Pogacar set to seal Tour title as Groves wins stage 20

Kaden Groves now has 10 Grand Tour stage wins

Tadej Pogacar is set to secure his fourth Tour de France title after maintaining his overall lead, as Kaden Groves won the penultimate stage of this years race.

Australian sprinter Groves claimed his first Tour stage win in Pontarlier after launching a solo attack with 16km remaining.

Pogacar completed the 184.2km hilly stage safely in the peloton meaning that, barring an accident, the 26-year-old Slovenian will seal his title defence on Sunday.

The final day of the Tour is a processional stage, where traditionally the general classification leader is not challenged.

Groves has now completed the trilogy of claiming stage victories on each of the three Grand Tour races, having also won at the Vuelta a Espana and the Giro dItalia.

Alpecin-Deceuninck handed the 26-year-old his Tour debut this year and he has become the third rider from the Belgian team to win a stage on the 112th edition of cyclings biggest race.

Alpecins star riders Jasper Philipsen and Mathieu van der Poel triumphed on the first two stages, before later being forced to abandon the Tour through injury and illness respectively.

"There are so many emptions to win here," said Groves. "The team, we came here with so many different plans with Jasper and Mathieu.

"In the end, I get my own opportunities and they havent gone the right way. But today I had super legs. I just suffered to the line and, as a reward, we get a Tour stage."

The 160 remaining riders had to contend with rain soon after the start in Nantua and intermittently along the route.

Groves was then part of a 13-man breakaway that was formed after the second of the days four categorised climbs.

His compatriot Harry Sweeny attacked over the days penultimate climb and went clear of Jordan Jegat with 54km to go, but the EF Education-EasyPost rider was caught on the first slopes of the final ascent.

Local favourite Romain Gregoire and Spanish debutant Ivan Romeo attacked on the downhill but as they sped into a wet turn, both slipped to the tarmac, with 21-year-old Romeo coming off worse as he also slid into the kerb.

Groves was right behind them so watched it all unfold and sensed his opportunity, attacking with 16km remaining.

Frank van den Broek and British rider Jake Stewart merely looked at each other, with that momentary stalemate allowing Groves to go clear.

He gradually increased his lead to the line, where he was sobbing after clinching an emotional victory.

"The team gave me a free role in the last few days," Groves added. "We werent sure if I should go for it today or wait until tomorrow. But when the rain falls, I always have a super feeling normally, in the cold weather. Its my first time winning solo - and its in a Tour stage, [so] pretty incredible.

"Theres so much pressure at the Tour. Having won in the Vuelta and the Giro, I always get asked whether Im good enough to win in the Tour - and now Ive shown them.

"I tried to play my cards right and get into an early move. But the uphill start made that incredibly difficult. When I made the decision, I knew that [Matteo] Jorgenson and [Tim] Wellens would watch each other, so I tried to distance myself form them.

"Then after the crash, Van den Broek goes full, so I closed that. Then him and Jake Stewart watched each other and I had a gap with 16km to go, so I rode full until the final 200m."

Groves is the second Australian winner on this years Tour after Ben OConnor. His win on stage 18 saw him climb to 10th on the general classification standings but Jegat is set to deny him a top-10 finish as the gap he built in the breakaway was too big for OConnor to close.

Jonas Vingegaard looked resigned to GC defeat, having been unable to significantly cut Pogacars lead on two gruelling days in the Alps.

When the two-time Tour winner did not contest the first categorised climb, it meant Pogacar secured his third King of the Mountains title on the Tour, and Vingegaard even patted Pogacar on the back as they crossed the line together.

While Pogacar will not be attacked on the final day in Paris, a prestigious stage win will be up for grabs on the Champs-Elysees.

The 2025 Tour de France will end in Paris on Sunday