Kuss crashes twice in Alpe d’Huez finale, hands Stage 20 win to Carapaz
The American was alone with a 20-second lead inside 10 km when two crashes in under a minute sent him into a safety barrier above a ravine and down to third.
What happened
Sepp Kuss looked certain to win the 20th stage of the Tour de France on Sunday afternoon after distancing Richard Carapaz twice on the descent of the Col de Sarenne. With less than ten kilometres to the Alpe d’Huez finish, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider held a 20-second advantage. Then, with 7.1 km remaining, he misjudged a corner inside a tunnel and crashed. He remounted quickly enough to keep a narrow lead, but one minute later, at 5.8 km from the line, he lost control again on another bend. This time he slid into the safety netting that separated the road from a ravine, hitting the parapet. Carapaz swept past, and Remco Evenepoel overtook Kuss in the final metres to take second place. Kuss crossed third.
- Kuss leads Carapaz by 20 seconds after dropping him on Col de Sarenne.
- First crash in a tunnel; Kuss remounts quickly and keeps a narrow advantage.
- Second crash into a safety barrier above a ravine; Carapaz overtakes.
- Carapaz wins. Evenepoel passes Kuss for second; Kuss finishes third.
Kuss’s reaction
After the finish, Kuss apologised to his family and described the close call.
Despite the disappointment he was named the day’s most combative rider and took pride in the team’s resilience.I was so on the limit that I misjudged the corner. First in the tunnel, then afterwards I was still trying to make up too much time and misjudged the next turn. It was a bit scary; sorry to my wife and my family who were watching at home!
I’m happy with my fighting spirit and my performance; it was a big day. You can’t always have luck. We can be proud of how we fought as a team. After Jonas [Vingegaard] abandoned, we got the maximum out of every stage. We can be proud of our efforts.
Team context
Visma-Lease a Bike had opened the Tour with victory in the Barcelona team time trial, and Jonas Vingegaard wore the yellow jersey for two days before withdrawing from the race. Kuss’s near-miss on the Sarenne descent was the team’s last clear shot at a mountain stage win. The 21st and final stage into Paris was shortened to ease the burden on emergency services already stretched by wildfires.
