Pogacar set to equal Tour record as Carapaz wins stage

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Pogacar is set for a fifth Tour win - but Carapaz, right, will take the king of the mountains polka dot jersey Published 29 minutes ago Tadej Pogacar is set to secure a record-equalling fifth Tour de France after a dramatic stage 20 saw Ecuador's Richard Carapaz clinch victory on Alpe d'Huez as Sepp Kuss crashed twice while leading in the last few kilometres. If Pogacar avoids a race-ending crash on Sunday's final stage to Paris, in which the overall standings are traditionally not contested, he will become the joint-most successful rider in the Tour's history alongside Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain. Pogacar, 27, of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, finished the three-week Grand Tour's 'queen' stage in fourth place after helping his Mexican team-mate Isaac del Toro provisionally seal third place on the overall podium and the young rider classification's white jersey. Pogacar will claim his fifth overall yellow jersey in Paris by six minutes and 26 seconds over Belgium's Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, after Evenepoel finished the stage in second, 26 seconds behind Carapaz, after a late charge. Race organisers ASO announced during the stage that Sunday's finale will have its distance reduced from 133km to 89km after the re-direction of emergency services to help tackle devastating wildfires in the south-west of the country. Traditionally, the final stage sees the sport's sprinters battle for the line on the famous Champs Elysees cobbles, but a new section over Montmartre allows riders with more sustained power the potential to steal a breakaway win. Image gallery Skip image gallery Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Sepp Kuss crashed twice and nearly fell off a cliff Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Mountain GOAT: Pogacar has won 26 stages of the Tour overall Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Caparaz's explosive riding looks to have earned him the polka dot jersey Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Pogacar and Del Toro crossed the line together Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Riders took big risks on the descents of the mountains 1 of 5 Previous image Next image Slide 1 of 5 , Sepp Kuss , Sepp Kuss crashed twice and nearly fell off a cliff End of image gallery A double crash that so nearly ended in disaster The most demanding stage of the whole race was left to the penultimate day, in which riders had to climb 5,450 metres across three hors category climbs covering 170.9km to finish in the iconic Alpe d'Huez ski-resort for a second time in two days. American Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike was part a large early breakaway which contained riders looking for a stage win, and attacked alone with about 25km to go. The 31-year-old looked to have found the strength which helped him win the Vuelta a Espana in 2023 and seemed set to hold on to a slender lead for victory. But the often unflappable Kuss was on the ragged edge and crashed on a