2020 Tour de France
2020 UCI World Tour, race 12 of 21 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dates | 29 August — 20 September 2020[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stages | 21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distance | 3,484.2 km (2,165 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winning time | 87h 20' 05" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began in Nice on 29 August and concluded with its traditional run on the Champs-Élysées on 20 September.[2] A total of 176 riders from 22 teams participated in the race. The overall general classification was won for the first time by a Slovenian, Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates. His fellow countryman Primož Roglič (Team Jumbo–Visma) finished second, while Australian Richie Porte (Trek–Segafredo) came third.
Alexander Kristoff won the bunch sprint on stage 1 to take the first yellow jersey of the tour. Julian Alaphilippe, who led much of the previous year's tour, took the lead of the race after winning stage 2. Alaphilippe received a 20-second penalty for receiving food too close to the finish on stage 5 and lost his lead to Adam Yates. Yates held the lead for four stages before losing significant time in the mountainous stage 9, handing the lead to Roglič. Roglič held the yellow jersey for 11 stages, but was overtaken during the penultimate stage 20 time trial by Pogačar. With only the traditional procession on the Champs-Élysées remaining, Pogačar held his lead on the final stage.
The points classification was won by Deceuninck–Quick-Step's Sam Bennett, marking the first time that Peter Sagan had not won the points classification in a Tour he finished. The mountains classification and the young rider classification were both won by Pogačar, making him the first rider to win the yellow, polka dot, and white jerseys in the same year. Pogačar is the first rider to win three distinctive jerseys since Eddy Merckx in 1972, the first rider since Laurent Fignon in 1983 to win the Tour in his debut, and the first rider since Cadel Evans in 2011 to win the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage of the race.[3]
Movistar Team won the team classification for the third consecutive year. Marc Hirschi of Team Sunweb was named the overall most combative rider. Pogačar won the most stages, with three.
Postponement
The 2020 Tour was in jeopardy of being cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic[4] resulting in a virtual Tour being held using Zwift.[5] On 14 April 2020 the International Cycling Union (UCI) announced the start of the 2020 Tour would be postponed until 29 August 2020, with the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España to follow in October.[6]
Teams
The 2020 Tour de France peloton consisted of 22 teams. All nineteen
Teams that participated:
UCI WorldTeams
UCI ProTeams
- Arkéa–Samsic
- B&B Hotels–Vital Concept
- Total Direct Énergie
Pre-race favourites
This section is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (September 2020) |
Pre-race predictions in the media, as well as by the bookmakers, on the general classification, changed with the postponement of the Tour. Ineos Grenadiers's Egan Bernal, the defending champion, sought to win a second consecutive title. Bernal's teammates, Geraint Thomas, who won in 2018, as well as four-time Tour winner Chris Froome, both did not participate after sub-par showings in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Thibaut Pinot (Groupama–FDJ), who was among the top contenders the previous year but had to abandon due to injury, was another top contender. Team Jumbo–Visma's duo of Primož Roglič, winner of the 2019 Vuelta a España, and Tom Dumoulin were also seen as top contenders, as was their teammate Steven Kruijswijk, who finished third the previous year, but had to withdraw from this year's race following an injury sustained in the Critérium du Dauphiné a few weeks prior to the Tour's start. Other riders considered as top contenders included: Miguel Ángel López (Astana), Romain Bardet, Emanuel Buchmann (Bora–Hansgrohe), who finished fourth in the previous year's Tour, Mikel Landa (Bahrain–McLaren), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Daniel Martínez (winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa–Samsic), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who finished third in the 2019 Vuelta a España, Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema (Trek–Segafredo).[9][10] One of many outside contenders was Julian Alaphilippe, who wore the yellow jersey for 14 days the previous year and managed to finish fifth, but the Frenchman confirmed that his focus would be on winning stages and not targeting the general classification.[11]
For the points classification, the big favorite was Slovakian Peter Sagan of Bora–Hansgrohe, who holds the record for the most wins of the points classification with seven. Some of the other favorites included Sam Bennett (Deceuninck–Quick-Step); Giacomo Nizzolo (NTT Pro Cycling), who won the Italian National Road Race Championships and the European Road Race Championships in the build-up to the Tour; Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Soudal), who won three stages the previous year; and Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo–Visma), winner of the 2020 Strade Bianche and 2020 Milan–San Remo. Other contenders are: Elia Viviani (Cofidis), Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain–McLaren), and Matteo Trentin (CCC Team).[12]
