Stage 20: LURE>LA PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES
The first and only time trial in this year’s Tour de France is a 36.2km effort ending at the top of La Planche des Belles Filles, a category 1 climb. Time trials are notorious for shaking up the general classification standings.
Each rider set off on a race against the clock at two minute intervals. Remi Cavagna set the standard early on, being the first rider to clock in with a ride under an hour.
Almost three hours later, Cavagna was bested by Wout van Aert.
It was a fight for the race lead as two Slovenian riders, Primoz Roglic, the leader at the start of the day, and Tadej Pogacar, who started in second, duked it out for the top prize in the Grand Tour. Pogacar, just 21 years old, won his third stage of this year’s Tour at 55 minutes and 55 seconds. Roglic was almost two minutes behind and slipped a minute behind in the overall classification. Pogacar also now hold the KOM jersey as the riders enter the final day of the Tour de France and the finish in Paris.