Tadej Pogacar won stage 20 of the Tour de France to Le Markstein as Jonas Vingegaard could begin celebrating the defence of his title in the yellow jersey.
Pogacar proved unable to challenge Vingegaard for yellow in the last week of this race but made his point on the penultimate day as he outsprinted the Dane to the line on the final mountain stage before Sunday’s procession into Paris.
Felix Gall snuck ahead of Vingegaard for second place on the day, while Simon Yates and Adam Yates came in fourth and fifth, results that earn third overall for Adam and see Simon move up to fourth after Carlos Rodriguez suffered the impact of a crash early on the day.
Follow updates from stage 20 of the Tour de France below.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
Stage 20: 133km ride to Le Markstein ski resort in Vosges mountains
98km to go: Podium-chasing Carlos Rodriguez crashes
45km to go: Giulio Ciccone secures polka dot jersey
33km to go: Thibaut Pinot attacks!
11km to go: Pogacar and Vingegaard take charge at the front
Tadej Pogacar wins stage 20!
Jonas Vingegaard seals yellow jersey
Highlights of stage 20
16:38 , Lawrence Ostlere
Watch the last kilometre of that thrilling stage 20:
Tour de France LIVE – Simon Yates speaks
16:35 , Lawrence Ostlere
Simon Yates, who finished fourth today and fourth overall. “We were looking for the stage, but I didnt have the legs to jump across and UAE ramped it up in the final anyway. I’m pleased with [my Tour]. I lost 40 seconds early doors in a stupid crash, other than that, I’ve been quite good. I had a couple of days where I suffered in the heat but other than that I’m quite happy.”
Tour de France LIVE – Tadej Pogacar speaks
16:26 , Lawrence Ostlere
“I’m me again,” Tadej Pogacar says. “It was really cool to finish like this. Adam led me out really well, thanks to him it was a bit easier for me to prepare the finish.”
Stage 20 – top five
16:24 , Lawrence Ostlere
Here’s how they finished in that front group:
1. Tadej Pogacar2. Felix Gall3. Jonas Vingegaard4. Simon Yates5. Adam Yates
Tadej Pogacar celebrates winning stage 20 (Reuters)
Adam Yates finishes on the podium
16:23 , Lawrence Ostlere
Brilliant by Carlos Rodriguez, who fought back after that nasty early crash to finish the stage, losing only one spot in the overall standings. Adam Yates takes third on the GC, Simon Yates finishes fourth, Rodriguez is fifth in his first Tour de France and Pello Bilbao is sixth. Jai Hindley is seventh and Felix Gall takes eighth.
Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France
16:18 , Lawrence Ostlere
Jonas Vingegaard, of course, gets the consolation prize of confirming his second Tour de France triumph. He will enjoy the procession to Paris tomorrow.
Tadej Pogacar wins stage 20!
16:15 , Lawrence Ostlere
Tadej Pogacar sprints away from the climbers and Vingegaard sits up before the line, knowing the game is up. Pogacar celebrates fiercely – that meant a lot.
Tour de France LIVE – Vingegaard vs Pogacar
16:14 , Lawrence Ostlere
250m to go: Vingegaard tries to outsprint Pogacar around the outside, here we go…!
Tour de France LIVE – Yates setting up Pogacar for sprint
16:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
1km to go: Adam Yates leads Pogacar, with Vingegaard, Simon Yates and Felix Gall in tow…
Tour de France LIVE – Yates setting up Pogacar for sprint
16:12 , Lawrence Ostlere
2km to go: Simon Yates puts in a little accelaration and Pogacar leads the chase. The front five are now back together, with Adam Yates back on the front, trying to set up his teammate Pogacar to sprint to the line. Can anyone outsprint the Slovenian in this group? It seems unlikely.
Tour de France LIVE – five riders at the front contesting stage win
16:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
4km to go: The Yates twins have caught the leading trio, so we have five riders at the front now:
Adam Yates and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates), Simon Yates (Jayco-Alula), Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and Felix Gall (Ag2R).
