"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
Cycling
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.
"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.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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