As it happened: Late crash drama and GC podium remains unchanged on stage 20 of the Tour de France

Bonjour and welcome to stage 20 of the Tour de France!

If you thought the last two stages were hard, wait ‘till you see this. With no less than 5,450m of elevation gain, and three hors category mountains, this is undoubtedly the queen stage of this year’s Tour de France.

'A death march, maybe the hardest Tour stage ever' - Tour de France stage 20 preview as the race heads back up Alpe d’Huez

While any doubts about Tadej Pogačar’s fitness were answered pretty comprehensively with his win yesterday, and his victory in the overall classification all but sealed, there remains much to play for. Only 24 seconds separate Del Toro on the podium and Seixas in fourth place; the King of the Mountains remains a three-way contest; and over half the teams are still seeking a stage win.

While there won't quite be the scenes of Alpe d'Huez yesterday, that has split opinion for the way they were balanced between spectacle and danger, there are still a huge number of fans on the roadside to watch the queen stage including at the start in Le Bourg d'Oisans, from where the riders have just rolled out from the unofficial start.

Unpopular opinion: Alpe d'Huez is on the limit, and it wasn't even the best atmosphere at this Tour de France

With the yellow jersey looking secure, it might be that UAE Team Emirates XRG turn their attention towards Isaac del Toro, and winning him the white jerseys and the final podium spot ahead of Paul Seixas. The pair have visibly gotten along very well through this race, and it could be that Pogačar sacrifices his own ambitions for a stage win today to help his teammate.

'We've kept motivating each other' - Isaac del Toro tightens grip on Tour de France podium as UAE Team Emirates bounce back from illness

OFFICIAL START

And they're off! Nelson Oliveira is the first rider to attack, and takes abut five riders with him, including Mauro Schmid, but they fail to get a gap. This could be a prolonged battle to form the break, given how many riders want to win a stage and how little time there is left.

A group of 6 has formed, and has a lead of 40 seconds: Steinhauser, Abrahamsen, Veistroffer, Barguil, Delbove and Azparren. That’s a decent lead, but there’s still likely to be plenty of attackers from the peloton once they start climbing the first mountain of the day, the hors category Col de la Croix-de-Fer.

The break start the Col de la Croix-de-Fer with a decent lead of 1:15, but that's likely to evaporate once the stronger climbers launch attacks to try and get into the break. This is a real slog of a mountain, only averaging 5.2%, but going on for a mammoth 24.1km.

Steinhauser is probably the strongest climber on paper of those in the break, but he's likely setting up EF teammate Carapaz, who wants to seal the King of the Mountains jersey today.

There are some tentative attacks at the front of the peloton on the lower slopes of this climb, with Jorgenson and Carapaz hovering towards the front, but nobody have a gap yet. Most interestingly, Ayuso tried to move - he must be feeling better after his tough stage yesterday, and is seeking to rise back up the GC.

The lead group has broken up, with Steinhauser, Barguil, Azparren and Abrahamsen going clear of the others on this climb. Meanwhile behind, the peloton is being thinned out with riders dropping out of the back - and even Mads Pedersen is being dropped. He must at long last be paying for the huge amount of attacks he has made throughout this race.

The lead group has been caught, and the race is all back together. There hasn't been any major attacks from the peloton yet, but Ayuso did try another tentative move. Might that change now there isn't a group up the road?

150KM TO GO

A group of about 15 riders have formed, and it's a strong one - Visma are pushing on at the front of it with Kuss, Jorgenson and Armirail, and also here are Carapaz, Healy, Paret-Peintre, Johannessen, Hindley, and Ayuso.

UAE Team Emirates XRG don't seem happy with it, and are riding at the front of the peloton, keeping them at about 20 seconds.

Today’s stage finishes up Alpe d'Huez again, but not quite as we know it. It’s to be climbed via the Col de Seranne rather than the more familiar route taken yesterday.

One man who does know that ascent is Pete Kennaugh, who won here in 2017 when a stage of the Dauphiné finished here. Here are his recollections of it.

