Numbers, curiosities and statistics help us to re-read and deepen what we experienced in yesterday's stage. Follow us:

3: ECUADOR'S TREBLE
With the polka dot jersey on his back, Richard Carapaz won the third stage of his career at the Tour de France at L'Alpe d'Huez. The Ecuadorian, who covered the last 3 kilometers of the climb towards the Isère locality at an average speed of 24.7 km/h, thus marks a double this year after his success two days earlier at Orcières-Merlette. A double following the victory achieved in 2024 in Superdévoluy at the end of the 17th stage of the 2024 edition.

27: MAN OF THE GRAND TOURS
Thanks to his victory at L'Alpe d'Huez, Richard Carapaz became the twenty-seventh rider in history to win at least three stages in the Grand Tours. The Ecuadorian climber thus brings his total of successes in three-week races to 10 (3 at the Tour and the Vuelta, 4 at the Giro). Of the riders still active, only five have reached this achievement: Tadej Pogacar (35 victories in total), Primoz Roglic (22), Jonas Vingegaard (14), Mads Pedersen (12) and Michael Matthews (10). The record is still held by the "Cannibal" Eddy Merckx, who is well ahead with 65 victories in the Grand Tour (34 at the Tour, 6 at the Vuelta, 25 at the Giro).

2: SOUTH AMERICA AGAIN AT L'ALPE D'HUEZ
At the end of a stage with 5,450 meters of elevation gain, Richard Carapaz is the first Ecuadorian to raise his arms at L'Alpe d'Huez, but also the second South American cyclist to do so. We must go back to the 1984 Tour to find the trace of Luis Herrera, winner at the mythical Alpine locality, just ahead of Laurent Fignon and Miguel Arroyo.

33: THE STRENGTH OF EXPERIENCE
By winning at L'Alpe d'Huez, Richard Carapaz leveraged his experience to enter the group of the three oldest winners at the top of the 21 hairpin bends. At 33 years, 1 month and 26 days, the former Olympic champion is preceded only by Spanish rider Carlos Sastre, winner in 2008 – and future overall winner – at the age of 33 years, 3 months and 1 day, as well as by Portuguese rider Joaquim Agostinho in 1979, well ahead at 37 years, 3 months and 8 days. That year, for the very first time, L'Alpe d'Huez hosted two consecutive finishes.

70: A SECOND SKIN
In control and providing support from teammate Isaac del Toro throughout the stage, especially on the climb towards the Col de Sarenne (average 22.0 km/h over 12.8 km at 7.3%), Tadej Pogacar obtains the 70th yellow jersey of his career. Only two five-time Tour de France winners – which the Slovenian will be able to emulate today – Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault, have won the prestigious jersey at least as many times. And this new yellow jersey also marks the 90th time that Pogacar has held the overall classification lead in a Grand Tour, given that the two-time world champion also has twenty Pink Jerseys at the Giro. He is three lengths behind Miguel Indurain, but remains far from record holder Eddy Merckx and his two hundred jerseys (111 at the Tour, 11 at the Vuelta, 78 at the Giro).

358: A MATTER OF INTERMEDIATE SPRINTS
Impressive on the climb and then on the descent of the Col de la Croix de Fer this Saturday, Mads Pedersen has almost guaranteed the points classification victory by taking the lead at the intermediate sprint in Saint-Julien-Mont-Denis. The Dane is 82 points ahead of his closest pursuer, Jasper Philipsen, while only 75 points remain for the Paris stage. To make the difference, he has scored more than two-thirds of his current total points (527) in intermediate sprints (358). Consistent and attacking on many steep stages, the former world champion has taken the lead in eight intermediate sprints, scoring at least 12 points per stage in a row, with a maximum of 66 points in his victory at Foix on the fourth day.

6: AT THE BELL
Passing in the lead at the Croix de Fer, Télégraphe and Galibier passes (the highest summit of the Tour, reached at an average climbing speed of 21.7 km/h), Richard Carapaz has almost rhetorically conquered the second polka dot jersey of his career by scoring 65 points in the mountain classification. Present in the breakaway in the last three Alpine stages, the Ecuadorian won this famous jersey two days before the Tour's final arrival, exactly as in 2024. Before the former Olympic champion, five cyclists had managed to win the polka dot jersey by the skin of their teeth. Giancarlo Bellini was the first of them in 1976 (two days before Paris), imitated much later by Samuel Sanchez in 2011 (also two days), then by Nairo Quintana in 2013 (one day), Chris Froome in 2015 (one day) and finally by Tadej Pogacar in 2020 (one day)... the latter at Carapaz's expense.