tour de france 2024: stage 20
by Rémy Rossi
Penultimate plans
Having arrived to the second-to-last stage of this year’s Tour, there wasn’t much time left to shake things up on the GC. Team Soudal-QuickStep grabbed the reins on the day and worked to set up an attack for Remco, hoping to make gains towards 2nd place overall. After a huge pull from teammate Mikel Landa, Remco jumped with 7 kilometers to go on the stage. Vingegaard— with Pogačar in tow— caught up with the Belgian and the group briefly settled down, only to be followed by yet another attack from Evenepoel. This time, however, Vingegaard not only responded but blew passed Remco as both the Dane and yellow jersey wearer carried on.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the audacious yet necessary attack by Remco was counterproductive, but it ended up being quite a self-inflicted wound. He ended the stage 53 seconds down from the 1-2 pair. Vingegaard has all but secured second place ahead of the Tour’s final stage with a two-minute-50-second lead over Evenepoel. It is an individual time trial though. Remco’s bread and butter may eat into that generous buffer.
Polka dots and spotty strategy
Richard Carapaz’ main objective for the day was securing ownership the King of the Mountains jersey. Having made into the break and taking full points on earlier climbs, he made it mathematically impossible for anyone else (specifically Pogačar) to steal the spotted shirt off his back. A day in yellow, an emphatic stage win, and the polka dot jersey. It ended up being a very successful Tour for the Ecuadorian and defending Olympic champion.
Today Carapaz also had a shot at another stage victory. He and Enric Mas (currently having a Tour to forget) led the race into the final kilometers and were providing some great entertainment. Constantly alternating attacks, the pair battled through the single-digit kilometer markers but trouble was brewing from behind. Vingegaard and Pogačar caught them with just 3 kilometers to go. Uff. Yet another promising breakaway gobbled up and robbed of hope. And the recent breakaways have been composed of some killer talent— we’re talking previous Grand Tour overall winners and podium placers (Simon Yates, Richard Carapaz, Enric Mas, Romain Bardet, etc.). You’ve got to be super-elite to even last in the break these days.
Arguably, Mas and Carapaz should have worked more together instead of battling it out in the last stretched of road. But I enjoyed the lively action and the simple fact that Pogačar was in the race makes me think that it maybe wouldn’t have mattered much anyway. Pogačar may be the master of all trades but he won’t be adding King of the Mountains to his honors, not this time anyway.
An apology letter to the breakaway
Dear breakaway,
I didn’t really mean to win today. But I do like winning.
Let’s not name names but if anyone is to blame, it’s Soudal-QuickStep and Remco for making a final attempt to snag 2nd place overall. Landa kept the pace high with big pulls and Remco’s attacks reeled in the break.
Some of you more frequent escape artists may appreciate this note of apology, as I have thwarted your admirable efforts on more than one occasion during this Tour. Racing is racing and we— the pro peloton— are the first to acknowledge that fact, even as the media spins stories about me claiming too many victories and crowding out the victories of others. Pro cyclists don’t really think that way.
Maybe racing has changed over the past few years. Top GC teams are committed to keeping the pace high to prevent unanticipated attacks despite the consequential short leash for the breakaway. Winning from the break has never been easy anyway. And that’s part of its underdog charm. Will it make it? I better plop down on my sofa and watch it be gradually caught for the next fours hours. Yes. Patience. True entertainment.
But I will say sorry to the champions among the breakaway. You wouldn’t throw yourself at the front of the race if it were easy, would you? Y’all are masochists anyway…
Sincerely,
Tadej Pogačar
A present surprise?
Pogačar and Vingegaard made their approach to the finish line with the good-natured rivalry as fierce as ever, but there were rumors of a potential gifted stage win. Where did it come from? Did I invent it? No, I’m pretty sure the commentators said something? Or is my Vingegaard-favoring bias taking over? Is it a class act or a wimpy win?
But any fleeting thoughts of Pogačar rolling over and giving Vingegaard stage honors were over in a flash. He jumped as Vingegaard was also readinging his sprint, leaving the Dane unable to respond and comfortably taking the victory for himself. Five wins and another opportunity tomorrow. It’s your turn now to figure out why I call him Mister Fahrenheit.
The gift of the gab
The peloton’s most eloquent rider, Romain Bardet, delivered an encore-worthy performance on Stage 20, finishing 10th on the day. Unfortunately, there won’t be another act as today marks the final Tour de France road stage of his career (remember there’s an ITT tomorrow). Following his time in yellow at the start of the race, this was a wonderful bookend to a memorable farewell tour. Chapeau, Romain.
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