Photo: Prensa Latina.
Havana, July 22 (RHC)-- The 20th and penultimate stage of the Tour de France will represent today in the Vosges mountain range the final battle in the various classifications, with Danish Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) at the gates of his second consecutive crown.
It will be a short but challenging route, with three thousand 600 meters above sea level of accumulated climbs, in the 133.5 kilometers of route between Belfort and the winter sports resort Le Markstein, where the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) will give everything to regain his titles of 2020 and 2021, although Vingegaard is more than seven minutes ahead of him.
In total there are six mountain passes in the stage, the last two of which are imposing and first category: the Petit Ballon with its summit at 1,163 meters, a climb of 9.3 kilometers and an average gradient of 8.1 percent, and the Col de Platzerwasel (1,193 meters) and 7.1 kilometers of climbing at 8.4.
In addition to the expected final duel Vingegaard-Pogacar, in which the Dane will have every chance of winning, barring a miracle or a major setback, the Vosges will define the third place in the overall, facing a closing tomorrow on the emblematic Parisian Champs Elysees favorable to the sprinters.
Britain's Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) is clinging to the podium with his third place and a lead of one minute and 16 seconds over Spain's Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and one minute and 34 seconds over his twin brother, Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla).
In the mountains, the fight will be interesting, with Italian Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) as leader with 88 points, followed by Austrian Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën), 82, and Vingegaard, 81.
The green jersey already has an owner, the Belgian sprinter Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), winner of four stages in the 110th edition of the Tour de France, unreachable with his 377 points, 139 more than the Danish Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek).
Also by teams, everything seems to be defined in the Grande Boucle, since Jumbo-Visma is more than 27 minutes ahead of UAE Team Emirates (Source: Prensa Latina).
