COL DE LA COUILLOLE, France (AP) — Tadej Pogacar equalled one Tour de France mark on Saturday and he’s likely to match another on Sunday.
Pogacar edged Jonas Vingegaard at the top of Col De La Couillole to win the 20th and penultimate stage and add even more seconds to his considerable lead.
It was a fifth stage victory this month for the two-time champion, who stretched out his arms as he crossed the line before holding up his hand to signal his number of wins.
The only other man to have won five mountain stages in one Tour was Gino Bartali in 1948.
Pogacar attacked from the leading duo with 150 meters remaining and beat Vingegaard by seven seconds.
It will likely be the same positions on the final podium on Sunday after Pogacar extended his lead to 5 minutes, 14 seconds, over two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, his closest rival.
The Tour ends on Sunday on the French Riviera with a time trail from Monaco to Nice, and not in Paris as it usually does because of the Olympic Games.
Barring incident, Pogacar is almost certain to reclaim the Tour crown from Vingegaard and in doing so secure a rare Giro d’Italia and Tour de France double. The last rider to win both in the same year was the late Marco Pantani in 1998.
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