'There was no discussion, I just went' – Pete Kennaugh, the last winner on Alpe d'Huez via Col de Sarenne, reflects on memorable day from the Team Sky era

The peloton is swelling again, as UAE set a steady tempo with Yates, and dropped riders return - including Mads Pedersen. There's an intermediate sprint at the bottom of the descent of this climb, where he could all but seal the points classification. He's digging very deep to try to do so.

There is still the break up the road, though, with about 15 riders in it and a lead of 45 seconds.

Visma are going all in for the stage win today, with Armirail pulling at the front of the breakaway group, maintaining its lead of about 30 seconds.

Along with Piganzoli and Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss is one of their four riders in the group. Based on how he rode yesterday, when he remained at the front almost all day for a third-place finish, he might be their best shout at pulling it off today.

Sepp Kuss still aiming for Tour de France stage win on Alpe d'Huez after being denied by Tadej Pogačar on stage 19

CARAPAZ ATTACKS

The polka-dot jersey accelerates, and it's a committed one. 3.5km from the top he's burst out of the breakaway group and has a gap over everyone - he wants the KOM points at the top.

And following the polka-dot jersey now the green jersey attacks - on an hors category climb! Mads Pedersen has accelerated out of the peloton, no doubt in search of the green jersey points on offer at the intermediate sprint. But it's a tall order, as he's 1:35 further down the mountain than Carapaz, and 1:10 from the rest of the break.

The pace is slow in the peloton, the gap to Carapaz growing to 2:20, and Benoot has attacked out from it, giving his Decathlon leader Seixas another rider up the road for later.

KOM - COL DE LA CROIX-DE-FER

Carapaz reaches the top of the climb by himself to take 20 more KOM points, and is closing in on victory in that classification - though he’ll need to capture more points on the upcoming summits to be sure.

Paret-Peintre was second to the summit, while behind him was the rest of the break, followed by Pedersen, who’s digging really deep and will n doubt fly down this descent to try to catch those in front of him.

Here are the updated KOM rankings.

1 Carapaz 111

2 Paret-Peintre 99

3 Pogačar 90

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Paret-Peintre has joined Carapaz at the front of the race on the descent, and the two share a sporting welcoming gesture before starting to work together.

Behind, Pedersen is flying down the descent, and has just joined the rest of the chasing breakaway group, where his teammate Ayuso is present. Further behind then, Benoot crashed on the descent, but managed to remount and is back racing.

The chasers have caught Carapaz and Paret-Peintre, and lead the race again - and Pedersen is in this group. The intermediate sprint is just 18km of downhill and valley roads away, and if he takes the points there, the green jersey is his, even before the Parisian finale.

DNF - ILAN VAN WILDER

Van Wilder crashed on the descent, and has unfortunately abandoned the race. That's a real shame for him, as he was right up there in GC a 12th overall.

He joins Pascal Ackermann, who also left the race earlier.

There’s a temporary calm in the race, as they move towards the intermediate sprint, where Pedersen looks sure to take the points and seal the green jersey.

After that, the tempo will likely shift again as priorities change, but in the meantime, have a read of our deep-dive anti-doping in modern day cycling.

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INTERMEDIATE SPRINT

He’s done it! Mads Pedersen rolls over to take the 25 green jersey points uncontested.

All he has to do now to seal victory in the points classification is to make it to the finish in Paris tomorrow. What a ride it’s been by the Dane, a worthy winner and a rider unparalleled in the way he rides with such panache. And to do so this way, attacking out of the peloton on an hors category climb to bridge up to a breakaway, epitomises what makes him so special.

100KM TO GO

Now, Lidl-Trek and Pedersen shift their attention towards Ayuso, and propelling him up the GC. He's up to fifth on the virtual GC as things stand, with the peloton three minutes down from the lead group containing Ayuso.

The riders are climbing again, up the Col du Télégraphe. This one's another very familiar one from Tour history, rising for 12km at 7.1%, and is almost immediately followed by an even more famous mountain, the Col du Galibier.

There are tired legs in the break, and many riders have been dropped on the lower slopes of the climb. Jorgenson and Armirail are done after their work earlier, as is Pedersen, unsurprisingly; and Paret-Peintre is yo-yoing off the back, his KOM hopes hanging by a thread.

