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Richard Carapaz won stage 20 in 4:59:39, his second victory this edition, finishing 26 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel and 31 seconds clear of Sepp Kuss.
Sepp Kuss attacked on the Col de Sarenne but fell twice on the short descent to the finish, losing the lead.
Tadej Pogacar leads Evenepoel by 6:26, with Isaac del Toro third at 9:42; Carapaz (91 points) and Mads Pedersen are set to claim the polka dot and green jerseys.
Security concerns after an estimated 600,000–800,000 fans lined the previous day's Alpe d'Huez climb led to a spectator-free final ascent.
Sunday's stage 21 is cut from 133 km to 89 km after police are redeployed to tackle vegetation fires in Gironde; riders will parade in Thoiry then bus to Paris for a circuit with three Montmartre ascents.
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.
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.
Data from the article text
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.
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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.
AI text based on reports by RFI, Ziare.com and Mediafax.ro. Published .