On Saturday’s penultimate stage of the 2023 Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar got some measure of satisfaction by earning his second victory of the 110th. After his horrible Stage 17, the Slovenian consoled himself with his 11th career stage win. It was UAE-Emirates’ third triumph of the 110th edition. Jonas Vingegaard will win his second consecutive Tour, while his rival will take home his fourth white young rider jersey in a row. Hugo Houle was the top Canadian in 48th.
The Course
It was the final GC day of the 110th edition, and accordingly the organizers packed a bunch of climbs into 133 km. In the first half were three Cat. 2s before a Cat. 3 marked the midway point. Two Cat. 1s dominated the second half, Petit Ballon followed by Col du Platzerwasel, the latter peaking 9 km from the finish in Le Markstein but more climbing along the way, including a rise to the line.
Look at the profile of #TDF2023 stage 20, this could be insane! pic.twitter.com/DQjhrpscQo
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 22, 2023
Saturday was the Last Chance Saloon for non-sprinters. It took a while for the race to settle down and a breakaway to gel. Giulio Ciccone buttressed his KOM lead by cresting the first climb in the lead. Two chaps in the top-10, Carlos Rodriguez and Sepp Kuss, suffered crashes. Jonas Vingegaard was part of the breakaway. The breakaway shrank on Climb 2, with Ciccone again hoovering up the points alongside Tom Pidcock and a handful of others. The peloton was close enough that various riders tried to bridge.
On the third Cat. 2, Col de Grosse Pierre, UAE-Emirates grabbed the peloton’s reins from Jumbo-Visma. Thibaut Pinot bridged to the Ciccone-Pidcock bunch. After Grosse Pierre, Ciccone led the classification by 31 point over Felix Gall.
Col de la Schlucht was the only Cat. 3 on the day. The Ciccone-Pidcock-Pinot break was ten riders strong and a minute ahead of the peloton when it started to climb.
And just like that, Ciccone was the first Italian to win the red polka dots in 31 years.
A 20 km descent led to Petit Ballon, and the breakaway had a 1:15 buffer as the road kicked up. The Pinot supporters were in a fine froth as he led the charge, snapping the fugitive group in half. Pinot went solo.
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