UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider Tadej Pogacar all but secured his fifth Tour de France title on the penultimate day of the race as ​Ecuador's ⁠Richard Carapaz ⁠claimed victory ​on Stage 20.Carapaz won the ⁠170.9km ‌mountain stage ​from Le Bourg-d'Oisans to Alpe d'Huez for EF Education-EasyPost.It was Carapaz's second stage win in three days. Belgium's Remco Evenepoel (Red ​Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) ‌finished ⁠second, while ​American Sepp ​Kuss ‌of Visma-Lease ⁠a Bike was ⁠third. Race leader Pogacar all but confirmed his fifth overall victory at the Tour by coming in fourth.Rather than chase a second successive stage win, the Slovenian ​spent much ‌of the day supporting UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate Isaac del Toro, who strengthened his grip ⁠on third place overall.Del Toro finished fifth on the stage after dropping ⁠French teenager Paul Seixas on the Col de Sarenne.Slovenian star Pogacar, meanwhile, is all set to further cement his status as one of the all-time greats on Sunday.“I can say I finally experienced it myself. I already appreciated the work of the teammates before, but now it's like another level. I must say thank you to every single one of them for working so hard for these last three weeks,” Pogacar said after Stage 20.“It was goosebumps,” he added, describing the moment when he and Del Toro celebrated together at the finish line. The grand finale of the ​Tour ​de France, which is anyhow considered a procession, ​⁠will be shortened due to ⁠the impact of security ​forces being redeployed to battle wildfires near ⁠Bordeaux.The Tour's final leg – Stage 21 when cyclists enter ⁠Paris and do laps around the ​Champs ⁠Elysees – will be ‌shortened to 89km instead of the ​133km originally planned.“As numerous wildfires are currently affecting France, particularly the Gironde region, emergency services are fully mobilised to combat the blazes, while internal security forces are working to secure the affected areas and protect the population,” the Paris police and the event's organisers said in a joint statement.“In light of this, the Interior Ministry ​has decided to redeploy ‌a portion of ⁠the internal security forces ​initially mobilised to ensure security ​for ‌the final stage of the Tour de France, ⁠in order to reinforce the response efforts ⁠in the areas affected by the wildfires.” Slovenian champion Pogacar should have a clear sight of ​a third straight Tour de France title as he enjoys a lead of over six minutes.Pogacar, however, did not want to put too much pressure on Del Torro who is being seen as the next up-and-coming star.“I definitely will not be doing this for too much long time, I think, and Isaac showed great potential, but we don't put any pressure yet on Isaac,” he said.“I think he's still young. He's a quick learner. He's super smart, big talent, big engine. So yeah, let's see where the road takes us. But I'm happy to be with him in the team, and that we can ride like this together for now.”Stage 20 winners1). ⁠Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost): 4:59:392). Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-​BORA): +263). Sepp Kuss (Team Visma-Lease a Bike): +314). Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): +1:055). Isaac ⁠Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): same timeOverall leaders1). Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG): 72:53:442). Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA): +6:263). Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +9:424). Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM Team): +11:565). Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious): +13:02