DISCUSSION Tour de France Stage 20 | Is this the most unpredictable Tour in recent years? Are domestiques stealing the show at this year's Tour?

The Tour de France is coming to an end, and today’s stage was one of the last opportunities for many riders to fight for the stage win. The day was perfect for puncheurs and explosive riders, and the breakaway was expected to be successful. The win came from the break, but it wasn’t a puncheur or an explosive rider who crossed the line first. It was Kaden Groves, Philipsen’s backup sprinter, who took the victory.

The Australian claimed a prestigious win on a terrain that, at least on paper, didn’t seem suited to his strengths. Although he handles medium mountains well, the stage looked more favorable to other types of riders.

Team Alpecin Deceuninck obtained their third victory in the Tour, a magnificent result for a team that lost Philipsen early in the race. Kaden Groves is now part of a select group of riders who have won at least one stage in the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and Giro d'Italia.

With today’s stage, it’s becoming clear that this edition of the Tour de France is shaping up to be one for the domestiques, the underdogs, and the riders who usually fly under the radar. In a race that often revolves around the stars, this year’s narrative has given unusual prominence to those who typically work in the shadows.

Today was not a day for the men in the general classification, the victory of the breakaway was clear, so let's talk only about the breakaway. The first thing is to congratulate Kaden Groves, who is more of a sprinter, but he has shown he knows how to get through the middle mountains and joins the club of riders who have won in all three Grand Tours. Congratulations to him.

Terrible misunderstanding between Frank van den Broek and Jake Stewart, who put the win on a plate for the Australian from Alpecin-Deceuninck, who took advantage of it perfectly. But as a Spaniard, how not to be devastated by the fall of Ivan Romeo.

When he was leading the stage and pulling hard on the descent, the Spanish champion went to the ground, hit the sidewalk and lost any chance of winning the race. In what was the last golden opportunity in this Tour for a Spanish cyclist and Movistar Team, fate decided otherwise.

Today Kaden Groves transformed into Kaden van der Poel! This performance was never seen from him previously and clearly resembles his team mate. The stage was clearly a day suited for a break, the only question was who was going to be a part of it.

Overall it was an entertaining stage and it exceeded my expectations since i expected no relevant GC changes to happen, but we've actually had Jegat entering Top 10 (who i would have never put my money on before the start of this year's Tour de France).

The only downside of the stage was the fall who took out half of the front group on a crucial part of the stage and that ultimately opened the door for Groves to attack solo, although i feel like if we were to have a group sprint he would have won the stage anyway.

Alpecin-Deceuninck doesn’t seem to be suffering much from the absence of Jasper Philipsen, or even from the loss of Mathieu van der Poel some days ago. The team has adapted impressively, changing their plans mid-race and proving that they are much more than just Philipsen or Van der Poel.

They will finish the Tour with three stage wins (let’s see how it goes tomorrow), and that’s impressive for a team with basically no pure climbers. Relying on a sprinter like Philipsen and an all-rounder like Mathieu van der Poel could have been a risky strategy. Especially given the fact that Philipsen was not as dominant as he used to be in the past, and the Tour is not Van der Poel’s favourite race.

After today’s stage, I can confidently say that this Tour de France has been the edition of the domestiques. First, it was Tim Wellens who won, and now Kaden Groves. But it is not just that, domestiques have had a huge presence throughout the race, not just those from UAE and Visma, but basically those from all teams.

Today, we saw a very chaotic stage. The road was very slippery, and there were countless crashes. Iván Romeo and Romain Grégoire hit the deck in the worst possible moment. They were in the breakaway with around 20 km to go, and both of them had serious chances of winning the stage. Both are skillful riders, and the final part of the stage suited them perfectly.

In my opinion, Romeo has completed a very decent Tour de France. He was the youngest rider in the whole peloton, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the way he raced. The Movistar rider has shown maturity well beyond his age, consistently making it into breakaways and giving his team valuable visibility. He has a very promising future ahead of him and, without a doubt, he’s been Movistar’s best performer in this Tour.

As for Movistar, this is the 6th consecutive year in which they haven’t gotten a single stage win. The team has lacked clear direction in recent years. Enric Mas remains the team’s undisputed leader, but it’s increasingly evident that he doesn’t have what it takes to contend for a Tour de France podium. That focus on the general classification ends up diverting key resources away from stage-hunting opportunities. We’ll see if things change at the Vuelta a España, a race that has historically brought them better luck.

The last rider I wanted to mention is Jordan Jegat. The Frenchman was a relative unknown to the general public before the Tour, but his performances have quickly elevated him to one of the country’s most promising young riders, alongside Kevin Vauquelin.

Quietly and without much fanfare, he’s slipped into the top 10, overtaking O’Connor. Jayco spent most of the day pulling at the front, but ultimately had to throw in the towel when it became clear they couldn’t close the gap. Great reward for Jordan Jegat, one of the most combative riders in this year’s Tour de France edition.

I am now looking forward to tomorrow's stage. The change in the route was probably a smart decision. We already saw in the Olympics last year how interesting the stage was, with the ascents to Montmartre completely blowing the race. Seeing Pogacar win in yellow would give us an iconic image for the sport.