Tadej Pogačar sprints to Tour de France stage 20 spoils
Slovenian wins mountain-top finale while Vingegaard takes the Tour title
Tadej Pogačar sought and found redemption in the Haut-Rhin mountains today, out-sprinting Tour-winner elect Jonas Vingegaard and Ag2r's Felix Gall to take the stage victory, his second of this year's Tour de France.
The win will go some way to softening the sting of the Slovenian's jour sans on stage 17 when he lost over five minutes to Vingegaard.
It was also a stage in which Lidl-Trek's Giulio Ciccone secured the top spot in the king of the mountains competition, something he was able to achieve over the course of the day's first three climbs. Winning the polka-dots makes Ciccone the first Italian to do so since 1992 when Claudio Chiapucci claimed the jersey.
The day was further animated by local rider Thibaut Pinot as he attacked on the penultimate climb of the stage, le Petite Ballon, and managed to draw out a sizeable margin over the rest of the field. Riding through a rapture of spectators amassed on the mountain-side, the Frenchman was clearly energised by his supporters and crested the summit alone.
However, it was on the early slopes of the final climb, the Col du Platzerwasel, that the big hitters came out to play. A trademark attack from Pogačar– generating a huge amount of power – put paid to the entire peloton save for Felix Gall and the ever-present yellow jersey of Jonas Vingegaard, and soon they had caught and past a flagging Pinot who at this point had been joined by Tom Pidcock and Warren Barguil.
The trio pressed on to the line, and with a little help from Adam Yates who had arrived with brother Simon, Pogačar was able to comfortably claim victory in the sprint.
"I finally feel like myself again," said the UAE man at end of the stage.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Stage 20 results
1.Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Emirates 03h 27' 18''
2. Felix Gall (Aut) Ag2r-Citroën at st
3. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma at st
4. Simon Yates (GBr) Jayco-AlUla at st
5. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE-Emirates at 8"
6. Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic at 33"
7. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ at st
8. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain Victorious at st
9. Tobias Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X at 50"
10. Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Emirates at st
GC classification after stage 20
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma in 79h 16' 38''
2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 7' 29''
3. Adam Yates (GBr) UAE Team Emirates, at 10' 56''
4. Simon Yates (Gbr) Jayco-AIUla, at 12' 23''
5. Carlos Rodriguez (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers, at 13' 17''
6. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 13' 27''
7. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 14' 44''
8. Felix Gall (Aut) AG2R Citroën, at 16' 09''
9. David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 23' 08''
10. Guillaume Martin (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic 26' 30''
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Steve has been writing (mainly fitness features) for Cycling Weekly for 11 years. His current riding inclination is to go long on gravel bikes... which melds nicely with a love of carbs
-
'Why are other bikes so expensive?' - Van Rysel says it's not 'cheating the customer' as WorldTour bike undercuts competition
Van Rysel's flagship bike, as used by Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, is just the start of Decathlon's super bike journey
By Adam Becket Published
-
'We found out on social media' - British team Lifeplus-Wahoo on their Tour de France Femmes invite snub
There will be no British squads at the race for the first time in its history
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Wout van Aert back on drop bars as he says he’s 'almost professional again' in Strava post
Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs in a high speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard leaves hospital after Itzulia Basque Country horror crash
Danish rider underwent surgery to repair broken collarbone; too early to know whether Tour de France return will be possible
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Will the Tour de France be won by the last man standing?
With Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič hitting the deck at Itzulia Basque Country, all three now face battle to get their seasons back on track
By Adam Becket Published
-
Tom Pidcock unable to bear weight on right leg after Itzulia Basque Country crash
British rider crashed during recon of opening stage time trial last weekend and injured his right hip
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Mark Cavendish to miss Scheldeprijs as illness continues to affect schedule
Cavendish will ride Presidential Cycling Tour of Türkiye later this month, Astana Qazaqstan confirms
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Mathieu van der Poel not intimidated by Tadej Pogačar’s form ahead of Milan-San Remo clash
Dutchman starts his 2024 road season at Italian Monument on Saturday
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
'I pulled it off and turned everything around' - Brandon McNulty on the ride that changed him
US star grabbed his first ever Grand Tour win at last year’s Giro d’Italia
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Matteo Jorgenson, Visma-Lease a Bike’s new star, continues to impress at Paris-Nice
The American could step into the leaders yellow jersey on Tuesday evening after stage three’s team time trial in Auxerre
By Tom Thewlis Published