Pogacar set to equal Tour record as Carapaz wins stage

The astir demanding signifier of the full contention was near to the penultimate day, successful which riders had to ascent 5,450 metres crossed 3 hors class climbs covering 170.9km to decorativeness successful the iconic Alpe d'Huez ski-resort for a 2nd clip successful 2 days.

American Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike was portion a ample aboriginal breakaway which contained riders looking for a signifier win, and attacked unsocial with astir 25km to go.

The 31-year-old looked to person recovered the spot which helped him triumph the Vuelta a Espana successful 2023 and seemed acceptable to clasp connected to a slender pb for victory.

But the often unflappable Kuss was connected the ragged borderline and crashed connected a right-hand country aft getting his enactment wrong, his rear instrumentality sliding connected particulate astatine the borderline of the roadworthy earlier coming to a halt fractional disconnected his motorcycle and leaning into information netting which prevented him from falling down a sheer drop.

He maintained his pb that clip but soon crashed again coming retired of a passageway approaching Alpe d'Huez municipality and the tenacious Carapaz, of EF Education-Easypost, swept past Kuss and into the pb arsenic the American.

Carapaz, the 2019 Giro d'Italia winner, took his 2nd signifier triumph successful 3 days and besides secured triumph successful the king of the mountains competition.

Typically, connected a signifier specified arsenic this 1 successful the French Alps, Pogacar would beryllium expected to present yet different masterclass but helium held backmost to assistance Del Toro, who astatine 1 constituent was starting to conflict connected the Col du Galibier, to support his achromatic jersey and 3rd spot wide from French sensation Paul Seixas of Decathlon CMA-CGM.

The 19-year-old Seixas yet ran retired of vigor connected the last upland of the contention and is acceptable to decorativeness 4th successful the wide classification, 11 minutes and 56 seconds down connected Pogacar's wide time.

Britain's Tom Pidcock of Pinarello-Q36.5 finished the signifier 16th, 9 minutes and 3 seconds down, and volition decorativeness ninth wide successful the GC.

Denmark's Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek volition triumph the greenish points jersey successful Paris connected Sunday conscionable by finishing arsenic helium leads Belgium's Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech by an uncatchable 82 points.