Challenge Cup

Ben Healy isn't hanging around, and with their lead dropping, wants to give his team at least a shot at the stage. Carapaz waits, then jumps.

If Richard Carapaz is first to the top here, he will secure the 2026 King of the Mountains title, as long as he crosses the line in Paris tomorrow. This is where the altitude starts to bite, but if there's anyone for whom it'll be a breeze, it's the rider born at 2830 meters in El Carmelo Ecuador,

Ben Healy guides Carapaz to the summit of the Telegraph. As close to an armchair ride as you'll get in climbing, the Irishman moves aside a hundred metres before the line allowing his team-mate to waltz towards another ten points. That's twenty for the day and puts him 31 points ahead of Tadej Pogacar. It's getting closer.

UAE has allowed the grab to gradually extend towards five minutes, which has unsettled Bahrain slightly, and caused them to take to the front of the bunch. They're protecting Lenny Martinez's fifth place, which is now threatened by Juan Ayuso. The yoyo continues.

Early on the Col du Telegraphe, the Frenchman is dangling off the front group. He keeps making out-of-saddle efforts to get back on, but how many of them can he sustain? My earlier question has been answered, and Pedersen is drifting back to the bunch. "Valentin is cracking" says Charlie Wegelius on the EF team radio.