Richard Carapaz has been named the most combative rider of the Tour de France, as decided by a vote among cycling fans and a professional jury. The Ecuadorian from EF Education-EasyPost won a stage, wore the yellow jersey for one day, and, after an ultra-aggressive final week, ultimately secured the polka dot jersey. The Super Combativity Award was just out of reach for Jonas Abrahamsen, who had animated the first two weeks of the Tour for Uno-X Mobility. The 28-year-old Norwegian was active from day one of the Tour and grabbed the first mountain jersey in Rimini. He held onto it for the first eleven (!) days, thanks partly to another breakaway attempt on day two and several key sprints for mountain points in the first week. Tadej Pogacar took over the polka dots on day eleven, the day Jonas Vingegaard beat him in the sprint at Le Lioran. Abrahamsen joined the breakaway on days twelve and thirteen to collect more points, but his energy reserves were dwindling. However, it was only on day fourteen that he really lost sight of Pogacar.
Carapaz was consistently in the mix during the third week
Carapaz, in turn, also made a strong case for the Super Combativity Award. The former Giro winner came to the Tour aiming for the general classification, but a lack of preparation soon made this goal unattainable. Thanks to a strong opening weekend, he managed to capture the yellow jersey for one day on day three by smartly positioning himself among the top fifteen in a mass sprint. He lost the yellow jersey on day four and then shifted his focus as the reigning Olympic champion to stage wins. In the second week, Carapaz was in two breakaways, and in the third week, he was present in four of the five stages.
This effort earned him a significant number of mountain points. However, he only officially took over the polka dot jersey from Pogacar on day nineteen. This was two days after his impressive stage victory from a breakaway to Superdévoluy. In that stage, he dropped Simon Yates on the final climb and went solo to claim his very first Tour stage win. This victory placed Carapaz among the select group of riders who have won stages in all three Grand Tours.
