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60km to go: Jordan Jegat leads the field over the hill, and is followed by Harry Sweeney, the Australian, who looks strong. There’s a chase group going off the peloton and it’s led by Wout van Aert, not the force of old, but still the superdomestique superhero. That hill smashed up the field, and it’s split all over the hill. Michael Woods is in the Van Aert group. The great man is making them suffer, and is not far off the riders Jegat and Sweeney left behind.
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65km to go: Here we go on the second category climb. It’s tight and steep, and over 3.4km. Tim Wellens is looking leggy. Has he, like UAE teammate Pog, had enough? Matteo Trentin a fellow struggler. The peloton takes to the hairpins with questions asked over whether the teams who want a stage win will try to catch the breakaway.
Robert Summerling gets in touch: “I can’t beat the USA reader: but within France it’s invaluable to match the France TV3 coverage with the Guardian blog. Back in UK we got behind a paywall next year so the blog is precious.”
Yes, after five decades, from the days of Keysey, Phil and Paul through Gary Imlach to the modern pairing of David Millar and Ned Boulting, the free-to-air coverage has been exemplary and will be missed. TNT, with its former Eurosport coverage, is excellent, particularly Rob Hatch, Adam Blythe and Orla Chennouai, and you can’t beat Sean Kelly’s burr. Happy memories of David Duffield, too. But still, we were spoiled in the UK.
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Updated at 08.58 EDT
70km to go: More Pogacar from Friday: “”I’‘m at a point where I wonder why I’m still here. It’s been three very long weeks. You’re counting down the kilometers to Paris. So yeah, I can’t wait until it’s over so I can have some fun things in my life again.
“I’m obviously tired, It’s not been an easy Tour, with people attacking me from left to right, from day one until the end, so I’ve been focused and motivated. The priority is the yellow jersey.”
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75km to go: The breakaway continues to pile it on, Tim Wellens taking on fuel before that imminent climb, from where the stage winner is likely to come.
In the French press, Pogacar’s mood is being discussed. L’Equipe: “Okay, the weather was pretty gloomy, the rain was beating down hard on the metal roofs of La Plagne, the cold was gripping these thin bodies already dried out by three weeks of effort, but still, we had never seen a Yellow Jersey pull such a face on the evening of the last mountain stage of the Tour de France, two days before a victory in Paris.”
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85km to go: Schmid, a brave man, is back in the peloton. as they head beyond Champagnole, twinned with Dukinfield, Greater Manchester. The gap is two minutes to Pogacar’s group. The Côte de Thésy, 62km out, a second category climb, is where the pack may split.
Spectators line the race route in the ascent of Cote de Thesy. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 09.06 EDT
95km to go: Another faller, Clement Champoussin, sliding along and into the barrier, a victim of the greasy road. He nearly got hit by a service car, too. Van Moer and Watson’s chasing is done, as they are eaten up by the pack. They seem happy for that large break to contend for the stage win.
XDS Astana Team’s French rider Clement Champoussin. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 08.41 EDT
100 km to go: It’s 13 riders who are clear, according to the official site, and they are: Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Ewan Costiou (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost), Simone Velasco (Astana), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step), Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ), Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Jake Stewart (Israel Premier Tech) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceininck)
Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) is chasing a minute behind the 13 leaders. Brent Van Moer (Lotto) following him. Back in the field, De Lie is 12 minutes behind, and a minute behind the grupetto. The peloton is 90 seconds or so off the pace. Pogacar isn’t playing ball today.
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110 km to go: A nice email, and one that applies to Amy, Barry, Luke, Tom and Michael, too, for their efforts over the Tour. Vincent gets in touch: “I’ve been following your work ever since your ESPN days and I still regularly catch your pieces and listen to your contributions on both the Guardian Football Weekly and Second Captains.
“Anyway: this is the first year I haven’t been able to watch the Tour live given paywalls in the States and thus have relied on the MbM coverage. So imagine my surprise when I saw your name up on some of the bylines this year: John Brewin, he of excellent musical taste and questionable football fandom, covering the TdF!
“As this year’s tour winds down, I wanted to send a note of appreciation. The tour coverage has been excellent. You and the rest of your colleagues have kept me plugged in when I would otherwise be missing out. Thanks for what you do!”
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115km to go: There’s a large breakaway group formed now, after a union of two groups. Back in the field, Mauro Schmid, of Switzerland, has a nasty fall. His bike smashed into smithereens, and he doesn’t look much better. Lots of plotting going on. The intermediate sprint, for what it is worth, was won by Simone Velasco. That’s the only prize Pogacar cannot win.
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Updated at 08.02 EDT
130km to go: Tim Wellens, the iron man, is leading the latest breakaway. It looks as if Onley and Gall are back on, but embers burning up, surely. The gap is just 17 seconds between the leaders and the peloton. Matteo Jorgenson and Ewan Costiou are out front with Wellens.
