In another spectacular day full of mountains, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) was unbeatable and took the victory in the penultimate stage of the Tour de France 2024, disputed over 132.8 kilometers between Nice and the Col de la Couillole.
The Slovenian did not give anything to his rivals and reinforced his leadership of the general classification without problems; while the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz (EF Educatión-EasyPost), who led the breakaway of the day, secured the jersey of the ‘red pins’ that identifies him as the best climber of the French round.
The two-time Tour winner was the strongest in the final meters and celebrated his fifth Grand Bouclé victory. Pogacar overtook his closest rival Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in a demanding finish. Third came Richard Carapaz (EF Educatión-EasyPost) 23 seconds behind.
The peloton again faced a tough bunch on the penultimate day. The Col de Braus (10.2 km at 6.2%), the Col de Turini (20.7 km at 5.7%) and the Col de La Colmiane (7.5 km at 7.1%) were the prelude to the final climb: the Col de la Couillole (15.7 km at 7.1%).
On the first climb of the day the Uno-X Mobility men, with Jonas Abrahamsen, Søren Wærenskjold and Magnus Cort, were very active. The latter led a promising group for a while, but at the foot of the Col de Braus they were neutralized by the peloton.
Then Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost) picked up the pace in the service of King of the Mountains Richard Carapaz. Ahead was a small group with Dutchman Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike), Frenchman Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Spaniard Enric Mas (Movistar Team).
In the mountainous closure, Mikel Landa led the group of favorites. Only Evenepoel, Vingegaard, Pogacar, Almeida and Jorgenson managed to follow the wheel of the strong Spanish climber eight kilometers from the final summit.
Minutes later, Evenepoel’s expected attack came, but he failed in his attempt, quickly countered by Vingegaard and Pogacar. The white jersey wearer failed to take out the Scandinavian and then ran into a counterattack by the Dane.
Enric Mas and Richard Carapaz, great protagonists on the penultimate day of the Tour 2024. (Photo Tour de France© A.S.O. /Billy Ceusters)
In the final stretch, Vingegaard and Pogacar pushed the pace, chasing Carapaz and Mas, who had attacked each other. So we started the last two kilometers with four men. At 900 meters to the finish line only the first two in the general classification remained. In the sprint, the Slovenian was lord and master, taking his fifth stage win in this Tour de France. Vingegaard finished second, Carapaz 3rd and Evenepoel 4th.
The French round will end this Sunday with the dispute of the last stage, an individual time trial of 33.7 kilometers that will connect Monaco with Nice.
Tour de France (2.UWT)
Results Stage 20 | Nice – Col de la Couillole (132,8 km)
| 1 | POGAČAR Tadej | UAE Team Emirates | 4:04:22 |
| 2 | VINGEGAARD Jonas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 0:07 |
| 3 | CARAPAZ Richard | EF Education – EasyPost | 0:23 |
| 4 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Soudal Quick-Step | 0:53 |
| 5 | MAS Enric | Movistar Team | 1:07 |
| 6 | ALMEIDA João | UAE Team Emirates | 1:28 |
| 7 | JORGENSON Matteo | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 1:33 |
| 8 | LANDA Mikel | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:41 |
| 9 | YATES Adam | UAE Team Emirates | 1:43 |
| 10 | BARDET Romain | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | 1:52 |
Ranking General
| 1 | POGAČAR Tadej | UAE Team Emirates | 82:53:32 |
| 2 | VINGEGAARD Jonas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 5:14 |
| 3 | EVENEPOEL Remco | Soudal Quick-Step | 8:04 |
| 4 | ALMEIDA João | UAE Team Emirates | 16:45 |
| 5 | LANDA Mikel | Soudal Quick-Step | 17:25 |
| 6 | YATES Adam | UAE Team Emirates | 21:11 |
| 7 | RODRÍGUEZ Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | 21:12 |
| 8 | JORGENSON Matteo | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 24:26 |
| 9 | GEE Derek | Israel – Premier Tech | 24:50 |
| 10 | CICCONE Giulio | Lidl – Trek | 25:48 |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico