Tadej Pogacar is on the brink of equalling a Tour de France record with a fifth overall yellow jersey after a dramatic stage 20 where Richard Carapaz took the win on Alpe d'Huez and Sepp Kuss crashed twice while leading. If Pogacar avoids a race‑ending crash on Sunday’s Paris finale, he will join the ranks of Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain. Pogacar, 27, finished stage 20 in fourth place and helped 22‑year‑old Mexican teammate Isaac del Toro secure third overall and the young rider classification. The duo crossed the line arm‑in‑arm after Pogacar paced del Toro up the final climb.

The stage saw Kuss, of Visma‑Lease a Bike, lead an early breakaway before crashing out of a tunnel and later on a dust‑slick corner, allowing Carapaz to overtake him and claim both the stage and the mountains competition. The Paris stage was shortened from 133km to 89km due to wildfire emergency services.

In the final general classification, Pogacar will finish 5th overall, 6 minutes 26 seconds ahead of Belgium’s Remco Evenepoel, with del Toro in third and Paul Seixas rounding out the top five.

Pogacar said he "did my best to help Isaac" and that he "definitely will not be doing this for too much of a long time".