Stage 20 of the 2026 Tour de France was the toughest on this year’s slate, and it duly served up a wonderful day of racing on Saturday. Richard Carapaz, dressed in the polka dot jersey, sealed his second stage win of this year’s race after a brutal battle with Sepp Kuss, which saw the American crash twice in the run-in to Alpe d’Huez and hand the advantage to the Ecuadorian.Behind them, Tadej Pogačar nursed Isaac Del Toro to third place in the podium battle, the pair distancing French hope Paul Seixas on the final climb of the day, the yellow jersey even staying with his young Mexican teammate as Remco Evenepoel pushed on in the closing kilometres to take second place on the stage.It was a decisive day all round, with Mads Pedersen securing the green jersey after a monumental effort to cross to the break on the Col de la Croix-de-Fer, while Carapaz’s efforts throughout the day saw him confirm first place in the King of the Mountains competition.Jacob Whitehead and Tim Spiers break down the key moments from an epic day.Carapaz celebrates his second stage win in three days (Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images)Carapaz, with legs of iron, home again in the high mountains“I must be the professional that lives at the highest altitude in the whole peloton,” Richard Carapaz, from the remote Ecuadorian province of Carchi, told The Athletic last spring. “You can see there’s a benefit, because it’s not the same thing to live at sea level and go uphill to adapt. My family has lived at altitude for five generations — genetically, my body is made to survive 3000m.”Compared to the humid heat of South America, Carapaz claims he finds the drier air of Europe easier — and as the Tour reached its highest summits over the final days, the EF Education-EasyPost rider has become the defining mover of the race. His results over the last three days: first, third, first — a true king of the mountains.Carapaz alone in the environment in which he excels (Jeff PACHOUD / AFP via Getty Images)By winning on Alpe d’Huez on Saturday, he became the first rider to win a Tour stage in the polka dot jersey since Julian Alaphilippe in 2018 — an achievement which is all the more remarkable for the energy he has expended over the past 72 hours.Permanently in the breakaway, face to the wind, he has spent under 100km of the 470km in the bunch, being drafted and saving his legs. Winning on stage 20 owed something to Kuss’ crashes, but that is bike racing. The relentless Carapaz pressured the American on the descents and put himself in the position to profit.After narrowly missing out on the Giro d’Italia last May, Carapaz has continued to build a palmares which arguably places him as the greatest South American rider of all time — his accolades including the Giro d’Italia, Olympic gold, and now his 10th Grand Tour stage win.Carapaz is the first South American rider to reach double figures for Grand Tour stage wins (Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images)In a race in which several exciting talents have been content to ride conservatively to preserve their places in the lower reaches of the general classification, such as Juan Ayuso and Jordan Jegat, Carapaz has shown there is another way — to not be afraid of losing time, with greater moments in mind.Crossing the line and pointing to the sky, in memory of his mother Ana who died suddenly in late January, it is clear Carapaz made the right decision.Jacob WhiteheadTwo Kuss crashes cost him victory, but it could have been so much worseWhen Sepp Kuss closes his eyes tonight he’ll be thinking of that right-hand bend.Oh, Sepp. He had the Queen Stage in the palm of his hand.With just 7km to go the American, a man for whom Grand Tour stage victories can be few and far between owing to his usual role as a Visma–Lease a Bike superdomestique for Jonas Vingegaard, had a steady 20-second lead on Carapaz, plus 90 seconds on Pogacar’s GC group.