‘It has been a dream Tour’ - Carapaz seals second Tour stage win and polka dots

At some point between the Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d’Huez, Richard Carapaz stopped thinking only about mountain points and started believing he could win one of the Tour de France’s most prestigious stages.

By the finish, he had achieved both.

Carapaz claimed a dramatic victory on stage 20 at Alpe d’Huez, completing a remarkable afternoon in the Alps that also saw him secure the polka dot jersey for the second time in his career.

“For a moment, even I couldn’t believe it,” Carapaz said after the finish in the flash interview. “It was very, very hard for me.”

The Ecuadorian had begun the day focused on defending his lead in the mountains classification. He collected maximum points on the Col du Galibier, the highest point of this year’s Tour, to put the jersey mathematically beyond the reach of his rivals.

It was only after the opening climbs had been completed that his ambitions began to change.

“At the start I was fighting for the jersey, and I knew that was going to be difficult,” he said. “But once we had passed the first two climbs, I thought: ‘OK, now I’m going to try to win the stage.’”

Carapaz found himself in a high quality breakaway containing former Grand Tour winners Jai Hindley and Sepp Kuss. The three were among the strongest riders on the decisive Col de Sarenne, where Kuss repeatedly forced the pace and appeared to be riding towards victory.

The American attacked with 17 kilometres remaining and built a sizeable advantage, leaving Carapaz to chase through the final kilometres of climbing.

“I had two riders with me who have won Grand Tours, Jai Hindley and Sepp,” Carapaz said. “Sepp was very hard to beat. I was at my limit, at my limit, at my limit.”

Kuss looked to have done enough as he carried his advantage onto the technical descent towards Alpe d’Huez. His hopes disappeared after two crashes in quick succession, allowing Carapaz to pass and move into the lead.

Carapaz said he had not fully understood what had happened behind him.

“On the descent, I don’t know what happened,” he said. “I just kept going. I kept going, but it was incredibly hard.”

There was still no opportunity to relax. The final run to the line included a short climb, while Remco Evenepoel was closing quickly from the general classification group. Kuss was also attempting to recover after his crashes.

“I knew the riders behind were at about 30 seconds and Sepp was only ten seconds behind me,” Carapaz said. “I suffered so much over the final four kilometres. It was brutal.”

Carapaz eventually crossed the line 26 seconds ahead of Evenepoel, with Kuss finishing third. It was the Ecuadorian’s second victory in three days and the tenth Grand Tour stage win of his career.

The result also confirmed a second Tour de France mountains classification title following his first polka dot jersey in 2024.

At 33, Carapaz continues to add significant victories to a career that already includes the 2019 Giro d’Italia title and an Olympic road race gold medal. Winning on Alpe d’Huez, however, carried a particular emotional weight.

“To win here is beautiful,” he said. “I think I deserve it because I have fought so hard throughout this Tour.”

Carapaz arrived at the race without realistic ambitions of challenging for the yellow jersey. He said he had already understood at the Grand Départ in Barcelona that the general classification would not be his objective.

Instead, he targeted stage victories and the mountains classification. With two stage wins and the polka dot jersey secured before the final stage in Paris, the plan could hardly have worked better.

“It has been a dream Tour,” Carapaz said. “In Barcelona, I knew I wasn’t here to fight for the general classification. I was very clear in my mind about what I wanted, and we achieved it."

“To reach the final day with the jersey and two stage victories makes me very happy.”

Carapaz will return to the Tour podium in Paris on Sunday to receive the polka dot jersey, two years after his first triumph in the classification.

“Tomorrow is a different story,” he said. “But this has been an incredible Tour. The public has been amazing, and everyone following me at home will be shouting with joy.”