Richard Carapaz wins the queen stage of the Tour: the overall podium is decided

Richard Carapaz capped off an outstanding performance in the 2026 Tour de France with his second stage victory. The Ecuadorian triumphed on the twentieth day, the queen stage of the race, after holding on at the Col de Sarenne and taking advantage of Sepp Kuss's problems on the descent before Alpe d’Huez.

Richard Carapaz conquers the queen stage in Alpe d’Huez and Pogacar stays with Del Toro to secure the Mexican's podium

Remco Evenepoel finished second, 26 seconds behind, after a great final ascent in which he left Tadej Pogacar and Isaac Del Toro behind. The Belgian thus confirmed his second position in the general classification, while Pogacar dedicated a good part of the decisive stretch to accompany his Mexican teammate, who defended the third spot on the podium against Paul Seixas.

Carapaz also mathematically secured the mountain jersey after accumulating points from the Col du Galibier.

A queen stage with over 5,000 meters of ascent

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The day started in Le Bourg-d’Oisans and returned to Alpe d’Huez after 170.9 kilometers and a succession of major alpine passes. The route included the Croix de Fer, the Télégraphe, the Galibier, and the Col de Sarenne before the final stretch of 3.8 kilometers to the finish line.

The Croix de Fer, with 24 kilometers at 5.2%, caused an immediate selection. The race broke apart very early, and Mads Pedersen lost contact with the main group, although he later managed to return and link up with the breakaway.

The breakaway ended up gathering several high-level riders, including Richard Carapaz, Sepp Kuss, Jai Hindley, Juan Ayuso, Thymen Arensman, Matthew Riccitello, Ben Healy, and Tobias Halland Johannessen.

Visma-Lease a Bike placed up to four riders ahead and worked to maintain a breakaway that initially did not gain much margin. UAE Team Emirates-XRG controlled from behind with Adam Yates, Tim Wellens, and Nils Politt, keeping an eye on both Pogacar's leadership and Del Toro's white jersey and podium.

Pedersen seals the green jersey

Mads Pedersen once again demonstrated his ability to survive in the mountains. After rejoining the favorites' group at the Croix de Fer, the Dane attacked to reach the breakaway and secure the points from the intermediate sprint.

The move allowed him to mathematically put the green jersey on track. Jasper Philipsen still had a theoretical chance, but he needed to finish in the top ten in Alpe d’Huez, a practically impossible scenario on a day of this toughness.

Once he achieved his goal, Pedersen worked for Juan Ayuso and ended up giving way at the start of the Télégraphe.

Carapaz seals the mountain jersey

The battle for the mountain classification became one of the major focuses of the stage. Carapaz started the day with a minimal lead over Pogacar and with Valentin Paret-Peintre still in the fight.

The Ecuadorian attacked before the summit of the Croix de Fer and took the 20 points. Paret-Peintre passed second but began to show signs of fatigue in the following kilometers.

At the Télégraphe, Carapaz again scored the maximum, while Paret-Peintre fell definitively behind. The verdict came at the Galibier, where the EF Education-EasyPost rider topped the climb in first position, added another 20 points, and mathematically secured the polka dot jersey.

Carapaz also took the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, reserved for the first rider to surpass the highest point of the Tour.

Pogacar selects the group at the Galibier

Behind, UAE maintained control until Tadej Pogacar decided to take the lead personally on the final slopes of the Galibier.

The leader's pace reduced the favorites' group to just five riders. Alongside Pogacar were Evenepoel, Del Toro, Seixas, and Lenny Martinez. The acceleration left riders like Mattias Skjelmose and Juan Ayuso, who had been part of the breakaway, behind.

Pogacar did not launch a direct attack, but his pace helped control Del Toro's situation against Seixas. Only 24 seconds separated them in the fight for third place and the white jersey.

After a long descent and passing through the valley, the breakaway maintained over four minutes at the start of the Col de Sarenne.

Kuss breaks the breakaway at Sarenne

The climb to Sarenne, 12.8 kilometers at 7.3%, finished selecting the race. At the front were Carapaz, Kuss, Hindley, and Ayuso, although the Spaniard began to lose ground as the attacks started.

Kuss accelerated nine kilometers from the summit and left Carapaz behind first and then Hindley. The American seemed headed for victory while Carapaz was going through one of his most delicate moments.

The Ecuadorian, however, managed to stabilize his pace and returned alongside Hindley. Both cut the gap with Kuss, although the Visma rider topped the Sarenne with about 20 seconds of advantage.

In the favorites' group, Decathlon CMA CGM set their strategy in motion for Seixas. Nicolas Prodhomme and Matthew Riccitello toughened the climb to try to drop Del Toro.

The Mexican responded personally. After a brief pull from Evenepoel, Del Toro accelerated and left Seixas behind, who ultimately lost his chances of entering the podium.

Two falls by Kuss change the stage

Kuss entered the descent towards Alpe d’Huez as the main candidate for victory but made two consecutive mistakes.

In the first fall, he lost a good part of his lead over Carapaz. Shortly after, he made another mistake in a curve, hit the concrete barriers, and was close to being thrown into the ravine. The safety nets prevented more serious consequences.

Carapaz took advantage of the situation to take the lead before the final uphill stretch. Kuss managed to get back on his bike, but he had already lost the initiative and several crucial seconds.

The Ecuadorian started the last 3.8 kilometers with about ten seconds of advantage over Kuss. The group of Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Del Toro was just over a minute behind.

Evenepoel attacks and Carapaz resists

Jai Hindley returned to the favorites' group and began to work for Evenepoel. His pace left Lenny Martinez behind and set up the Belgian's attack.

Evenepoel accelerated in the final part and managed to distance Pogacar and Del Toro. The Tour leader did not respond and focused on accompanying his teammate, although the Mexican ended up losing his wheel for a few moments.

Meanwhile, Carapaz faced the last kilometers completely at the limit. Evenepoel quickly cut the gap and passed Kuss in the final stretch, but he did not arrive in time to contest the victory.

Carapaz crossed the finish line with a 26-second advantage over Evenepoel and 31 over Kuss. Pogacar and Del Toro finished together at 1:05, while Lenny Martinez lost two more seconds.

The Ecuadorian thus closed the alpine block with two victories in three days, after also winning in Orcières-Merlette.

Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Del Toro secure the podium

The last mountain stage confirmed the order of the top three in the general classification. Pogacar easily maintained the yellow jersey, Evenepoel reinforced his second position, and Del Toro defended third place against Seixas's attack.

The young Frenchman started the day just 24 seconds behind the Mexican but could not keep up the pace on the Col de Sarenne and definitively lost contact with the leader's group.

Unless a fatal incident occurs on the final day in Paris, Pogacar will win the 2026 Tour de France ahead of Evenepoel and Del Toro.

Top 10 of stage 20

1. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – 4:59:39
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 26 seconds
3. Sepp Kuss (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – at 31 seconds
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 1:05
5. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 1:05
6. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 1:07
7. Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 2:15
8. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 2:55
9. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 2:55
10. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 2:55

Top 10 of the general classification after stage 20 Tour de France 2026

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 72:53:44
2. Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) – at 6:26
3. Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – at 9:42
4. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) – at 11:56
5. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) – at 13:02
6. Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) – at 14:59
7. Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) – at 17:48
8. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) – at 20:00
9. Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team) – at 29:28
10. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) – at 33:21