Among the contenders for the
The two main favorites for the young rider classification were defending champion Egan Bernal and Tour debutant Tadej Pogačar. Bernal's teammate Pavel Sivakov, as well as Colombian duo Sergio Higuita and Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling), and David Gaudu (Groupama–FDJ) were also expected to do well in this classification.[citation needed]
Two teams were considered the front-runners for the teams classification; Ineos Grenadiers were led by defending champion Bernal and Carapaz; they previously won this classification in 2017. Team Jumbo–Visma were led by Roglič and Dumoulin, as well as EF Pro Cycling and Trek–Segafredo. Movistar Team, which has won the teams classification in four of the last five Tours, were also expected to challenge for the classification despite losing several of their general classification leaders to other teams.[citation needed]
Route and stages
The start of the 2020 Tour (known as the Grand Départ) took place in Nice.[14] This was the second occasion that the city has held the Grand Départ, the first being for the 1981 Tour de France. This was the 36th occasion on which the Tour de France has visited Nice,[15] and the first time since the 2013 Tour de France.[16] This year's race took place entirely within France.[17]
Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 29 August | Nice to Nice | 156 km (97 mi) | Flat stage | Alexander Kristoff (NOR) | |
2 | 30 August | Nice to Nice | 186 km (116 mi) | Medium mountain stage | Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) | |
3 | 31 August | Nice to Sisteron | 198 km (123 mi) | Flat stage | Caleb Ewan (AUS) | |
4 | 1 September | Sisteron to Orcières-Merlette | 160.5 km (99.7 mi) | Hilly stage | Primož Roglič (SLO) | |
5 | 2 September | Gap to Privas | 183 km (114 mi) | Flat stage | Wout van Aert (BEL) | |
6 | 3 September | Le Teil to Mont Aigoual | 191 km (119 mi) | Hilly stage | Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) | |
7 | 4 September | Millau to Lavaur | 168 km (104 mi) | Flat stage | Wout van Aert (BEL) | |
8 | 5 September | Cazères to Loudenvielle | 141 km (88 mi) | Mountain stage | Nans Peters (FRA) | |
9 | 6 September | Pau to Laruns | 153 km (95 mi) | Mountain stage | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | |
7 September | Charente-Maritime | Rest day | ||||
10 | 8 September | Île d'Oléron to Île de Ré | 168.5 km (104.7 mi) | Flat stage | Sam Bennett (IRL) | |
11 | 9 September | Châtelaillon-Plage to Poitiers | 167 km (104 mi) | Flat stage | Caleb Ewan (AUS) | |
12 | 10 September | Chauvigny to Sarran | 218 km (135 mi) | Hilly stage | Marc Hirschi (SUI) | |
13 | 11 September | Châtel-Guyon to Puy Mary | 191.5 km (119.0 mi) | Medium mountain stage | Daniel Martínez (COL) | |
14 | 12 September | Clermont-Ferrand to Lyon | 194 km (121 mi) | Hilly stage | Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN) | |
15 | 13 September | Lyon to Grand Colombier | 174.5 km (108.4 mi) | Mountain stage | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | |
14 September | Isère | Rest day | ||||
16 | 15 September | La Tour-du-Pin to Villard-de-Lans | 164 km (102 mi) | Mountain stage | Lennard Kämna (GER) | |
17 | 16 September | Grenoble to Méribel (Col de la Loze) | 170 km (110 mi) | Mountain stage | Miguel Ángel López (COL) | |
18 | 17 September | Méribel to La Roche-sur-Foron | 175 km (109 mi) | Mountain stage | Michał Kwiatkowski (POL) | |
19 | 18 September | Bourg-en-Bresse to Champagnole | 166.5 km (103.5 mi) | Flat stage | Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN) | |
20 | 19 September | Lure to La Planche des Belles Filles | 36.2 km (22.5 mi) | Mountain time trial | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | |
21 | 20 September | Mantes-la-Jolie to Paris (Champs-Élysées) | 122 km (76 mi) | Flat stage | Sam Bennett (IRL) | |
Total | 3,484.2 km (2,165.0 mi) |
Race overview
Grand Départ and the first week
The first three stages of the Tour would begin in Nice, France, in late August due to the worldwide pandemic. Stage one was intended to be a flat sprinter's stage around the city, and began as expected with a three rider breakaway. The break was caught early in the stage, after racing for the King of the Mountains points were split equally, with the jersey won by Fabien Grellier for getting there first. With 100 km to go, an unseasonable driving rainstorm moved in causing the roads to become treacherous throughout the remainder of the day.[20] Despite the peloton calling a truce in the interest of safety, Miguel Ángel López, John Degenkolb, Philippe Gilbert, Caleb Ewan, Rafael Valls, Julian Alaphilippe, George Bennett and many other riders were involved in crashes, causing several of them to abandon.
With 3 km to go there was a large pileup along the Promenade des Anglais in downtown Nice.[21] The race jury decided anyone involved in this crash would receive the same time as the winner. Alexander Kristoff was involved in this crash, but because the sprinters' teams and leadout trains were not operating at top speed, as they would under normal conditions, he was able to make his way back to the front and beat the defending World Champion Mads Pedersen, as well as Bol, Bennett, Sagan and Viviani to win the stage and take the yellow jersey.
Stage two saw better weather, as well as two Category 1 climbs. The previous stage, Gilbert fractured a kneecap and Valls broke his leg, and neither started the stage.
Stage three departed the Allianz Riviera en route to Sisteron. Jérôme Cousin, Perez and Cosnefroy were involved in the breakaway, with the latter two racing for the right to wear the polka dot jersey in the early stages. Perez won enough points to take the jersey from Cosnefroy and was therefore in the virtual jersey when they both fell back from the group to rejoin the peloton, leaving Cousin on his own with over a hundred kilometres to go. Perez, however, crashed into his team car, and then the side of the mountain on the descent when the car suddenly stopped in front of him and he was forced to abandon the race.[24] Cosnefroy retained the jersey as a result and would be in good position to defend it over the next few stages. Cousin was caught with 16 km to go. The sprint finish saw Sam Bennett appear to be in very good position to claim his first ever stage in the Tour de France when a late charging Ewan came by Sagan, Hugo Hofstetter, Giacomo Nizzolo as well as Bennett to take the win.[25]
Stage four was anticipated to be the first test among the
Stage six began at Le Teil and finished at Mont Aigoual, a climb made famous by writer and semi-pro cyclist Tim Krabbé. The stage saw a large group of riders form an escape bunch including Van Avermaet, Roche, Cavagna, Powless, Herrada, Lutsenko, Oss and Edvald Boasson Hagen. Their gap eventually exceeded six minutes and Herrada, Van Avermaet, Lutsenko and Powless would survive to finish ahead of the peloton with Lutsenko riding away from everyone and soloing to victory.[30] Yates would perform well and defend his yellow jersey with a three-second advantage over Roglič, with the majority of the other GC contenders about ten seconds behind him. Stage seven saw a major split in the main field due in part to the weather, with very high crosswinds creating splits in the peloton, and due to the extreme pace set very early on in the stage by the Ineos Grenadiers and Team Bora on the first climb of the day, who were trying to drop the competition of Peter Sagan who was aiming to reclaim the green jersey from Bennett.[31] The plan worked out for both teams as not only were the sprinters and contenders for the stage win in Bennett, Nizzolo, Kristoff, Bol and Ewan left behind, but so were many of Bernal's competitors in the GC who lost over a minute by the end of the day. Riders who had their hopes at victory or a podium finish take a serious hit included Mollema, Pogačar, Landa, Porte and Carapaz while Bernal, Roglič, Dumoulin, Lopez, Yates, Urán, Pinot, Bardet, Quintana and Guillaume Martin survived in the lead group securing their position. The most significant breakaway attempt of the day came from veteran Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt, who rode solo for about 60 kilometers, but he was caught by the lead group long before the finish. At the finish line Wout van Aert took his second stage win in three days besting Boasson Hagen and Bryan Coquard at the line. Yates remained in the overall lead, Sagan was back in the green jersey and Bernal took the white jersey from Pogačar.
The second week and Pyrenees
Stage eight was a mountain stage where a breakaway of thirteen riders eventually formed and began to build a gap. Being as none of the escaped riders were a threat to the GC contenders the peloton allowed them to extend their advantage. The intermediate sprint was won by Cousin with Cosnefroy defending the polka dot jersey taking maximum points on the first climb of the day which was the infamous Col de Menté. With the gap back to the main field continuously growing it became clear the breakaway riders would fight amongst themselves for the stage win on the upcoming Port de Balès and Col de Peyresourde. Nans Peters and Ilnur Zakarin had the strongest legs and fought for the stage win, with Peters attacking and dropping Zakarin to solo to victory.[32] Toms Skujiņš and Carlos Verona both rode strongly, and eventually caught and dropped Zakarin to round out the stage podium. Zakarin crossed 4th and in 5th was Neilson Powless, who wasn't even supposed to be in the breakaway as Team EF intended to get either Dani Martínez or Hugh Carthy into the break, but Powless was in the right place at the right time when the attacks came. When asked about it following the race he stated, "It's amazing… it's incredible. If my role was to sit in the group and support Rigo... I’d be happy, and that will be my role soon enough."[33]
Among the GC contenders there were some shakeups, notably including top French contender Pinot seeing his chances slip away due to a back injury, Alaphilippe struggling and also losing over ten minutes and Tom Dumoulin losing two minutes. Gaining time was Tadej Pogačar, who attacked on the final climb making up some of the time he lost in the crosswinds the previous day, putting himself back into the top 10 in the process.
Stage nine was the second Pyreneean mountain stage. Four riders had abandoned the race the previous stage leaving 168 riders to sign in and start the stage.
Following the rest day stage ten was slated to be a flat stage along the Atlantic coast from the island of Oléron to the island of Île de Ré. Before the start of the stage it was revealed that Director of the Tour de France Christian Prudhomme had tested positive for COVID-19.[37] He was not in any contact with riders or team members so the race wasn't effected but he did move into isolation for seven days. The attacks came as soon as 'the race is on' was declared with Stefan Küng of Team FDJ and Michael Schär of CCC Team being the two riders who escaped the peloton. The pace of the main field was for the most part controlled by Deceuninck and Lotto–Soudal as they intended the stage to finish in a bunch sprint. It would as the escapees never extended their lead much beyond +2:00 and were back within the bunch about 70 kilometers into the race at which point team Ineos Grenadiers and EF Pro Cycling took control of the pace. There were a few crashes, including one between 7th place Pogačar and 3rd place Guillaume Martin, neither of whom lost time but they both had to put in a hard chase to get back to the group.[37] Küng attacked again on the bridge to Île de Ré but was brought back and with 10 km to go the leadout trains began to form for the upcoming sprint. Coquard, Greipel, Pedersen and Elia Viviani were all there in the end but the podium was filled by Sagan, Ewan and Sam Bennett, who claimed his first stage win in the Tour de France. Bennett also reclaimed the green jersey from Sagan and would not relinquish the Maillot Vert for the rest of the Tour. This would end up becoming the first time Peter Sagan finished a Tour de France where he did not win the Points Competition.
Stage eleven was another flat stage suited perfectly for a bunch sprint and this is what it turned out to be once the Most Combative Rider and only breakaway rider in
Stage twelve saw a six rider breakaway that was caught with less than 50 km to go, but the Most Combative Rider would not come from this escape group due to the way the stage ended. Team Sunweb had lost their GC hope in Tom Dumoulin in the off-season, and the rider they intended to support during the Tour, former green jersey winner Michael Matthews,[citation needed] was absent with injury so they had come into the race with nothing to hope for but stage wins. They had several riders survive in the final group and two of them attacked near the end of the stage but it was Marc Hirschi who was able to stay away. His teammates Roche, Benoot and Kragh-Andersen refused to cooperate with Reichenbach, Rolland, Schachmann, Quentin Pacher and the others trying to chase him down. After coming up just short twice already, Hirschi won the stage in convincing fashion with no changes coming in the overall situation.
Stage thirteen saw numerous breakaway attempts early in the day but none of them managed to escape. About 60 km into the stage a large group of strong riders managed to get away and work together to continuously extend their advantage. Seventeen riders in the total including Geschke, Madouas, Schachmann, Alaphilippe, Powless, Kämna, Dani Martínez and Pierre Rolland among others. As the stage progressed their advantage grew and eventually reached +11:00 before it started coming down meaning the stage winner would come from this group. Late in the stage Powless of Team EF would attack and be joined by Schachmann of Team Bora, but eventually both of them would fall back and it would be their teammates Martínez and Kämna who would fight for the stage win with Martínez taking the victory by surging ahead in the final hundred meters before it came down to a sprint. Back down the road in the overall situation Primož Roglič attacked in an effort to build on his small lead. His attack worked as many of the GC contenders lost half a minute or more. Pogačar joined Roglič and stayed with him, as a result jumping from 7th place to 2nd place while Bernal dropped to 3rd. Bardet came into the day in 4th but along with Mollema suffered a crash and had to abandon the race. Martin fell out of the top 10 as Richie Porte rode strongly and broke into the top 10 for the first time.
Stage fourteen was a 194-kilometer-long hilly stage with four categorized climbs, three small ones and a single Cat-2, the Col du Béal. It was a tailor-made stage for Sagan, who had won several stages like this throughout his career and had more stage wins than any other rider in the Tour.[39] His team, Bora–Hansgrohe, intended to control the breakaways as well as the entire peloton in order to put him in position to win. The early breakaway consisted of Stefan Küng and Edward Theuns with Theuns winning the maximum intermediate sprint points and Küng dropping him on the climbs to claim the KOM points. They were caught after being away for about 100 km and the surviving peloton controlled the race from then on. Sagan was able to claim more points than Bennett in the sprints but Team Sunweb was working hard to control the bunch as they had several surviving riders including Benoot, Andersen, Hirschi and even their sprinter Cees Bol, virtually any one of whom would be capable of winning the stage.[40] Inside 12 km to go numerous attacks came one after another from some of the strongest riders in the sport including Van Avermaet, Alaphilippe, Sagan, De Gendt, Benoot and Hirschi but all of these attempts were contained. The only rider to stay away was Søren Kragh Andersen who launched his attack with 3 km to go, which nobody was able to match. Andersen crossed the line alone claiming his first Tour stage win and +0:15 later Simone Consonni and Luka Mezgec rounded out the podium ahead of Peter Sagan who finished 4th. The overall situation at the end of the second week remained static. Roglič and Team Jumbo were firmly in command of the race as he maintained his lead of just under a minute on Pogačar and defending champ Bernal and just over a minute on Urán and Quintana. The hardest part of the Tour was just ahead however, as beginning in stage fifteen there would be four consecutive high mountain stages in the Alps, which would be followed by more climbing with a difficult individual time trial.
The third week: the Alps, the time trial and the Champs-Élysées
There were several attempts to get a breakaway formed early in stage fifteen but the accelerations of Sagan and Bennett fighting for intermediate sprint points frustrated all attempts. Eventually a group of eight would break free but they were unable to gain enough time to threaten for a stage win.
Following the rest day the testing of the riders, trainers and staff continued as usual. Throughout the race a handful of staff from four different teams had come back positive but all 785 personnel inside the 'race bubble' tested negative prior to stage sixteen,[44] so all 156 riders still in the race signed in to start. It was a mostly clear day, about 75 degrees and included five categorized climbs with two Cat-2's and a Cat-1 among them. With less climbing than other high mountain stages major changes in the GC were not anticipated, but there would be no shortage of riders hoping for a stage win. As such the attacks and breakaway attempts began almost as soon as 'the race is on' was declared. Eight kilometers into the stage Pinot, Alaphilippe, Richard Carapaz of Team Ineos and twenty-two other riders went clear. Nine kilometers later Carapaz attacked again shaking up this group. By the time of the sixty kilometer mark there were twenty-three riders in the breakaway. The surviving peloton was content to let this group get away as Tony Martin and Robert Gesink took their turns for Jumbo-Visma at the front of the main field. Eventually the breakaway would have a gap exceeding +12:00, which would continue to widen, but the size of the group would be whittled down as the race rolled on. With 35 kilometers to go Quentin Patcher attacked and rode off the front of the group. After following a long turn at the front by Andrey Amador four others rode off in pursuit of Patcher with Carapaz, Reichenbach, Kämna and Alaphilippe. Several of these riders had claimed KOM points but Benoît Cosnefroy would still be in the polka dot jersey at the end of the day. As the stage neared the finish nearly +17:00 separated the leaders on the road from the group of favorites and eighteen of the breakaway riders would finish ahead of the elite group. Lennard Kämna launched the decisive move reaching the finish line more than a minute ahead of Carapaz,[45] who would be awarded the only red number for his combativeness. None of the breakaway riders were a threat to the overall leaders and there were no major attacks or changes in the standings among them.
Stage seventeen was the
Egan Bernal, Stefan Küng, Mikel Nieve and Jens Debusschere either did not start, did not finish or finished outside the time limit on stage seventeen leaving 150 riders to sign in at the start of stage eighteen.[48] In the case of Mikel Nieve this was notable because prior to his abandon he had finished every grand tour he had started his entire career, eighteen of them in a row, and finished inside the top 25 of every one of them. There was a neutral start to the stage, but after this section was cleared 'the race is on' was declared and the attacks came quickly. Sagan and Bennett continued battling for the green jersey with Bennett extending his lead by another five points at the first sprint of the day. 32 riders broke clear initially, but on the first climb of the day it would be reduced to 19. About an hour into the stage the active rider with the 2nd most career wins, German rider André Greipel of Team Arkéa–Samsic, called it quits and abandoned. Carapaz, Alaphilippe and Marc Hirschi were fighting amongst themselves for KOM points being as they were all within striking distance of the polka dot jersey of Pogačar. Hirschi took some points early but he would eventually crash while trying to rejoin the breakaway group, which he would never get back to, although he would be named most combative rider for the third time in the Tour. In the end the day belonged to Team Ineos as the final surviving riders were both Ineos riders in Michał Kwiatkowski and Richard Carapaz. They both celebrated while casually cruising across the finish line with Kwiatkowski getting the stage victory and Carapaz securing the polka dot jersey from Pogačar.[49] Among the GC riders Mikel Landa launched a furious attack to escape from the yellow jersey group and several highly placed riders lost time including Quintana, Yates and Uran. Richie Porte also fell back after getting a flat tire on the gravel section but he was able to make it back to the elite group meaning places 1-4 were the same as the previous day. 5th place was now occupied by Landa and in 6th place Enric Mas of Movistar Team was the only other rider within +5:00 of Roglič. With the high mountains finished Roglič seemed to be in a secure position as far as winning the Tour, but after the stage he was not about to declare the race over yet as he commented, "After the time trial there will be a decision known of the rankings but also tomorrow is another day to be really focused. It's far from being really safe."[49]
Stage nineteen saw an early breakaway by Rémi Cavagna who attacked four kilometers into the stage. Not long after a chase group formed with the intent of bridging up to him. In this group was Geoffrey Soupe of Team Total Direct Énergie, Cyril Barthe, Dylan van Baarle and Max Walscheid. Also in this chase group was Guillaume Martin, although his presence was not welcome in the breakaway because he was highly placed in the general classification[50] which meant the peloton would be far more likely to increase their pace to prevent any advantage where the escape group might threaten for the stage win. Martin however, did not care as he was concerned with winning the Tour de France, but once he realized he could not realistically break back into the top 10 he fell back into the bunch. By the halfway point of the stage all of these chase riders would be back in the fold as Cavagna was still up the road with about a two-minute gap. He too would be caught before long and then later in the stage another breakaway of twelve riders went off the front. In this group were the three riders fighting for the green jersey in Bennett, Sagan and Matteo Trentin, who was not far behind Sagan in the points competition, on this last stage to win serious points before the finale in Paris. Sagan attacked this group twice,[51] trying to make it a decisive victory over Bennett but he could never break away. The only one who did break free was Søren Kragh Andersen who had gotten away from a similar breakaway group a week earlier. With sixteen kilometers left he got out in front and his advantage only grew from there. The Dane would win the stage by nearly a minute as Luka Mezgec and Jasper Stuyven rounded out the stage podium. The overall situation remained exactly the same going into the penultimate individual time trial of stage twenty.
Of the early riders to complete the time trial, the best time of the day was put in by Rémi Cavagna, who would lead the race for several hours.
Stage twenty one was the celebration ride into Paris for Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates. Once the circuit finish around the Champs-Élysées began the stage turned into the sprinters teams containing any attacks to see to it this coveted sprinters stage ended in a bunch sprint. As the finish approached Max Walscheid, Caleb Ewan, Wout van Aert, Bryan Coquard, former Champs-Élysées winner Alexander Kristoff of Team UAE, Elia Viviani of Team Cofidis and Hugo Hofstetter of Team Israel Start-Up Nation all fought their way to the front to go for the win but it was Sagan, Pedersen and Sam Bennett who filled the podium with Bennett taking the win and putting an exclamation point on his green jersey winning Tour.
The final podiums included Sam Bennett in the green jersey, Marc Hirschi as the Most Combative Rider and the team competition was won by Movistar Team for the 3rd year in a row. The white jersey, polka dot jersey and yellow jersey were all won by Tadej Pogačar.
Classification leadership and minor prizes
Four main individual classifications and a team competition were contested in the race. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage.[55] Time bonuses (time subtracted) were awarded at the end of every stage apart from the time trial stages. The first three riders received 10, 6, and 4 seconds, respectively.[56] In an effort to animate racing in the general classification, time bonuses of 8, 5, and 2 seconds respectively were also awarded for the first three riders across a mountain summit, given out on eight climbs. These occurred on stages 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, and 18.[56] For crashes within the final 3 km (1.9 mi) of a stage, not including time trials and summit finishes, any rider involved received the same time as the group he was in when the crash occurred.[57] The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered to be the overall winner of the Tour.[58]
Additionally, there was a points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in
There was also a mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, and first-category and hors catégorie, with the more difficult climbs rated lower. Mountains ranked hors catégorie gave 20 points to the first rider to cross the summit, down to 2 points to the 8th cyclist. For first-category climbs, 6 riders received points, with 10 for the first rider to reach the summit. Second-, third- and fourth-category climbs gave 5, 2 and 1 points to the first rider respectively.[56] Double points were awarded at the top of the Méribel Col de la Loze in the seventeenth stage, the highest point in the 2020 Tour at 2,304 m (7,559 ft) above sea level.[56] The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and wore a white jersey with red polka dots.[55]
The final individual classification was the young rider classification, which was identical to the general classification, but including only riders under 26 years. In order to compete in the classification, riders were required to be born after 1 January 1995.[56] The leader of the young rider classification wore a white jersey.[55]
The classification for the teams was calculated by adding together the times of the first three cyclists of a team on each stage; the leading team was the one with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team determined the outcome of a tie.[56] The riders on the team that led this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys and yellow helmets.[55]
In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship".[56] No combativity awards were given for the time trials and the final stage.[56] The winner wore a red number bib for the following stage.[55] At the conclusion of the Tour, the overall super-combativity award was awarded by a jury.[56]
A total of €2,293,000 was awarded in cash prizes in the race.[59] The overall winner of the general classification received €500,000, with the second and third placed riders receiving €200,000 and €100,000 respectively.[60] All finishers in the top 160 were awarded money.[60] The holders of the classifications were awarded on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were awarded €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider were awarded €20,000.[61] The team classification winners earned €50,000.[59] €11,000 was awarded to the winners of each stage of the race, with smaller amounts given to places 2–20.[60] There was also a special award with a prize of €5000: the Souvenir Henri Desgrange, given to the first rider to pass the summit of the highest climb in the Tour, the Col de la Loze on stage 17.[59]
- On stage 2, Peter Sagan, who was third in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Alexander Kristoff wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification, and second placed Mads Pedersen wore the white jersey as the leader of the young rider classification.
- On stage 18, Enric Mas, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because first placed Tadej Pogačar wore the polka-dot jersey as the leader of the mountains classification.
- On stage 21, Enric Mas, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because first placed Tadej Pogačar wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification. For the same reason, Richard Carapaz, who was second in the mountains classification, wore the polka-dot jersey.
Final classification standings
Legend | |||
---|---|---|---|
Denotes the winner of the general classification[62] | Denotes the winner of the mountains classification[62] | ||
Denotes the winner of the points classification[62] | Denotes the winner of the young rider classification[62] | ||
Denotes the winner of the team classification[62] | Denotes the winner of the combativity award[62] |
General classification
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 87h 20' 05" |
2 | Primož Roglič (SLO) | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 59" |
3 | Richie Porte (AUS) | Trek–Segafredo | + 3' 30" |
4 | Mikel Landa (ESP) | Bahrain–McLaren | + 5' 58" |
5 | Enric Mas (ESP) | Movistar Team | + 6' 07" |
6 | Miguel Ángel López (COL) | Astana | + 6' 47" |
7 | Tom Dumoulin (NED) | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 7' 48" |
8 | Rigoberto Urán (COL) | EF Pro Cycling | + 8' 02" |
9 | Adam Yates (GBR) | Mitchelton–Scott | + 9' 25" |
10 | Damiano Caruso (ITA) | Bahrain–McLaren | + 14' 03" |
Points classification
Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Sam Bennett (IRL) | Deceuninck–Quick-Step | 380 |
2 | Peter Sagan (SVK) | Bora–Hansgrohe | 284 |
3 | Matteo Trentin (ITA) | CCC Team | 260 |
4 | Bryan Coquard (FRA) | B&B Hotels–Vital Concept
|
181 |
5 | Wout van Aert (BEL) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 174 |
6 | Caleb Ewan (AUS) | Lotto–Soudal | 170 |
7 | Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) | Deceuninck–Quick-Step | 150 |
8 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 143 |
9 | Søren Kragh Andersen (DEN) | Team Sunweb | 138 |
10 | Michael Mørkøv (DEN) | Deceuninck–Quick-Step | 138 |
Mountains classification
Rank | Rider | Team | Points |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 82 |
2 | Richard Carapaz (ECU) | Ineos Grenadiers | 74 |
3 | Primož Roglič (SLO) | Team Jumbo–Visma | 67 |
4 | Marc Hirschi (SUI) | Team Sunweb | 62 |
5 | Miguel Ángel López (COL) | Astana | 51 |
6 | Benoît Cosnefroy (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | 36 |
7 | Pierre Rolland (FRA) | B&B Hotels–Vital Concept
|
36 |
8 | Richie Porte (AUS) | Trek–Segafredo | 36 |
9 | Nans Peters (FRA) | AG2R La Mondiale | 32 |
10 | Lennard Kämna (GER) | Bora–Hansgrohe | 27 |
Young rider classification
Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Tadej Pogačar (SLO) | UAE Team Emirates | 87h 20' 05" |
2 | Enric Mas (ESP) | Movistar Team | + 6' 07" |
3 | Valentin Madouas (FRA) | Groupama–FDJ | + 1h 42' 43" |
4 | Daniel Martínez (COL) | EF Pro Cycling | + 1h 55' 12" |
5 | Lennard Kämna (GER) | Bora–Hansgrohe | + 2h 15' 39" |
6 | Harold Tejada (COL) | Astana | + 2h 37' 02" |
7 | Niklas Eg (DEN) | Trek–Segafredo | + 2h 50' 04" |
8 | Marc Hirschi (SUI) | Team Sunweb | + 2h 54' 34" |
9 | Neilson Powless (USA) | EF Pro Cycling | + 3h 03' 09" |
10 | Pavel Sivakov (RUS) | Ineos Grenadiers | + 4h 15' 38" |
Team classification
Rank | Team | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Movistar Team | 262h 14' 58" |
2 | Team Jumbo–Visma | + 18' 31" |
3 | Bahrain–McLaren | + 57' 10" |
4 | EF Pro Cycling | + 1h 16' 43" |
5 | Ineos Grenadiers | + 1h 32' 01" |
6 | Trek–Segafredo | + 1h 39' 39" |
7 | Astana | + 1h 47' 15" |
8 | AG2R La Mondiale | + 2h 58' 47" |
9 | UAE Team Emirates | + 3h 06' 46" |
10 | Mitchelton–Scott | + 3h 25' 10" |
References
- ^ "Tour de France sets new planned August start on original course". ESPN. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France to go ahead at end of August after coronavirus delay". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- ^ Stephanie Mahe (20 September 2020). "Fact Box Tour de France Champion Tadej Pogačar". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 November 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France set to be postponed amid coronavirus pandemic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Virtual Tour de France".
- ^ "UCI reveal new men's and women's post-COVID-19 race calendar". Cyclingnews.com. 5 May 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ UCI cycling regulations 2020, p. 215.