90KM TO GO

Paret-Peintre is dropped for good, now 20 seconds back, and EF have noted. The group has thinned out to eleven riders, but Carapaz is still there and looking comfortable, and has company in his teammate Ben Healy.

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Ten riders remain in this breakaway that leads the race, as they climb the Col du Télégraphe - Kuss, Piganzoli, Ayuso, Carapaz, Healy, Arensman, Foss, Hindley, Riccitello and Tobias Halland Johannessen

Behind, the peloton has drifted to 4:30 behind, and as a result Bahrain-Victorious have taken over the pace-setting, aware that Ayuso is putting Lenny Martinez's 5th place under threat.

It's been a comfortable day so far for Tadej Pogačar, who has been surrounded by his UAE teammates, now clearly recovered from the problems that struck them earlier this week. And no there day has become even simpler, as Bahrain have taken on pace-setting duties.

Meanwhile the break are just 1.5km from the top, and Carapaz is poised to take the KOM points uncontested, with Paret-Peintre dropped.

KOM - COL DU TELEGRAPHE

Carapaz is led out by Healy, and eases off his wheel near the top to take the 10 points. With so many points on offer today, getting into the break and sweeping them up was exactly what he needed to do to seal the polka-dot jersey. If he can claim the 20 on offer at the top of the Galibier, the jersey is all but his.

1 Carapaz 121

2 Paret-Peintre 99

3 Pogačar 90

After the briefest of descents, they're going back uphill again, up the mighty Col du Galibier. Despite having spent so much of the last half an hour climbing, they still have a whole 17.7km to climb to get to the top, at a not inconsiderable average gradient of 6.8%. This is a punishing mountain.

Paret-Peintre has just been reabsorbed into the peloton That's it for his hopes of winning the polka-dot jersey - it's now Carapaz's to lose.

His breakaway group are seeing their gap reduced on the mountain, as Bahrain continue to pace the peloton, but they're still 3:50 ahead.

The breakaway at the front. There are a lot of different interests here - the Netcompany duo of Arensman and Foss are desperate for the stage, without having won one yet; Carapaz has the ambition of sealing the polka-dot jersey as well as the stage; Ayuso wants to move up the GC; and Hindley and Riccitello are here as satellite riders for their respective GC leaders, Evenepoel and Seixas.

70KM TO GO

Foss and Piganzoli have been dropped from the front group, and now, as Healy sets the pace, Arensman is struggling to hang on. Healy is going hard not just to set Carapaz up for the summit, but also for the stage win - the peloton have fallen back to over four minutes adrift.

Bahrain have ceded pace-setting duties back to UAE, and the gap to the leaders is growing again, to 4:30. They aren't looking in great shape, with Yates dropping out of the group, leaving Pogačar with just Del Toro and Großschartner left with him.

Healy is done at last, and has dropped out of the lead group. Despite struggling earlier, Arensman is having a second wind, and as taken over at the front.

Behind, the peloton is still being led by Großschartner, and is 4:25 behind.

CARAPAZ ATTACKS

It's a trademark explosive move from Carapaz, who has dropped everyone in the group 4.5km from the summit of the Galibier. He countered a more subdued Ayuso move, and the Spaniard has now fallen adrift, behind Kuss, Hindley and Riccittelo, who lead the chase.

Hindley, Kuss and Riccitello have come back to Carapaz, with just under 3km left to ride until the summit of the climb. These appear to be the four strongest climbers from the day's break, and, with a lead now of 4:50 on the peloton, have a real chance of racing for the stage win.

Pogačar is having some words with Großschartner at the front of the peloton, and the latter continues to pace the peloton. They're going quick enough to thin the group out, with 10th on GC Jegat among those dropped, but are falling further and further behind the leaders, who are 5:30 ahead - and now just 1km from the summit. Carapaz has moved to the front in anticipation.

A big chance in the peloton, as Pogačar turns to a domestique role! He's setting the pace at the front, and immediately the group is thinning out. He's riding in support of Del Toro and his third place on GC.

KOM - COL DU GALIBIER

Carapaz goes over the summit of the Col du Galibier, the highest point of this year's Tour, securing both the Souvenir Henri Desgrange - and, if he makes it to the finish tomorrow, the polka-dot jersey. Chapeau, the Ecuadorian has ridden sublimely this final week of the Tour!

