Richard Carapaz conquers Tour de France Queen stage as wildfires force final day re-route
Ecuador's Richard Carapaz won a demanding stage 20 over the Galibier and Col de Sarenne, while organisers slashed Sunday's last stage after wildfires forced authorities to redeploy security forces.
Carapaz conquers the Queen stage
Richard Carapaz won the 20th stage, the "Queen stage" of the Tour de France, crossing the line in 4 hours 59 minutes and 39 seconds. The Ecuadorian attacked on the Galibier (2,642 m), the highest pass of the 2026 Tour, and passed in the lead over all four categorized climbs of the day. On the final ascent toward Alpe d'Huez via Col de Sarenne (12.8 km at 7.3%), he was briefly distanced by American Sepp Kuss, who had broken clear on a stretch closed to spectators for safety reasons after the previous day's crowd of 600,000 to 800,000 fans packed the other side of the Alpe. Kuss then crashed twice on the short descent to the finish, allowing Carapaz to retake the lead. Carapaz finished 26 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel and 31 seconds clear of Kuss. Tadej Pogacar, protecting teammate Isaac del Toro's third place overall and the white jersey for best young rider, crossed 1 minute and 5 seconds behind the winner in a group with del Toro.
- Carapaz leads over the highest point of the 2026 Tour (2,642 m).
- Sepp Kuss attacks on the spectator-free climb (12.8 km at 7.3%).
- Kuss crashes twice, allowing Carapaz to overtake.
- Carapaz wins in 4:59:39, 26 s ahead of Evenepoel and 31 s ahead of Kuss.
General classification: Pogacar's fifth Tour all but sealed
With just the final stage remaining, Pogacar leads Evenepoel by 6 minutes and 26 seconds, while del Toro sits third at 9 minutes 42 seconds. Behind them, French teenager Paul Seixas is fourth, 11 minutes 56 seconds behind the Slovenian. Barring a colossal disaster, Pogacar will secure his fifth Tour de France victory. The mountains classification is also decided: Carapaz reached 91 points and will win the polka dot jersey, claiming his third career Tour stage win and second in this edition. In the points competition, Denmark's Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) is the virtual winner of the green jersey.
- Tadej Pogacar
- 0 min
- Remco Evenepoel
- 6.433 min
- Isaac del Toro
- 9.7 min
- Paul Seixas
- 11.933 min
Wildfires force last-stage shortening
Hours before Saturday's mountain finish, Tour organizers and the Paris police prefecture announced that Sunday's final stage would be slashed from 133 kilometres to 89 kilometres. The change was triggered by the need to redeploy security forces to fight vegetation fires raging in several regions of France, especially the Gironde department, as the interior ministry redirected police assets. After the traditional parade starting in Thoiry, riders will be transported by bus to the French capital. The Paris circuit will then feature three ascents of the Montmartre hill (1 km at 6.5%) before the finish on the Champs-Élysées. Commentators have mentioned Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Premier Tech) as a potential stage winner from a breakaway.