- ^ "Teams selected for the 2020 Tour de France". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ Ostanek, Daniel (25 August 2020). "Tour de France 2020: The contenders". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Farrand, Stephen (27 August 2020). "Julian Alaphilippe: I'll be aggressive like always". CyclingNews. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Benson, Daniel (28 August 2020). "Sean Kelly on this year's Tour de France sprinters and the battle for green". CyclingNews. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ Lowe, Felix (26 August 2020). "TOUR DE FRANCE 2020 – POLKA DOT JERSEY GUIDE: ADAM YATES V JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE?". Eurosport. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France: Britain's Chris Froome says 2020 Tour route is 'brutal' as he aims for fifth title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "2020 Tour de France to start in Nice". Cyclingnews.com. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Wynn, Nigel (12 March 2018). "Nice announced as host for Tour de France 2020 Grand Départ". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ "Official Route of Tour de France 2020". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
- ^ "Official route of Tour de France 2020". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ Windsor, Richard (25 October 2018). "Tour de France 2019 route revealed: Five summit finishes to celebrate 100th anniversary of the yellow jersey". Cycling Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ "Thibault Pinot on Tour de France Stage 1 Crash: it was like we were riding on ice". Velonews.com. 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Highlights and Results From the 2020 Tour de France". Bicycling.com. 20 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Julian Alaphilippe Finds His Way Back To Glory". Letour.fr. 30 August 2020.
- ^ "Highlights and Results From the 2020 Tour de France". Bicycling.com. 20 September 2020.
- ^ "anthony-perez-suffered-multiple-injuries-after-colliding-with-team-car-and-hitting-cliff-wall-at-tour-de-france-". Alex Ballinger. 1 September 2020.
- ^ Luke McLoughlin (31 August 2020). "Tour de France 2020 Caleb Ewan Wins Stage 3 as it Happens". The Guardian.
- ^ "Roglič sends warning to rivals with le tour stage 4 victory". Reuters. 1 September 2020.
- ^ "Roglic send warning to rivals with le tour stage 4 victory". Reuters. 1 September 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France Results". Bicycling.com. 20 September 2020.
- ^ "Adam Yates: Froome is Rightful Wearer of the Yellow Jersey". Barry Ryan. 14 July 2016.
- ^ "Alexey Lutsenko Takes Stage 6; American gets 4th". Olympic Talk NBC Sports. 3 September 2020.
- ^ Julien Pretot (4 September 2020). "Tour Springs Into Life as Pogacar Loses Time and Van Aert Secures Double". Reuters.
- ^ "Tour de France 2020 Stage 8 Result". Procyclingstats.com. 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Stage 8 Recap". EF.com. 5 September 2020.
- ^ "TDF Daily Stage 09". BikeRaceInfo.com. 6 September 2020.
- ^ "Dumoulin Sacrificed for Roglic After Jumbo-Visma Shake the Tree". Alistair Fotheringham. 5 September 2020.
- ^ "Pogačar Wins From Five-Up Sprint, Roglič Takes Yellow Jersey". Velonews.com. 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b "TDF Daily Stage 10". BikeRaceInfo. 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Results and Highlights From the 2020 Tour de France". Bicycling.com. 20 September 2020.
- ^ "Most Stage Wins". Pro Cycling Stats. 16 December 2020.
- ^ "2020 Tour de France, Stage 14 as it happened". Tom Owen of Eurosport article updated. 9 December 2020.
- ^ "Stage 15 Recap". Ef.com. 13 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Pogacar Wins Bernal Destroyed on First Major Tour de France Mountain Stage". France24. 13 September 2020.
- ^ "Tadej Pogacar Edges Primoz Roglic". NBC Sports. 13 September 2020.
- ^ "Lennard Kämna wins stage 16 as Primoz Roglic retains overall lead". BBC Sport. 15 September 2020.
- ^ "TDF Daily TDF 2020 Stage 16". Bike Race Info. 15 September 2020.
- ^ "Tour de France Stage 17 Live Report". Barry Ryan. 16 September 2020.
- ^ "TDF Daily TDF 2020 Stage 17". Bike Race Info. 16 September 2020.
- ^ "TDF Daily TDF 2020 Stage 18". Bike Race Info. 17 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Tour de France, Michał Kwiatkowski wins stage 18". cyclingnews.com. 17 September 2020.
- ^ "TDF Daily TDF 2020 Stage 19". Bike Race Info. 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Dane Andersen Claims Stage 19". Deutsche Welle. 18 September 2020.
- ^ Brendan Bradford (20 September 2020). "tour-de-france-2020-richie-porte-climbs-onto-tour-podium-with-impressive-time-trial". Sporting News.
- ^ "Pogačar Crushes Roglič to seal Tour de France title". Associated Press News. 19 September 2020.
- ^ Cited in the lead of this article.
- ^ a b c d e f g Race regulations 2020, p. 31.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Race regulations 2020, p. 32.
- ^ Race regulations 2020, p. 29.
- ^ Race regulations 2020, p. 33.
- ^ a b c Race regulations 2020, p. 19.
- ^ a b c Race regulations 2020, p. 17.
- ^ Race regulations 2020, pp. 17–19.
- ^ a b c d e f Race regulations 2020, p. 25.
- ^ a b c d e f "Official classifications of Tour de France 2020". Tour de France. Amaury Sport Organisation. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
Bibliography
- Race regulations (PDF). Paris: Amaury Sport Organisation. 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
{{cite book}}
:|work=
ignored (help) - UCI cycling regulations (PDF). Part 2, road races. Aigle, Switzerland: Union Cycliste Internationale. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.