2018 Tour de France Stage 20 Results & Recap
Stage 20 of the 2018 Tour de France is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Dumoulin world class in Espellete\nBy Clara Beard
In an exciting penultimate stage of the Tour de France, Tom Dumoulin claimed his second TT victory of the race, his first in 2016. The world champion’s performance secured his second place overall, 1:51 behind Geraint Thomas.
“I first heard that I was second by one second but it’s the other way round and it’s crazy,” Dumoulin said. “It’s been an amazing last day. I was so nervous this morning. We found out that we lost the skinsuit. Luckily our clothing sponsor is from the Basque country on the Spanish side and they made a new one this morning so I could wear it for racing. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to ride in the rainbow colours. I had such a hard time yesterday. I think all the frustrations came out of me today. It’s hard to believe that I’ve won this time trial. But it’s fantastic to finish the Tour this way and make the final podium for the first time.”
Chris Froome narrowly missed out on the victory, following Dumoulin by a single second on the 31 kilometre course. Race leader Geraint Thomas slotted into third place, another 14 seconds off the pace, but enough to retain his yellow jersey on the eve of the final stage.
“I don’t know what to say,” Thomas said. “It’s just overwhelming. I didn’t think about winning the Tour de France for the whole race and suddenly… I’ve won the Tour, man. I can’t speak. It’s just incredible. The last time I cried is when I got married. I don’t know what’s happening to me. I felt good today. I felt strong in the time trial. I felt really good actually. I heard I was up and I pushing a bit hard in the corners sometimes. [Sports director] Nico [Portal] told me to take it easy and be a bit more relaxed, just to make sure I win the Tour. That’s what I did. It was stressful. I believed I could beat the guys here. It was the biggest stage of all over three weeks. It’s wonderful.”
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