Tour de France LIVE – Adam Yates closing in to help Pogacar
16:07 , Lawrence Ostlere
5km to go: Gall, Vingegaard and Pogacar have crested the final climb and are riding slightly downhill towards the finish. Vingegaard looks at Gall as if to say, how do we stop Pogacar and Yates doubling up on us? Gall tells the yellow jersey to take a turn on the front, and he duly does. They are going to have to work together to stop the UAE Emirates duo from taking control of this finish.
Tour de France LIVE – Vingegaard, Pogacar and Gall lead
16:03 , Lawrence Ostlere
8km to go: A fascinating game of cat and mouse at the front here as Vingegaard keeps looking across at Felix Gall and Tadej Pogacar. Who will launch an attack first? Pogacar doesn’t need to – he can wait to the top where a plateau will open the chance for a sprint finish. Vingegaard probably needs to attack sooner, you’d think.
Behind them, Simon and Adam Yates are closing in – they are about 15 seconds behind these leaders.
Tour de France LIVE – Yates brothers, Rodriguez and Bilbao fight for third
16:00 , Lawrence Ostlere
9km to go: Felix Gall leads Vingegaard and Pogacar up towards the finish like a sacrificial lamb. Behind them, another race is forming for the podium places. Simon Yates is trying to shake off his twin Adam Yates, who occupies third spot right now. Carlos Rodriguez is also there after his ealier crash, being helped by Tom Pidcock, and Pello Bilbao is with them too.
You can see the current standings via the ‘stopwatch’ tab above.
Tour de France LIVE – Vingegaard, Pogacar and Gall move clear
15:54 , Lawrence Ostlere
11km to go: The three best climbers at this year’s Tour de France surge away from Pinot, Pidcock and Barguil – the Briton tries to respond but he cannot for long. That is the last we will see of Thibaut Pinot attacking on a mountain stage at the Tour de France. Chapeau.
Tour de France LIVE – Six riders now lead the race
15:51 , Lawrence Ostlere
Vingegaard, Pogacar and now Felix Gall have caught up to the front three: Pinot, Pidcock and Barguil. So these six riders lead stage 20 and surely one of them is going to win the day in Le Markstein.
Tour de France LIVE – Pogacar attacks!
15:49 , Lawrence Ostlere
12km to go: Tadej Pogacar launches clear of the yellow-jersey group! Only Vingegaard responds, and the two of them are suddenly only 20 seconds from Pinot. Pinot is meanwhile being caught by Pidcock and Barguil – there’s three in the lead now! Action everywhere.
Tour de France LIVE – Pinot struggling to hold on
15:47 , Lawrence Ostlere
15km to go: Pinot’s gap has been cut slightly on the descent as they now climb towards the final peak of the day – the Col du Platzerwasel. So it’s Pinot by 12 seconds to a flying Tom Pidcock and Warren Barguil, and the yellow-jersey group are now less than one minute behind Pinot. Is the Frenchman cracking?
Tour de France LIVE – David Gaudu crashes
15:37 , Lawrence Ostlere
20km to go: David Gaudu is down! A crash out of nowhere on the descent, and the Frenchman chasing a top-10 finish is having to shake off what looks like a painful fall.
Tour de France LIVE – Pinot begins descent to final climb
15:31 , Lawrence Ostlere
25km to go: Pinot goes over the top of the penultimate climb and begins the 10km descent with a 30-second lead over Pidcock and the chasers – that’s a phenomenal solo attack. How much has he got left for the final climb? This will be a famous, emotional victory if he can pull it off on his final Tour de France. The yellow-jersey group is still 1min 30sec back.
Tour de France LIVE – Pinot leads Pidcock and Barguil
15:27 , Lawrence Ostlere
The French fans are going utterly nuts as Pinot cycles into waves of supporters which part for their hero. Behind him, Chris Harper has lost touch with Barguil and Pidcock.
Tour de France LIVE – Pinot leads Pidcock, Harper and Barguil
15:25 , Lawrence Ostlere
27km to go: Pinot is charging towards the top of the Petit Ballon all alone, with a 20-second lead over Pidcock, Harper and Warren Barguil, who has caught on to their wheel. When he gets to the top, you can bet Pidcock will launch down the descent and make up that time gap – it could be a straight duel on the final climb.
The yellow-jersey group are still 1min 20sec behind Pinot. Have Vingegaard, Pogacar and co left it too late to win the stage?
