Latest report · Stage 20 · July 25
Richard Carapaz wins the queen stage after Sepp Kuss crashes away a likely solo, while Tadej Pogačar escorts Isaac del Toro onto the Paris podium and near-certain white.
Stage 20 · Carapaz wins Stage 20, Del Toro keeps podium
The explainer · 30-second version
The yellow jersey is simple and brutal: add each rider's stage times, penalties, and bonuses. Lowest total wins.
Sprinters chase green, climbers chase polka dots, younger contenders chase white, and teams chase their own classification.
Only one rider may stand on the podium, but seven helpers can decide whether that rider survives wind, climbs, crashes, and hunger.
Commissaires enforce time limits, feeding zones, support rules, sprint lines, and penalties. The circus has a traffic code.
The full field
Illustrated guide
The Tour winner is not the rider with the most stage wins. It is the rider with the lowest total time after every stage, with time bonuses and penalties included. Teammates protect that clock as if it were cargo.
Yellow leads overall time. Green leads the points classification. White with red dots leads the mountains. White is the best young rider, open in 2026 to riders born after January 1, 2001.
The 2026 route has 7 flat stages, 4 hilly stages, 8 mountain stages, 1 team time trial, 1 individual time trial, and 2 rest days. A rider who looks invincible on a sprint day can be in survival mode in the Alps.
Flat stage finishes pay the most points, while intermediate sprints offer a mid-stage prize. That is why sprint teams may chase all day even when they do not care about the overall win.
Climbs are ranked from category 4 up to hors categorie. The harder the climb, the deeper and richer the points scale. Attacking before a summit can be worth more than waiting for the finish.
On road stages, the first three riders at the finish receive 10, 6, and 4 seconds. That sounds tiny until a three-week Tour is separated by less time than a coffee order.
Domestiques fetch bottles, block wind, chase attacks, set mountain tempo, guide positioning, and sometimes sacrifice their own result. The strongest team can make the race feel smaller for its leader.
Riders can exchange food and drink freely, but wheels and bikes can only be exchanged within the same team. Technical assistance must happen behind the peloton, on the right side of the road, while stationary.
The front group needs cooperation and enough time. The peloton needs discipline, horsepower, and a reason to chase. Watch the gap, the wind, the teams represented, and the distance left.
In the stage 16 individual time trial, riders start in reverse GC order. If a rider catches another, they cannot pace or draft; the passed rider must drop back.
The scorebook
| Moment | Top points | Paid places | What it favors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat finish, coefficient 1 | 70-50-40 | First 18 | Pure sprinters and lead-out trains |
| Slightly rolling finish | 50-30-20 | First 15 | Sprinters who can survive hills |
| Rolling finish | 30-25-22 | First 15 | Puncheurs and durable fast finishers |
| Hard stage or time trial | 20-17-15 | First 15 | GC riders, climbers, and specialists |
| Intermediate sprint | 25-20-16 | First 15 | Green-jersey hunters before the finish |
Ties in the points classification are broken by stage wins, then intermediate sprint wins, then general classification rank.
| Climb category | Top points | Paid places | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hors categorie | 20-15-12 | First 8 | Monster climbs and summit finishes |
| Category 1 | 10-8-6 | First 6 | Major mountain passes |
| Category 2 | 5-3-2 | First 4 | Serious climbs that shape the day |
| Category 3 | 2-1 | First 2 | Smaller climbs, still tactical |
| Category 4 | 1 | First 1 | A single point for the first over |
A KOM tie is broken by the number of first places on the hardest climbs, then lower categories, then GC rank.
Riders finishing in the same group receive the same time. A split normally needs a gap of at least 1 second.
On stages expected to finish in a bunch sprint, a time split needs a gap of 3 seconds or more.
Road stages pay 10, 6, and 4 seconds to the first three finishers. Time trials do not pay finish bonuses.
Each stage has a coefficient-based deadline. Finish too late and a rider can be eliminated unless the jury reinstates them.
Individual time trial ties can use hundredths of a second. In stage 16, riders start in reverse GC order.
Stage 1 teams start every 5 minutes. Individual GC uses each rider's actual time, not one blanket team time.
Team dynamics
The protected contender. Their job is to avoid lost time, survive hard days, and attack when the course suits them.
The helper. They carry bottles, close gaps, shepherd the leader, and burn energy so the leader does not have to.
The on-bike organizer. They read wind, road furniture, crashes, and panic before the race radio can solve it.
A sprint convoy. Riders take high-speed turns on the front so the sprinter launches from the cleanest possible position.
The last helper in the mountains. Their steady tempo can discourage attacks or set up one decisive acceleration.
A rider sent up the road to chase a stage, force rivals to work, or become a bridge for the leader later.
Race-day rhythm
Riders sign in, roll through town at controlled speed, then the race director releases the official start.
Breakaway hopefuls try to form the day's front group while the peloton decides whether the move is acceptable.
Green-jersey points, KOM points, and feed-zone logistics give the middle of the stage its own stakes.
GC teams fight for safety, sprint teams assemble lead-outs, and breakaways either commit or start bargaining with fatigue.
The final kilometre marker begins the last phase: sprint launch, summit duel, solo survival, or time-trial emptying-out.
Glossary
The main bunch. Drafting inside it saves energy, but position is everything.
A group of riders, often sprinters on mountain days, working together to finish inside the time limit.
The red kite marking one kilometre to go, unless the finish setup requires a different marker.
A rider ahead on the road who, if the current time gaps held, would lead the general classification.
A race official who enforces rules, validates results, and applies penalties.
The last official vehicle. Riders behind it are effectively outside the race convoy.
Sources
Facts were checked against the official 2026 route page, sporting stakes page, and 2026 rules and regulations PDF.
Fan-made educational page. Not affiliated with Tour de France, A.S.O., or the UCI.