Julian Alaphilippe in the breakaway for the seventh time in three weeks.
Stage 20 of the Tour de France was held in the Jura, where a total of six classified climbs – including the Ballon d’Alsace, Petit Ballon and Col du Platzerwasel – combined for another full gas day in the saddle, which in the first part was animated again by the one and only Julian Alaphilippe, who clocked up more than 800 kilometers at the front since the Bilbao Grand Départ.
Soudal Quick-Step’s charismatic Frenchman joined the breakaway formed on the first slopes of the stage before launching his move on the technical descent, where he forced a selection. That attack saw Julian – one of the most combative riders of this edition – remain off the front together with a small group until 80 kilometers to go, when the yellow jersey group came back and the stage basically started again from scratch.
The main story was written on the last ascent of the day, where five men got away and ended up fighting for victory in Le Markstein Fellering, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) being the one who prevailed there. From here, the riders will now travel to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which Sunday afternoon gets to host the start of the final stage.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
