Richard Carapaz wrote an impressive chapter in the opening stage of the Tour de France’s Alpine trilogy: The 33-year-old Ecuadorian broke away from the breakaway group four kilometers from the finish and arrived solo at the Orcières-Merlette ski resort with a 45-second lead—exhausted, overjoyed, and arms wide open. For the Tokyo Olympic champion, it was already his second Tour stage victory; the first was celebrated in 2024 in Superdévoluy, less than 50 km as the crow flies.
Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) from Switzerland finished second again, as he had the previous day. American Matteo Jorgenson (Visma – Lease a Bike) completed the podium.
In the background, however, health issues were evident in superstar Tadej Pogačar’s UAE Emirates-XRG team: Tim Wellens confirmed infection symptoms, Brandon McNulty even abandoned the race, and Adam Yates had already dragged himself to the finish line ill on Wednesday. Florian Vermeersch and Wellens dropped back into the gruppetto early.
Pogačar defended the yellow jersey with a 4:32-minute lead over Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe). Third is Pogačar’s teammate Isaac del Toro (+6:51 minutes) from Mexico. Pogačar notably wore black rather than yellow racing shorts for the first time in four years, fueling rumors about illness symptoms.
With the double mountain finish at Alpe d’Huez on Friday and Saturday, the hardest stages are now approaching—a dangerous scenario for a weakened UAE team.