Tour de France LIVE – Pinot moves into solo lead
15:19 , Lawrence Ostlere
30km to go: Pinot goes alone! He’s surged clear and is trying to make a huge race-winning move. Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Ineos) and Australian Chris Harper (Jayco-Alula) are the only two able to give chase, now about 15 seconds back from Pinot.
Tour de France LIVE – Thibaut Pinot attacks!
15:10 , Lawrence Ostlere
33km to go: The breakaway hits the first of the final two climbs and Thibaut Pinot puts his foot down! The Vosges mountains is the great Frenchman’s home turf and he is taking charge. Tom Pidcock and a handful of the other breakers have gone with him.
They are 1min 30sec clear of the yellow-jersey group now and that gap is growing.
Tour de France LIVE – breakaway leads peloton into final two climbs
15:04 , Lawrence Ostlere
So, we are in to the final 40km of this stage 20 and the state of play is this: a group of 10 riers are working together well at the front in a breakaway that is steaming towards the first of the two category-one climbs that precede the finish, the Col du Petit Ballon (9.3km at 8.1%). It’s pretty steep and pretty long and some will crack here. The leaders are:
Pinot, Madouas, Ciccone, Skjelmose, Harper, Barguil, Van Gils, Uran, Vermaerke, Pidcock, Uran, Madouas and Vermaerke.
Behind them, only a minute back up the road, UAE Emirates are chasing with a stage win for Tadej Pogacar in mind. Jumbo-Visma are right there too, because Jonas Vingegaard wants the victory too.
Tour de France LIVE – Giulio Ciccone wins polka dot jersey!
14:55 , Lawrence Ostlere
45km to go: Giulio Ciccone goes over the top of the Col de la Schlucht before the rest and that is that – he has won the polka dot jersey. There are not enough King of the Mountains points left for Felix Gall or Jonas Vingegaard to catch him. He grabs his jersey and smiles, then turns and thanks his teammates who helped make it all possible today.
On this day in 2012
14:42 , Lawrence Ostlere
Bradley Wiggins became the first British rider to win the Tour de France on this day in 2012.
Wiggins finished three minutes and 21 seconds ahead of compatriot and Team Sky colleague Chris Froome to be crowned champion in the 99th edition of the race.
The then 32-year-old was left on the verge of history following his impressive time-trial win on the penultimate day.
And there were no slip-ups during the 20th and final stage, where Wiggins helped another Team Sky rider Mark Cavendish to victory on the Champs-Elysees.
“I don’t know what to say, I’ve had 24 hours for it to soak in,” he said following his win.
On this day in 2012: Bradley Wiggins celebrates historic Tour de France victory
Tour de France LIVE – Pidcock and Pinot among seven riders in breakaway
14:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
60km to go: There are seven riders out in front now, with the peloton about a minute behind them.
The leaders are: Pinot, Madouas, Ciccone, Skjelmose, Harper, Barguil, Van Gils, Uran, Vermaerke and Pidcock.
A day for Thibaut Pinot on his final Tour de France? Could Tom Pidcock deliver a stage win to go with his victory on Alpe d’Huez last year? They could do with a bigger gap from the chasing peloton first, which includes Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, both hungry for the stage win.
Tour de France LIVE – Giulio Ciccone closes in on King of the Mountains prize
14:17 , Lawrence Ostlere
75km to go: Giulio Ciccone is first of the breakaway over the top of the category two Col de la Croix des Moinats – that’s five more points and he is closing in fast on securing the polka dot jersey. He will need just a couple more KoM wins on the next ascents to seal the deal.
Giulio Ciccone sporting the polka dot jersey on stage 20 (AP)
Tour de France LIVE – stage 20 profile
13:59 , Lawrence Ostlere
The breakaway is approaching the second categorised climb of the day. Among them is Giulio Ciccone, looking to clinch more King of the Mountains points.
Here’s a closer look at today’s profile:
Stage 20 profile (letour)
Tour de France LIVE – breakaway forming ahead of peloton
13:53 , Lawrence Ostlere
85km to go: A breakaway of around 15 riders is trying to pull clear of the peloton, but UAE Emirates are working hard to haul them back and ensure Tadej Pogacar gets a look at winning this stage. The break are only around 20 seconds clear of the rest.
