The final stage of this 2023 Tour de France before Sunday’s procession to Paris should see a fierce battle both for the polka dot jersey and the stage win.
Stage 20 is relatively short at 133km, riding from Belfort to Le Markstein ski resort in the Vosges mountains, and features six categorised climbs. There are King of the Mountains points available at the top of each ascent and Giulio Ciccone will need to sweep up as many as possible to hold on to the polka dots, under pressure from Austrian rider Felix Gall.
Meanwhile Jonas Vingegaard would love to close out his second Tour de France victory by winning a stage in the yellow jersey, but he will face fierce competition from the other climbers across the peloton, not least Thibaut Pinot, looking to win the fourth Tour stage of his career in what is his last hurrah before retirement.
Follow updates from stage 20 of the Tour de France below.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
Stage 20 is 133km ride to Le Markstein ski resort in Vosges mountains
Jonas Vingegaard set to seal yellow jersey and eyeing stage win
Giulio Ciccone trying to keep hold of polka dot jersey
98km to go: Podium-chasing Carlos Rodriguez crashes
Tour de France LIVE – breakaway forming ahead of peloton
13:53 , Lawrence Ostlere
85km to go: A breakaway of around 15 riders is trying to pull clear of the peloton, but UAE Emirates are working hard to haul them back and ensure Tadej Pogacar gets a look at winning this stage. The break are only around 20 seconds clear of the rest.
Tour de France LIVE: Sepp Kuss receives medical attention
13:46 , Lawrence Ostlere
91km to go: Jumbo-Visma’s Sepp Kuss is also struggling – he’s got a very similar injury to Rodriguez around his left eye and he’s receiving medical attention as he tries to catch up with the escaping peloton. Kuss’s teammate, the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, was just one bike away from being involved in that crash. That could have been hugely dramatic.
Tour de France LIVE: Carlos Rodriguez injured in crash
13:39 , Lawrence Ostlere
98km to go: A crash in the peloton! It looks like Carlos Rodriguez, the man currently fourth in the overall standings, has hit the ground and he looks hurt, with blood pouring from around his left eye and more on his left arm and leg. The young Spaniard is back on his bike, trying to catch up with the peloton, but this looks pretty bad.
Tour de France LIVE – stage 20
13:34 , Lawrence Ostlere
Here is how the top of the King of the Mountains standings look after that ascent:
Giulio Ciccone 93 points
Felix Gall 82
Jonas Vingegaard 81
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:32 , Lawrence Ostlere
At the top of the first climb of the day, the Ballon d’Alsace, Giulio Ciccone is teed up by his teammates before sprinting to pick up the maximum five King of the Mountains points on offer for this category two climb. Felix Gall wasn’t bluffing when he said he wasn’t interested in contested for polka dots, but Jonas Vingegaard sneaks to the front to try and grab some extra KoM points – but Ciccone’s teammate Mads Pedersen spotted what Vingegaard was up to and sprinted ahead to deny Vingegaard any points haul.
So now we know: the polka dots will be fought between Ciccone and Vingegaard today.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:24 , Lawrence Ostlere
110km to go: Victor Campenaerts has been reeled in and the peloton is back together as one. Lidl-Trek are working hard on the front to help Giulio Ciccone win the points he needs to protect the polka dot jersey.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
13:09 , Lawrence Ostlere
Interesting to hear from Felix Gall ahead of the stage, who tells ITV he is not prioritising the polka dot jersey today. He is only seven points behind Giulio Ciccone and there are a maximum of 37 King of the Mountains points up for grabs here, but Gall insists he won’t be fighting for it.
“If it happens it’s somehing, we’ll see how it plays out, but for sure it’s not the first priority today.”
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20 preview
12:57 , Lawrence Ostlere
Here’s a closer look at today’s stage...
What is left to play for? The team category has been sewn up by Jumbo-Visma, to go with Vingegaard’s yellow jersey, and the green jersey has been won by Jasper Philipsen, assuming he can get through this day unscathed and before the time cut – his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates will ensure that he does. The best young rider’s white jersey will almost certainly be won by Pogacar for the fourth year in a row.
But the polka dot jersey is still very much on the line. Giulio Ciccone currently wears the famous red and white colours but his tally of 88 points at the top of the standings is not definitive. Austrian rider Felix Gall – winner of the Souvenir Henri Desgrange as the first over the top of the highest point of the race – has 82 points on the board. Then there is Vingegaard, with 81 points. There are 37 points available on stage 20, so this is where the King of the Mountains will be decided.
There is also a final podium spot up for grabs. Pogacar’s UAE Emirates teammate Adam Yates currently occupies third in the general classification, an impressive achievement given the work he has put in for his leader throughout the Tour. But Yates is only a minute or so up on Ineos’s Carlos Rodriguez and his twin brother Simon Yates, while Bahrain Victorious’s Pello Bilbao is around two minutes back from the podium. We can expect some attempts to dislodge Adam Yates, who will now doubt have his teammates’ support in defence of his place, which comes with plenty of prize money as well as prestige.
Tour de France 2023 – stage 20
12:49 , Lawrence Ostlere
Stage 20 has just begun and in news that will shock no one who has followed this Tour de France, Belgian chaos-magnet Victor Campenaerts has gone on the attack immediately. He has won both of the past two combativity awards for his aggression over the last two stages and he’s on one again.
Tour de France 2023: Latest updates from stage 20
12:45 , Lawrence Ostlere
Follow all the action from the final stage before Paris.