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If Tadej Pogacar’s lead in the yellow jersey standings seems like a pretty comfortable cushion – illness concerns aside – then the came cannot be said for his team-mate Isaac del Toro in his white jersey clash with French phenomenon Paul Seixas.

Where 4’32” separates Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel on GC, just 20 seconds stand between the Mexican and the French 19-year-old as the two do battle for both the white jersey and the final spot on the podium.

While back-to-back summit finishes on Alpe d’Huez has been done before, the race organisers have put a fresh spin on the idea to come up with what is an essentially new challenge for the peloton over the next two days.

In 1979, the first double header happened with successive stages here and in 2013 it occurred in an around-and-about way by including a dual ascent of the iconic climb in a single stage. 

That first time, Stages 17 and 18 finished at Alpe d’Huez, the second of which being a madcap out-and-back stage that started with the riders descending the famous 21 hairpin bends before looping back up to the ski resort.

For Stage 18 of 2013, there was a double ascent, with the riders also having to negotiate the descent at Col de Sarenne, won by French rider Christophe Riblon. It is via the Sarenne that the riders will reach the summit tomorrow in Stage 20, joining the usual road for the final five hairpin bends.

The sick Brandon McNulty withdraw yesterday while both Adam Yates and Tim Wellens have been suffering with the same stomach bug since the rest day. It couldn’t come at a worse time for the team, who are fighting on several fronts – notably Pogacar for yellow and Del Toro for the podium and white.

According to Belgian media, the remaining riders have been eating separately in their rooms, sleeping in separate beds (isn’t that usually the case?), walking through the hotel wearing face masks, and sitting spread out on the team bus to halt further infections.

It will be fascinating to see how they cope with the attacks today, and whether their two totems are operating at full fitness and health.

The first of two back-to-back finishes on the legendary Alpe d’Huez. On paper, the less appealing of the two, although it is the only one that uses the all 21 of the iconic hairpin bends of the so-called Dutch Mountain.

A short 128km stage packs in 3,500m of climbing with the road edging uphill from the gun with the Cat. 2 Col Bayard (4.7km at 7.2%). This is followed straight away by the Cat. 1 Col du Noyer (7.2km at 8.5%) before a long flat section comes to a head with the intermediate sprint at Le Perier.

The business end kicks off with the Cat. 2 Col d’Ornon (5.4km at 6.4%) before the peloton plunges down to Le Bourg d’Oisans ahead of the infamous 13.8km climb of Alpe d’Huez, where spectators will line the side of a road that ramps up at an average gradient of 8.1% over 21 switchbacks, each of which dedicated to a rider – or riders – who have previously triumphed at the top.

This will be the day that the riders will somehow carve their way through the flares and a sea of orange as they glide around Switchback 7 and the striking Notre-Dame des Neiges church, otherwise known as Dutch Corner.

It has been four years since the Tour last ventured up to Alpe d’Huez on a day Tom Pidcock put on a descending masterclass off the Galibier before winning from a breakaway that also included the four-time champion Chris Froome. Four years before that, Geraint Thomas picked up a memorable win in the yellow jersey – something Pogacar could emulate today. Over to you, Remco and Paul...