Pogacar on brink of fifth Tour de France title as Carapaz wins queen stage, Ackermann abandons, Paris finale cut short
Tadej Pogacar finished fourth on the queen stage and enters the final day with a lead of 6 minutes 26 seconds. Richard Carapaz took the stage, Pascal Ackermann quit emotionally, and the Paris finale is shortened to 89 kilometres because of wildfires.
Queen stage: Carapaz seizes chance on Alpe d'Huez
On Saturday, the 170.9 km stage from Le Bourg d'Oisans to the iconic ski station of Alpe d'Huez provided the final mountain showdown of the 2026 Tour de France. Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz, known as a breakaway specialist, attacked from an early escape group and held on to win the stage. He was aided by two crashes of American Sepp Kuss, who had been leading the race on the road. Remco Evenepoel, the double Olympic champion from Belgium, overtook the fading Kuss to finish second, while Kuss managed third. Tadej Pogacar, in the yellow jersey, came home in fourth, deliberately slowing to help his young Mexican teammate Isaac del Toro secure third place overall.
Pogacar stands on the threshold of a fifth Tour
Pogacar's conservative ride means he will start the final stage with an advantage of 6 minutes 26 seconds over Evenepoel, who rides for the German Red Bull team, and 9 minutes 42 seconds over del Toro. Barring a freak incident, the 27-year-old Slovenian is set to claim his fifth Tour de France title, adding to his wins in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024.
- Remco Evenepoel
- 386 seconds
- Isaac del Toro
- 582 seconds
Ackermann's Tour ends in tears
German sprinter Pascal Ackermann abandoned on the climb of the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, his third Tour de France participation ending in bitter disappointment. Speaking to ZDF, he described legs that would no longer respond.
My legs just couldn't anymore today. I've been at my absolute limit the last two days. I just couldn't get moving anymore.
The 32-year-old had been struggling with a knee injury sustained the previous day when he collided with a team car while trying to overtake on a mountain road. He got his front wheel caught and flipped over the bonnet, twisting his knee.
I've been getting up every morning of this three-week race with pain. I hoped it would get better, but it wasn't the case today. That's not meant as an excuse. The legs were empty. But the knee also played a part.
Ackermann, who has won multiple stages at the Giro and Vuelta but never at the Tour, saw his best finish this edition as seventh on stage 8 to Bergerac. He refused to blame the enormous crowds lining the route, though he noted that a few reckless spectators sometimes cause problems. "There are always a few who do something stupid. But basically it wasn't anything terrible. The problem is that the cars then often can't get through," he said. With his voice breaking, he confessed, "My big goal was to reach Paris. I didn't manage that, I'm pretty disappointed."
Paris finale cut to 89 km over wildfire risks
Tour organisers announced that Sunday's final stage will be dramatically shortened because of the wildfires burning in southwestern France. The original plan of 133 km starting in the suburb of Thoiry has been scrapped. Instead, the peloton will roll out inside Paris and race only 89 km. Two extra laps of the Champs-Élysées circuit have been added, while the three ascents of the Butte Montmartre remain. The adjustment concentrates the day's action entirely in the capital and is intended to free up emergency services for firefighting operations.
