Jonas Vingegaard, 26, is about to defend his Tour de France title. As expected, the Dane in the yellow jersey showed no signs of weakness on Saturday’s penultimate stage in the Vosges and heads into the final stage to Paris with a 7:29 lead over his rival Tadej Pogacar, 24. At most, a serious fall on Sunday could be dangerous for the 26-year-old, because traditionally there is no longer an attack at the final Tour d’Honneur.
The Slovenian Pogacar took the day’s victory on the demanding 20th stage near the French-German border. On the 133.5 kilometers between Belfort and Le Markstein, the 24-year-old won ahead of Austrian Felix Gall and Vingegaard. For him it was the second stage win on this tour – and at least a conciliatory end to this tour, which had been disappointing for him in the last week. Because after a 14-day second fight for the yellow jersey, he lost the fight against Vingegaard within two days; notably his slump on Wednesday’s queen stage over the Col de la Loze, losing almost six minutes on the Dane.
The way to Le Markstein on Saturday almost became a special triumph for the Frenchman Thibaut Pinot. For more than a decade, he has been one of the special favorites of his compatriots. This year he is completing his tenth and final tour, and he wants to end his career in the fall. Now, very close to home, he was very keen to celebrate another day’s victory. For many kilometers he led the race as a soloist to the loud cheers of the spectators. But as Pogacar and Vingegaard picked up the pace, they caught up with Pinot again.
On Sunday afternoon, the drivers start the final stage over 115.1 kilometers from Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to Paris. The classic laps are done on the Champs Élysées. The tour ends with the ninth finish.