Stage 13

The road

At the start

Bastille Day, and the Grand Colombier

Bastille Day, and the Tour's first summit finish in the Alps. Jonas Vingegaard leads Tadej Pogačar by 17 seconds after a fortnight in which each has dropped the other exactly once. Today is only 137 kilometres from Châtillon-sur-Chalaronne, near enough flat until the road tips up the Grand Colombier — 17.4 kilometres at 7.1 per cent, where Pogačar beat Primož Roglič in 2020.

How it was won

1. 117 km to go

   Grand Colombier

   The race hits the day's only climb, the Grand Colombier, and both break and peloton shatter; UAE and Ineos drive the chase up the stunning hairpins.

2. 211 km to go

   Kwiatkowski goes solo

   Michał Kwiatkowski jumps clear of the break with 11km to climb, opening his jersey to every breath of cooling air as he fights the gradient and the chase alone.

3. 32 km to go

   The GC group ignites

   With 1.5km to go Adam Yates surges to set up Pogačar; Kuss chases for Vingegaard, and suddenly only eight men are left.

4. 41 km to go

   Pogačar strikes

   Pogačar erupts inside the final kilometre. Vingegaard gets his wheel, then a gap opens inch by inch as their tiny physiological gulf finally tells.

5. 5At the line

   Summit finish

   Kwiatkowski holds on for a prestigious Ineos win; Pogačar takes third, four seconds and a bonus, clawing back toward the yellow jersey.

The result