PONTARLIER, France (AP) — Tadej Pogačar closed in on a fourth Tour de France title after safely finishing Saturday's penultimate stage and maintaining his big lead over arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard.
Australian rider Kaden Groves won stage 20 with a late solo breakaway, while Pogačar rolled over the line about seven minutes later in the same time as Vingegaard.
The Slovenian cycling star leads the two-time Tour winner Vingegaard by 4 minutes, 24 seconds, with German rider Florian Lipowitz 11:03 behind Pogačar in third overall.
Barring a heavy crash or illness, Pogačar was expected to celebrate Sunday and move level with British rider Chris Froome on four Tour titles. Victory would also give Pogačar a fifth Grand Tour after winning the in dominant fashion last year.
“I am more or less sure of my overall victory, but I still don't want to say anything about it. I want to stay focused until I have crossed the finish line in Paris,” Pogačar said. “That's one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. We are 180 guys who spend weeks riding in the mountains and in the end, all of a sudden, we come to the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world.”
Ottawa's Michael Woods was 70th, 7:04 seconds behind Groves. Guillaume Boivin of Longueil, Que., was 139th, 28:49 behind the lead. Both were riding for Israel-Premier Tech.
However, Sunday's final stage of this edition is not a largely processional one, as is usually the case, and could potentially prove somewhat problematic toward the end with .
“I am unsure of how the final stage will pan out,” Pogačar said. “The course is relatively short, and that will make for a rather punchy effort.”
Saturday's stage
On Saturday, the through eastern France featured three small climbs and a moderately difficult one up Côte de Thésy before finishing in Pontarlier. But there was scant opportunity for Vinegaard to attack Pogačar.
As the riders set off Saturday in driving rain, the yellow jersey group stayed safely at the front until breakaways formed.
When the front group tackled the 3.6-kilometer Côte de Thésy, Frenchman Jordan Jegat launched a solo attack, but he was then overtaken by Australian rider Harrison Sweeny.
As rain fell heavily again with 40 kilometers, Sweeny opened up a 50-second lead, only to be reeled in shortly after.
The wet roads were treacherous at high speeds. Frenchman Romain Grégoire and Spaniard Iván Romeo crashed taking a sharp turn and slid sideways off their bikes. Both continued.
Groves surged ahead 16 kilometers out and held on for his first Tour stage win and 10th at major races. The 26-year-old has two at the Giro d’Italia and seven at the Spanish Vuelta.
“Winning in all three Grand Tours is a dream of every rider,” he said. “We saw today as a chance to win from the breakaway. We played our cards correctly and I had super strong legs."
Groves was 54 seconds ahead of Frank van den Broek and 59 clear of Pascal Eenkhoorn.
Why is Sunday’s stage different?
The final stage of the Tour de France is traditionally a largely processional one, with the overall leader all-but-guaranteed to win — barring mishap — and only the sprinters contesting the stage win right at the end, following several laps around Paris.
But this year’s last stage is very different and could prove spectacular.
, it features three ascents of Montmartre Hill, a short and sharp climb which featured at last year’s Paris Olympics.
Some riders have expressed concern that the sinewy, cobbled Rue Lepic climb, lined with heaving fans either side at extremely close proximity, may be problematic.
The final climb up Rue Lepic comes less than 7 kilometers from the end, before the riders finish on the Champs-Elysées.
Around 3,000 police officers will be deployed to ensure security over the 132.3-kilometer route, which starts from the outskirts of Paris at Mantes-la-Ville before heading into the city.
___
Tour de France coverage: and
