Tour de France 2023: Vingegaard on the brink of Tour victory - Pogacar wins stage 20

Pogacar sprints to victory

Jonas Vingegaard successfully overcame the last major hurdle on the way to his second victory in the Tour de France, even though his great rival Tadej Pogacar won the penultimate stage. Surrounded by cheering fans, the Dane rolled across the finish line in third place after an exhausting mountain stage in the Vosges.

At the final Tour d'Honneur on the Champs Élysées in Paris on Sunday, the wearer of the yellow jersey is traditionally no longer attacked. The 26-year-old defending champion Vingegaard is 7:29 minutes ahead of rival Pogacar after 20 stages.

Mountain jersey for Ciccone

On the 133.5 kilometres between Belfort and Le Markstein near the French-German border, the Slovenian Pogacar took the day's victory in the sprint of a five-man lead group. The 24-year-old came out on top ahead of Austrian Felix Gall and Vingegaard on the demanding stage. "I'm myself again. It was really cool to finish like that," said Pogacar, who had suffered a severe slump in the Alps. It was the superstar's second stage win of the 2023 Tour, with Italian Giulio Ciccone securing the mountains jersey on Saturday.

Despite the clear lead, there was another duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar. The Slovenian attacked 13 kilometres from the finish, but the Dane was able to keep up with him effortlessly and move ahead of his great rival. Together with Gall and the brothers Adam and Simon Yates, they formed the leading group, out of which Pogacar finally prevailed.

Vingegaard has been wearing the yellow jersey since the sixth stage. After his lead over the Slovenian Pogacar had shrunk to eight seconds at one point, the defending champion finally distanced himself clearly from his rival in the Alps. With the time trial on Tuesday and the queen stage to Courchevel a day later, he extended the gap to more than seven minutes and ensured the preliminary decision.

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Pinot pulls away but is caught up

Six tough mountains and more than 3,500 metres in altitude awaited the riders on Saturday. The final mountain stage was in keeping with the generally tough sections of this year's Tour. John Degenkolb was accordingly battered on the penultimate day. "I'm pretty much running on fumes, I'm really knackered," the 34-year-old told ARD. Georg Zimmermann, on the other hand, was still in good spirits. "Everyone is giving it everything they've got in the tank. And I'm going to join them," said the man from Augsburg before the stage.

Rodriguez crashes

Carlos Rodriguez, who was currently fourth overall, crashed 89 kilometres from the finish. The Spaniard, whose face was bleeding, had to be treated briefly but was able to continue the race. Meanwhile, French rider Thibaut Pinot, who is contesting his last Tour of France, broke away from a leading group with just under 30 kilometres to go. The 33-year-old was celebrated by the crowds of fans at the side of the road. However, the experienced professional cyclist, who is based in the Vosges, was caught up and his hopes of a fourth Tour stage win were thwarted.

On Sunday afternoon, the riders will start the final stage in Paris at the Vélodrome National in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The Olympic track events will be held there in 2024. The route then continues through the department of Yvelines, where the road races will be held at the Summer Games. Once in Paris, the classic laps of the Champs Élysées will be completed. The Tour ends with the ninth finish.

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