Meanwhile Pogačar's pace is proving too much for most - even his teammate Del Toro was struggling to hold on! He knocked his pace off a bit, and now has Evenepoel, Seixas, Martinez with him as well as Del Toro. Skjelmose has been dropped.

Pogačar leads the group of favourites 4:40 after the leaders (who have on the descent been joined by Ayuso), with just four riders on his wheel - Del Toro, Evenepoel, Seixas and Martinez. Skjelmose is chasing 20 second behind.

Here are the virtual KOM rankings now, Carapaz now holding a mathematically unsurpassable lead.

1 Carapaz 141

2 Paret-Peintre 99

3 Pogačar 90

Riccitello is struggling on this descent, and has been dropped by the other four. By contrast Ayuso managed to get back into that lead group on the descent, and is looking good to leap up the GC. As things stand, with the gap to the peloton still at about 4:30, he's up from 7th to 5th on the virtual GC.

Skjelmose, Van Gils and Prodhomme have just returned to the yellow jersey group, swelling it to 8 in size. That helps preserve Skjelmose's place on GC, while the other two give their respective GC leaders Evenepoel and Seixas some support in the group.

The riders are descending and heading back towards Alpe d'Huez, albeit via the different slope of the Col de Sarenne.

The crowds won’t be anything like what they were yesterday, which will come with a sense of relief for many in the peloton - especially those involved in the Einer Rubio / UAE Team Emirates XRG incident. Here’s more on that fall-out.

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30KM TO GO

It’s still Tadej Pogačar who leads the chase group as they near the bottom of the descent. He’s only brought the leading group back to four minutes so far, but they need to be careful - and not, as they did a few moments ago, start looking at each other.

Carapaz, Ayuso, Kuss and Hindley reach the foot of the Col de Sarenne, with a lead of 3:35 over the Pogačar-led group of favourites. Will they be able to hold that on the 13km, 7.3% climb?

The yellow jersey group also reach the foot of the climb, and there's a tussle between Pogačar and Prodhomme to lead the group. The latter takes over for a few moments, but knocked it off and the yellow jersey has resumed control, riding tempo for Del Toro.

The leaders at the front are attacking each other, with Ayuso and Hindley making attempts before being brought back by Kuss and Carapaz. Their lead to the yellow jersey group is don to 2:30, and they're in danger of being caught, especially if they keep riding like this.

Kuss has gone clear from the rest of the break! Hindley is second on the road at about 10 seconds, and Carapaz is bearing down on him and about to latch onto his wheel. Ayuso has fallen back though, and losing more ground, at 20 seconds.

Pogačar has been leading the group for a long time now, and has done since the last climb (pictured below), but appears to be riding well within himself. Seven riders are still with him, and Kuss is growing his advantage, which is now up to just under three minutes.

20KM TO GO

Kuss continues to lead, but Carapaz and Hindley are working well together and slowly brining him back. They can see him up ahead, and he's only about 8 seconds away.

Decathlon are making their move! Prodhomme has taken over at the front, and, unlike earlier, this time has Seixas on his wheel. And now Riccitello has dropped back to give the team another man.

They've upped the pace, but the group remains altogether for now, with Del Toro and Pogačar following them closely.

5km from the summit of the climb, Carapaz and Hindley have re-joined Kuss. They really have to work together, as Decathlon's acceleration is seeing their gap be eaten into - it's now down to just 2:15.

Prodhomme is done, having had to be called back by Seixas for going too hard. And now Riccitello is setting the pace, but Del Toro and the rest remain undropped, although Skjelmose is struggling to hang on.

Seixas takes over from Riccitello, but isn't really putting Del Toro under pressure. In fact, on his wheel Del Toro and Pogačar are feeling fresh enough to have a chat.

And now Del Toro takes over, and ups the pace - and Seixas is dropped! Only Pogačar and Evenepoel are able to follow Del Toro.

Up ahead, Kuss has dropped Carapaz and Hindley again. They're still in contention though, only a few seconds behind with a couple of kilometres still to climb.

The yellow jersey group is still at 1:45 - this is going to be a close call when it comes to the stage. What might play in Kuss' advantage is that Pogačar is still riding Del Toro rather than going on the charge again by himself. He's setting tempo for his teammate up the climb.

