes 55 seconds. His bid for a podium or the white jersey fell short.
- Richard Carapaz
- 0 seconds
- Remco Evenepoel
- 26 seconds
- Sepp Kuss
- 31 seconds
- Tadej Pogacar
- 65 seconds
- Isaac Del Toro
- 65 seconds
- Lenny Martinez
- 67 seconds
- Jai Hindley
- 135 seconds
- Mattias Skjelmose
- 175 seconds
- Juan Ayuso
- 175 seconds
- Paul Seixas
- 175 seconds
What happens next
The Tour concludes on 26 July with the traditional final stage on the Champs-Élysées. Barring a crash or time penalty, Pogacar will claim his latest overall title. Del Toro is set to remain third, while Carapaz has secured his mountains classification and Kuss's crash marks the last major drama of the race before Paris.
