Richard Carapaz won the penultimate stage of the Tour de France on Alpe dHuez after a dramatic finale in which Sepp Kuss crashed while leading. Remco Evenepoel finished second, while Tadej Pogacar effectively secured overall victory after spending much of the day working for his teammate Isaac Del...

Remco Evenepoel has reached the finish line of stage 20 as the first of the overall classification riders - who had ridden in the peloton. It was an to the Tour's most difficult phase with the best legs he showed all race long, virtually sealing second place in the overall classification. However to...

Team Visma | Lease a Bike have won the opening stage of this year's Tour de France, but have since had to settle for less after the withdrawal of Jonas Vingegaard. The team was close to saving its race today with Sepp Kuss, but the American rider crashed in the final kilometers and lost the opportun...

The 2026 Clsica de Ordizia was decided in a heartbeat. A minor mechanical issuejust a split second of disconnect between rider and bikeproved enough to change the winners name. Uruguayan Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) raised his arms after beating Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) i...

Mads Pedersen is set to win the points classification at the 2026 Tour de France after another aggressive display on stage 20. The Lidl-Trek rider joined the early breakaway, collected maximum points at the intermediate sprint, and moved beyond the reach of his rivals. With only the final stage into...

A final stage and abbreviated to Paris only but this wont alter the sport. A prestigious stage win awaits and potentially a duel between Tadej Pogaar and Mathieu van der Poel.Stage 20 Review: if a grand tour is an exercise in hierarchy to quote Antoine Blondin, or a Bayesian simulator to use science, then how much can the last mountain stage tell us? Even a day with 5,450m of vertical gain and 70 points for anyone capable of passing the marked mountain points first was probably going to confirm rather than reveal.Still, Theres plenty to be said for replicating results on a day when many struggled to hoist themselves out of bed and even scaling a bridge over an autoroute was sapping. Richard Carapaz proved he could even improve on the performances of recent days made him the rider of the day, going from a one point lead in the mountains competition to a 56 point unassailable and incontestable win in the mountains competition.Similarly Mads Pedersen hauled himself over the Alps, attacking at one point to bridge across to the breakaway and then take maximum points at the intermediate sprint to secure the green jersey, an immense ride. The Tour has its Supercombatif prize and its surely between Carapaz and Pedersen, probably Carapaz but there are good arguments to litigate either way.The days breakaway was reduced to Carapaz, Sep Kuss and Jai Hindley on the lower slopes of the Col de la Sarenne. Another day, another trio starting the climb to Alpe dHuez with three and half minutes lead. But this time Pogaar wasnt in pursuit mode.The higher slopes of the Sarenne had no crowds, the road closed to spectators. It was pleasant to see the mountain like this, and no bad advert too for cyclists wanting to explore this road. But also a premonition of what awaits us after the Tour when the sport reverts to sparse crowds and silence.Kuss led over the Sarenne, but only just. Carapaz had the American in sight and was closing. Then Kuss crashed twice and the second time he was lucky there was netting on the exit of the bend, while Carapaz sped past. Despite the dirt on his kit from falling Kuss looked the fresher climber and could have reversed matters. Only Carapaz is among the cast of riders who can be impossible to bring back if they get five metres.Behind Decathlon-CMA CGM had tried to ratchet up the pace in an all-or-nothing move to dislodge Isaac del Toro off third place overall only it came to nothing with Seixas unable to sustain the move and cracking, while Del Toro had the luxury help of Tadej Pogaar. Pogaar could have won the stage if he wished but played butler, a high altitude Jeeves.Evenepoel attacked on the final run to Alpe dHuez, symbolic perhaps but notable as hed survived 5,000m of vertical gain, each stomp on the pedals in the final kilometres a serving to every media outlet in Belgium whod declared he was not a grand tour contender.As Pogaar and Del Toro came into the finish together they were photo-bombed by Lenny Martinez who secured his fifth place overall, albeit 13 minutes down but hell take plenty from the consistent performance and how he was one of the few to hold firm in the third week, all while having turned 23 during this years Tour.The Route: On nest pas a Thoiry, ici. Well almost, theres a presentation in Thoiry for the crowds and host politicians but then the riders are bussed to Paris. Its 89km and laps of the 15km long Champs-Elyses Montmartre circuit, reduced from 133km because of a police shortage with the emergency services mobilised to help with public safety, notably in the Cap Ferret/Arcachon area. In pure cycling terms nobody is missing out on the early parade and we might see a lap or two reserved for this before the racing begins.If theChamps-Elyses-Montmartre circuit already feels familiar theres still a difference as after the descent of Montmatre, the course takes the riders to the Place de lEtoile/Arc de Triomphe and then to the Champs-Elyses. Last year the descent led to the Place de la Concorde. The meaning here is that theres 10km to the finish from the top of Montmartre when there was 6km last year so more chance for teams to organise a chase.The Contenders: the circuit has a feel of a spring classic with the repeat cobbled climbs and if its only 89km everyone is tired and so it doesnt need 200km to make the difference.Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-PremierTech) is the obvious pick, the punch to jump away on the climb, the ability to win the sprint and hes had this stage in mind for a long time. Jasper Philipsen is a second card to play in the sprint.Tadej Pogaar (UAE) got beaten here last year, one of the rare moments he lost a bike race in a straight contest. Hes been talking about this stage too and this makes life harder for the sprinters as his moves will distance them. Hell get extra stimulation from going up against Van der Poel, his arch rival for the classics.Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) ought to be tired but so far hes been a force of nature in this Tour.Olav Kooij (Decathlon-CMA CGM) and Biniam Girmay (NSN) can hope for a sprint and an opportunity.Jayco pair Michael Matthews and Mauro Schmid have a chance. Netcompany-Ineos still have chance of salvation and Filippo Ganna might be their best bet. Theres no French stage winner so far and Romain Grgoire (Groupama-FDJ) has a chance but hes looked fried.Van der PoelPogaar, PhilipsenKooij, Matthews, Girmay, Schmid, KanterWeather: sunny and 24C.TV: KM0 is at 5.55pm and the finish is forecast for 7.30pm CEST.The post Tour de France Stage 21 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