Up ahead, Hindley has been well distanced, but Carapaz is getting closer and closer to Kuss and will hope to catch him before the summit in under 1km.

Behind, Pogačar is leading the group consisting of Del Toro, Evenepoel, Ayuso (who was brought back from in front) and Martinez (who has rejoined from behind), but isn't making inroads on Kuss, who is 1:50 ahead.

KOM - COL DE SARENNE

Kuss goes over the top, about 20 seconds ahead of Carapaz. This is going to be a breathless final 14km as the latter tries to chase him down!

Pogačar leads himself, Del Toro, Evenepoel and Martinez over the top, two minutes later. It seems the stage will go to one of the two men at the front.

10KM TO GO

Carapaz has made some inroads, but not enough yet. He's still 15 seconds behind Kuss.

Meanwhile the yellow jersey group is two minutes down, with Seixas at least 40 seconds further down in a group with Sjkelmose and Ayuso. The Frenchman needs to dig deep to ensure is fourth place on GC is protected - he has a buffer of 2:54 over Martinez in fifth.

This is getting tense for Kuss! He's just about holding on to a lead of 13 seconds over Carapaz, and the Ecuadorian is on a mission.

CRASH - KUSS

Kuss has fallen - not once, but twice. He was up quickly the first time and managed to retain a lead, but the second time looks like it’s down for his chances - he’s up again quickly and racing, but Carapaz flies past him while he was on the ground, and now leads the race.

Carapaz swings back onto the Alpe d'Huez, where he so nearly took victory yesterday. With a lead of 9 seconds on Kuss, and 1:10 on the yellow jersey group, it looks like this time he'll take the win! He has less than 4km to the finish.

Hindley led the yellow jersey, and now Evenepoel takes over, surrounded by the fans on Alpe d'Huez - and now Evenepoel accelerates! Pogačar doesn't respond, and continues riding temp with Del Toro on his wheel. Del Toro is briefly dropped, but Pog slows down to allow him to latch back onto his wheel.

Martinez has been dropped, but is still going hard. The man 2:54 ahead of him on GC, Paul Seixas, is vulnerable, about 1:30 behind him.

Evenepoel is riding away, and hunting a stage win! He's got 40 seconds to make up on Carapaz, with 1500m still to climb to the finish.

1KM TO GO

Carapaz goes under the flamme rouge, leading Kuss by 25 seconds, Evenepoel by 35 seconds, and Pogačar and Del Toro by 55 seconds. The win should be his!

CARAPAZ WINS

Richard Carapaz does it again, taking his second stage win of the race - and this time, resplendent in the polka-dot jersey he has won!

Kuss is caught by Evenepoel on the finishing straight, taking third place, the latter taking second.

Pogačar and Del Toro are next to cross the line, arm in arm. They have all but sealed first and third place on the podium.

Paul Seixas came to the finish in tenth, in a group with Ayuso and Skjelmose at 2:55. That's enough to see him defend his fourth place on GC, while the two Lidl riders will remain seventh and sixth respectively.

They might not have added a seventh stage to their haul from this year's Tour, but Pogačar and Del Toro have all but sealed first and third place on this year's podium with their rides today. That's a feat the team has only managed once before, in 2023, with Pogačar and Adam Yates.

This was a rough day for Sepp Kuss, and he’ll be devastated at missing out on the stage win having led the race in the final kilometres until a dramatic double-crash. But it could have been much worse were it not for a well-positioned barrier on the final descent of the day.

Sepp Kuss misses out on stage victory after crashing twice on descent while leading into stage 20 finale at Tour de France

Thanks for joining us today, for what was a thrilling queen stage of the Tour de France. It’s been a Tour of real panache, as reflected by the riders who all but sealed victories in the classifications today - Pedersen for green, Carapaz for polka-dots, Del Toro for white and of course, Pogačar for yellow.

The action isn’t done yet. The riders head to Paris tomorrow, and (even if the route is set to be shortened), if last year’s stage is anything to go by, the new Montmartre route will produce another thriller. This Tour promises to go out with a bang - be sure to join us again for its finale.