TOUR DE FRANCE 2021 STAGE 20 RESULTS – WOUT VAN AERT TAKES ONE FOR JUMBO

Tadej Pogacar all but became champion of the 2021 Tour de France on Saturday as the UAE rider protected his large overall lead in the stage 20 time-trial, ahead of the traditionally ceremonial final run to Paris. Wout van Aert won the time trial, but defending champion Pogacar’s solid ride means he need only cross the Champs-Elysees finish line with the peloton in Sunday’s 21st, and final, stage to retain the fabled yellow jersey as winner of the world’s greatest bike race.

Pogacar won three stages on his way to this dominant triumph in a manner reminiscent of former champions Alberto Contador and Chris Froome, strong in both the time-trials and the mountains.

He will also win the awards for best rider under-25 and the king of the mountains polka-dot jersey, a triple he also achieved on his debut last year.

The top three in the overall standings remained the same after the 18 mile run on a sizzling holiday Saturday as rowdy fans packed the roadsides all the way to the pretty Saint-Emilion vineyards.

Jumbo’s Jonas Vingegaard goes into the final day run in second, while Ineos’ Richard Carapaz is in third.

A second place for the Dutch team Jumbo is a triumph of sorts after their leader Primoz Roglic fell heavily early in the race. They also won three stages even though only four of the eight-rider team made it through to the final stage.

But a third place for British outfit Ineos, with no stage wins, bears a whiff of the end of their era after the 2020 failure was blamed on Egan Bernal’s bad back. The British outfit went into this race with four co-leaders hoping to win an eighth title in ten years.

TOUR DE FRANCE STAGE 20 RESULTS

1	VAN AERT Wout	Team Jumbo-Visma	35:53
2	ASGREEN Kasper	Deceuninck – Quick Step	0:21
3	VINGEGAARD Jonas	Team Jumbo-Visma	0:32
4	KÜNG Stefan	Groupama – FDJ	0:38
5	BISSEGGER Stefan	EF Education – Nippo	0:44
6	CATTANEO Mattia	Deceuninck – Quick Step	0:49
7	BJERG Mikkel	UAE-Team Emirates	0:52
8	POGAČAR Tadej	UAE-Team Emirates	0:57
9	CORT Magnus	EF Education – Nippo	1:00
10	VAN BAARLE Dylan	INEOS Grenadiers	1:21

OVERALL STANDINGS

1	POGACAR Tadej	UAE-Team Emirates	80:16:59
2	VINGEGAARD Jonas	Team Jumbo-Visma	5:20
3	CARAPAZ Richard	INEOS Grenadiers	7:03
4	O’CONNOR Ben	AG2R Citroën Team	10:02
5	KELDERMAN Wilco	BORA – hansgrohe	10:13
6	MAS Enric	Movistar Team	11:43
7	LUTSENKO Alexey	Astana – Premier Tech	12:23
8	MARTIN Guillaume	Cofidis, Solutions Crédits	15:33
9	BILBAO Pello	Bahrain – Victorious	16:04
10	URÁN Rigoberto	EF Education – Nippo	18:34

 

RBA/AFP Photos: Bettini