The Governments critical infrastructure designation would have been far more useful for early-stage regional transit stalled in planning, such as Luas for Cork, Luas to Lucan, or the Western Rail Corridor, one of the countys top transport experts has argued. The Government yesterday designated nine projects, including three transport projects, as critical infrastructure. The transport projects include MetroLink, the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme, and the Galway City Ring Road.Brian Caulfield, professor in transportation and director of the Trinity Centre for Transport Research at Trinity College Dublin, said that since MetroLink and Cork Commuter Rail are already past early planning stages, the fast-track designation offers little practical gain.He also pointed out that Ireland faces infrastructure delivery issues that seem to be beyond designations, including massive capacity bottlenecks from shortages in skilled civil engineering labour, housing for workers, and multi-project coordination.Caulfield penned an article in the Business Post yesterday outlining how he thinks the designation is yet another vote of confidence in the projects necessity, but that it could argue that the primary benefits of this status, namely accelerating planning and resolving statutory delays, are largely behind it. He questioned: What can this new designation provide for a project that has already jumped through multiple hoops, over decades, to reach its current stage?Referring to the Cork Area Commuter Rail being delivered, on a phased basis, and MetroLink awaiting final cabinet approval, he said: The logic behind this new designation remains questionable. For all intents and purposes, both projects are already assumed to be happening.The primary value of the Critical Infrastructure Act is to assist projects currently bogged down in planning that would otherwise face years of statutory delays (as MetroLink did), said Caulfield. Projects like a Luas for Cork, a Luas extension to Lucan, or the Western Rail Corridor could have gained significant momentum from being included on the list.While these projects have also been discussed for decades, none are at an advanced planning stage. That said, it is hard to brand these proposals as overly visionary; a Luas line to Lucan, for example, has been on the agenda since the Dublin Transportation Office published A Platform for Change roughly 26 years ago, he wrote.He said that given that the Galway Ring Road faces significant legal and environmental challenges on climate grounds, a critical infrastructure designation could help expedite its delivery, but added: doing so directly conflicts with our transport emissions targets. International evidence, alongside several domestic examples, consistently demonstrates that increasing road capacity does not reduce overall congestion or emissions in the long run. We need only look at the M50 to see how expanding outer orbital capacity ultimately feeds more traffic into the inner city.Projects will go to the top of the queue for faster processing and decision makingJack Chambers, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, said: The designated projects effectively go to the top of the queue for faster processing and decision making by public bodies. Each one of the projects designated are of strategic national importance.He added: The new Critical Infrastructure Act provides the legal framework necessary to ensure that priority projects receive the focus they need. This marks a major step in accelerating the delivery of essential energy, water and transport infrastructure across the country and fulfils a key commitment of the Governments Accelerating Infrastructure Action Plan.Irish Rail yesterday welcomed the new status for their Cork rail project. Mary Considine, Irish Rails chief executive, said: Todays critical designation by Government prioritises the Cork Area CommuterRailProgramme and enables Iarnrd ireann to accelerate delivery of this transformative package of projects.She added: By streamlining the decision-making process around the programmes delivery, Iarnrd ireann will be able to deliver 8 new stations and a high-capacity, high-frequency and more sustainablerailnetwork more quickly for Cork.We thank the Government for prioritising this important project which will bring improvedrailservices and improved quality of life to local communities.Environmental and planning groups criticised the passing of the Critical Infrastructure Act 2026 earlier this year because it removes public authorities requirements to follow the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 provision to have regard to the climate impact of projects which have gained the critical infrastructure designation. The Green Party took aim at Sinn Fin and Social Democrats for siding with the Government on the Climate Action Act and said it was a blow to climate action in Ireland.

For Sepp Kuss, the immediate story of Stage 20 of the 2026 Tour de France was heartbreak. He had been the strongest climber in the breakaway, had dropped Richard Carapaz on the Col de Sarenne and appeared to be riding towards victory on the queen stage. Two crashes in quick succession changed everyt...

Julian Alaphilippe admitted that the 2026 Tour de France could be his final appearance in cycling's biggest race after an emotional finish atop Alpe d'Huez. The two-time world champion reflected on the growing challenge of competing against the sport's new generation, while fellow Frenchman Kvin Va...

Wout van Aert is ready to return to competition after nearly two months on the sidelines. The Belgian star is expected to make his comeback at the Tour of Denmark next week, using the five-day stage race as his final preparation before targeting the Vuelta a Espaa later this summer. According to re...