"Giulio knows very well what to do on Saturday" - Lidl-Trek lay-out the plan for Ciccone to keep polka-dot ahead of Gall & Vingegaard

Heading into stage 20, the polka-dot jersey for King of the Mountains is really the only jersey still up for grabs at the 2023 Tour de France. Giulio Ciccone leads currently, but with both Felix Gall and Jonas Vingegaard hot on his heels it is still all to play for.

"You can score a lot of points on Saturday," Lidl-Trek's sports director Steven De Jongh tells NOS, laying out the plan on how the team intend to keep Giulio Ciccone in polka-dots and secure themselves a Tour de France jersey win. If the Italian takes the first seventeen points on offer on the stage, he will have an unassailable lead so getting in the breakaway will be key.

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"We should actually get them. I, therefore, give Giulio the advantage over Gall. Giulio is very explosive, I think more explosive than his opponent. In addition, Gall also has to defend his eighth place in the general classification, which can play a role," explains De Jongh. "Giulio knows very well what to do on Saturday and he knows who to keep an eye on. The form of the day will probably decide who goes home with the jersey."

With Gall six points behind Ciccone and Vingegaard seven behind, perhaps a Jumbo-Visma team keen on taking the stage win will turn out to be the biggest hurdle for the Lidl-Trek climber to overcome.

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