Kaden Groves steps out of his comfort zone to win stage 20 of the Tour de France

What a classic the Tour de France had prepared for its penultimate chapter, through the rugged terrain of Ain and the foothills of the Jura mountains. Classic terrain with many teams in need of seeking victory, making it certain that a high-level breakaway would emerge victorious.

A hard crash at the decisive moment leaves Iván Romeo with no chance of victory in the Tour de France

We all thought of him as a pure sprinter, but Apecin-Deceuninck never ceases to surprise us. They lost Jasper Stuyven after he won a stage for them; they lost Mathieu van der Poel, who not only won a stage but also wore the yellow jersey for several days, and when it seemed like they had everything under control and would just aim to reach Paris, Kaden Groves, included surprisingly in the Belgian team's lineup, after not being able to shine in the mass sprints, gave a new victory to Alpecin-Deceuninck by finishing a very high-level breakaway.

Although it was known that the breakaway would be the protagonist of the stage, stage 20 did not start excessively violently, a sign that the forces are already very tight in the peloton at this stage of the Tour de France.

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It was necessary to wait for the first climb of the day for the attempts to begin, and here, it took a while for the breakaway to form, with the added difficulty of rain making the stage even tougher. Finally, a trio formed at the front with Tim Wellens, Matteo Jorgenson, and Ewen Costiou, and behind them, another larger group in pursuit with riders like Kaden Groves or Romain Gregoire, where Iván Romeo inserted himself once again.

However, the peloton did not give up the chase, as Jordan Jegat also joined the breakaway, positioned in eleventh place overall, threatening Ben O'Connor's Top 10 position. This forced the scarce resources of Jayco-AlUla, mainly Mauro Schmid, despite suffering a spectacular fall on the descent of the first climb. A shortage of resources that could not prevent the breakaway, in which both groups soon merged, from gaining an advantage.

Little action in the rest of the stage until reaching the penultimate climb of the day, a third-category hill that was deceptive because its 3.8 km were at an average gradient of 8.9%. Attacks resumed among the escapees trying to select the group, with Jegat and Harry Sweeny being the strongest, managing to open a twenty-second gap until the Australian made the Frenchman crack and went off alone with over 50 kilometers still ahead.

Sweeny would enjoy almost a minute's lead, causing nerves behind where attacks resumed. Contrary to what usually happens in breakaways, where attacks only benefit the rider in front, this time Wellens and Jorgenson gave up, so without the expected strong riders at the front, the organization regrouped to catch Sweeny just before the start of the last categorized climb of the day.

A climb where Iván Romeo bravely tried to break the group but failed to do so. The Spaniard would try again on the descent, under a heavy downpour and with the road like an ice rink. Many risks that led to a crash for the Movistar rider. This incident also caused the group to split, with only Kaden Groves, Frank van den Broek, and Jake Stewart managing to stay together.

The Australian sprinter did not hesitate a few kilometers later and, taking advantage of the surveillance among his companions, accelerated to go for an unusual victory for a rider of his characteristics.

The peloton arrived 7 minutes later, with a disappointed Ben O'Connor unable to maintain his privileged position in the general classification, now occupied by Jordan Jegat, who, quietly but effectively, has had a fantastic Tour de France.

Stage 20 Classification

1. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4h06'09''
2. Frank van den Broek (Picnic-PostNL) +54''
3. Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal-QuickStep) +59''
4. Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana) +1'04''
5. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) +1'04''
6. Jake Stewart (Israel-PremierTech) +1'04''
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) +1'04''
8. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +1'04''
9. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +1'04''
10. Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) +1'04''

General Classification

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 73h54'59''
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +4'24''
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +11'09''
4. Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL) +12'12''
5. Felix Gall (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +17'12''
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +20'14''
7. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +22'35''
8. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) +25'30''
9. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +28'02''
10. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) +32'42''