Carapaz conquers Alpe d’Huez in a day of carnage as Pogacar drags Del Toro toward Paris glory

Richard Carapaz turned the Alps into a battlefield and walked out wearing the crown, winning a savage, chaotic, unforgettable Stage 20 on Alpe d’Huez while Tadej Pogacar dragged Isaac del Toro through fire to secure their Paris podium destiny and American Sepp Kuss cheated death a fter a high speed crash leading the stage.

The 2026 Tour de France didn’t just explode on Stage 20 — it detonated.

The day began with ambition and ended in carnage, with Sepp Kuss surviving a high-speed crash that could have been catastrophic, saved only by the netting on the final run-in. He had been riding toward the greatest victory of his career, launching a solo attack on the Col de Sarenne with 17km to go, carving out a lead that looked like fate.

But the mountain had other plans. With 7km remaining, Kuss lost control at terrifying speed, slammed into the barriers, remounted in shock, then crashed again one kilometre later. The fact he’s still in the race is a miracle, had there been no netting he would have plunged over a low wall into oblivion.

Carapaz saw the chaos, smelled blood, and attacked with ruthless precision, flying past Kuss on the descent and turning the final ramp to Alpe d’Huez into a victory march. Two Alpine stage wins in three days, polka dots mathematically secured, and a performance carved into Tour de France folklore.

Behind him, the GC war ignited. Pogacar, untouchable in yellow, transformed into a bodyguard, riding with cold determination to protect del Toro’s podium. Decathlon CMA CGM threw everything at the Mexican on the Col de Sarenne, launching Paul Seixas with a brutal mountain leadout, but the French teenager’s legs cracked under the pressure. Del Toro responded with a counterattack so violent it ripped Seixas off his wheel, leaving only Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Martinez able to follow.

From that moment, Pogacar took control, pacing del Toro with the calm of a man who already knows he’s won the Tour. Seixas’ podium dream died on the slopes of the Sarenne. Evenepoel surged ahead on the final climb, catching the battered Kuss to take second on the stage, while Kuss—bloodied, shaken, heroic—held on for third.

Pogacar and del Toro crossed the line together, mission complete, securing yellow, white, and two steps of the Paris podium.

Carapaz won in 4:59:39, Evenepoel finished at +26, Kuss at +31, Pogacar and del Toro at +1:05. The GC now shows Pogacar leading Evenepoel by 6:26, del Toro third at 9:42, Seixas fourth at 11:56. One stage remains. Paris awaits. The Alps have spoken.

VIDEO: 2026 Tour de France Stage 20 Highlights