Tour de France LIVE: Sepp Kuss receives medical attention
13:46 , Lawrence Ostlere
91km to go: Jumbo-Visma’s Sepp Kuss is also struggling – he’s got a very similar injury to Rodriguez around his left eye and he’s receiving medical attention as he tries to catch up with the escaping peloton. Kuss’s teammate, the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, was just one bike away from being involved in that crash. That could have been hugely dramatic.
Tour de France LIVE: Carlos Rodriguez injured in crash
13:39 , Lawrence Ostlere
98km to go: A crash in the peloton! It looks like Carlos Rodriguez, the man currently fourth in the overall standings, has hit the ground and he looks hurt, with blood pouring from around his left eye and more on his left arm and leg. The young Spaniard is back on his bike, trying to catch up with the peloton, but this looks pretty bad.
Tour de France LIVE – stage 20
13:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
Here is how the top of the King of the Mountains standings look after that ascent:
Giulio Ciccone 93 points
Felix Gall 82
Jonas Vingegaard 81
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
At the top of the first climb of the day, the Ballon d’Alsace, Giulio Ciccone is teed up by his teammates before sprinting to pick up the maximum five King of the Mountains points on offer for this category two climb. Felix Gall wasn’t bluffing when he said he wasn’t interested in contested for polka dots, but Jonas Vingegaard sneaks to the front to try and grab some extra KoM points – but Ciccone’s teammate Mads Pedersen spotted what Vingegaard was up to and sprinted ahead to deny Vingegaard any points haul.
So now we know: the polka dots will be fought between Ciccone and Vingegaard today.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:24 , Lawrence Ostlere
110km to go: Victor Campenaerts has been reeled in and the peloton is back together as one. Lidl-Trek are working hard on the front to help Giulio Ciccone win the points he needs to protect the polka dot jersey.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
Interesting to hear from Felix Gall ahead of the stage, who tells ITV he is not prioritising the polka dot jersey today. He is only seven points behind Giulio Ciccone and there are a maximum of 37 King of the Mountains points up for grabs here, but Gall insists he won’t be fighting for it.
“If it happens it’s somehing, we’ll see how it plays out, but for sure it’s not the first priority today.”
Felix Gall won stage 17 in Courchevel (Reuters)
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20 preview
12:57 , Lawrence Ostlere
Here’s a closer look at today’s stage…
What is left to play for? The team category has been sewn up by Jumbo-Visma, to go with Vingegaard’s yellow jersey, and the green jersey has been won by Jasper Philipsen, assuming he can get through this day unscathed and before the time cut – his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates will ensure that he does. The best young rider’s white jersey will almost certainly be won by Pogacar for the fourth year in a row.
But the polka dot jersey is still very much on the line. Giulio Ciccone currently wears the famous red and white colours but his tally of 88 points at the top of the standings is not definitive. Austrian rider Felix Gall – winner of the Souvenir Henri Desgrange as the first over the top of the highest point of the race – has 82 points on the board. Then there is Vingegaard, with 81 points. There are 37 points available on stage 20, so this is where the King of the Mountains will be decided.
There is also a final podium spot up for grabs. Pogacar’s UAE Emirates teammate Adam Yates currently occupies third in the general classification, an impressive achievement given the work he has put in for his leader throughout the Tour. But Yates is only a minute or so up on Ineos’s Carlos Rodriguez and his twin brother Simon Yates, while Bahrain Victorious’s Pello Bilbao is around two minutes back from the podium. We can expect some attempts to dislodge Adam Yates, who will now doubt have his teammates’ support in defence of his place, which comes with plenty of prize money as well as prestige.
Tour de France stage 20 preview: A fight to be King of the Mountains
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
12:49 , Lawrence Ostlere
Stage 20 has just begun and in news that will shock no one who has followed this Tour de France, Belgian chaos-magnet Victor Campenaerts has gone on the attack immediately. He has won both of the past two combativity awards for his aggression over the last two stages and he’s on one again.
Tour de France 2023: Latest updates from stage 20
12:45 , Lawrence Ostlere
Follow all the action from the final stage before Paris.
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