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140 km to go: Some casualties, including Quinn Simmons and Fred Wright, two names mentioned as possibles for the stage win, as the peloton goes on another, oh so cruel climb, the fourth category Cote de Valfin. It’s a grim day out there, sodden wet. And, oh no, Onley is losing time, as is Felix Gall, two riders high on the GC. Onley has looked shattered, and he’s likely to get back on, but the tank must be near empty. Warning signs abound.
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Pogacar wins polka jersey outright
150 km to go: Louis Barre and Ivan Romeo taking the points at the top of the hill means that Tadej Pogacar is officially the King of the Mountains, and now the descent begins, and quickly the clicks being eaten up, with Davide Ballerini of Astana hurtling down, and dangerously so, to go off the front as the pack splits.
Les Rowley gets in touch: “Yesterday’s stage to La Plagne suggested that Pogacar is too tired to attack, he can’t wait for the finish line to appear, and Onley is too afraid to attack. Another stalement day.”
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Updated at 07.12 EDT
160km to go: The trio didn’t last long. Tim Wellens does what Tim Wellens does and hauls the peloton back, with Van Aert joining him. The breakaways will have to keep until later in the day. A few keep having a look at going away. Pavel Sivakov, who has given his all as a domestique in the last three weeks, is labouring down the field. Fred Wright really fancies this as his chance.
Belgian rider Wout van Aert. Photograph: Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 07.19 EDT
165 km to go: This third-category climb, the Col de la Croix, isn’t easy. The weather overnight has caused some debris on the road. And the rain is pouring down now. Jonathan Milan has dropped off, saving his powder for Paris, no doubt. Asgreen is caught, and Thibau Nys of Lidl and Harry Sweeny go off the front. This is grim for all concerned. Raul Garcia Pierna of Arkea-B&B Hotels makes it a breakaway trio in the pouring rain.
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Updated at 06.47 EDT
170km to go: Fred Wright leads the pack up the climb as Asgreen forges on. Dropping back, and rather worryingly, Arnaud De Lie is way off the back of the peloton.
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175km to go: This really looks unforgiving for a penultimate stage. No mercy. The gap is 25 seconds. Many will feel they have chances. The first climb beckons and Van Aert leads the peloton up with licence to go for the breakaway.
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Away we go in Nantua
And away go the breakaway contenders. Healy, Arahamsen and Schmid are the chasers as Kasper Asgreen decides to take up the cudgels and go for it. His EasyPost team roar him on from the team car.
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Wout van Aert on TNT Sports: “Obviously, I feel tired. It’s been tough mountain stages, the weather, long transfers. We’re looking forward to getting to Paris. For sure, I’ll try to be in the breakaway today. Tomorrow is a chance, but you can’t miss an opportunity here in the Tour de France. But breakaway days have climbers in the moves and that will make it difficult.”
Fred Wright: “First part of the plan is to get both of us in the breakaway. That would be a nice start. There’s a 12km climb at the start but it’s nice and steady and I think we could both get in the break.”
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There are 14 teams without a stage win in Le Tour 2025. “I’m gonna try” is how Alaphilippe is quoted. A win for France would be welcome.
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Here’s the offical map of today’s lumpy, bumpy stage.
Tour de France, Stage 20 Photograph: TDF/ASOShare
Friday saw the last of the mountains, and a second win for Ineos’s Arensman. Bad news for this year’s plucky Brit.
it was a disappointing stage for Scotland’s Oscar Onley, who after surviving almost everything that the Tour could throw at him, fell away from the podium positions in the closing moments, after third-placed Florian Lipowitz attacked to move clear with Pogacar and second-placed Vingegaard.
Onley has given so much, ridden so well but he looked done in after Thursday’s stage; his post-ride interview was not much fun to watch. Full credit for him hanging on so long in the high mountains. So much more to come from him. The difficulty of staying with Pogacar and Arensman is shown by the state of Arensman when he crossed the line on Friday.
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William Fotheringham previewed this stage thus:
The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as the Dane Mattias Skjelmose.
NB: Mattias Skjelmose abandoned after a crash last weekend. Ben Healy, over to you?
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Preamble
After the mountains, a stage of Classic length and dimensions. It’s been a true test, this year, thin gruel for sprinters and this looks a day for the puncheurs. Who’s the best of them? With Van der Poel gone, Evenepoel gone, there’s perhaps a day for an old dog like Julian Alaphilippe, should he keep his radio. Or, perhaps the best of all, as he is at everything bar the sprinting – and a dig in Paris on Sunday can’t be ruled out – is Tadej Pogacar, all but assured of his fourth maillot jaune to keep. We’re already talking about the Vuelta, in truth and a fifth tour.
The neutralised start is 11.05 UK time. One last dig before Paris.
TotalEnergies’ Thomas Gachignard poses with a cut out of teammate Emilien Jeanniere. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier/ReutersShare
Updated at 07.09 EDT
