Columbian Wins Stage 20 & Vaults Into 2nd

Stage 20, the last mountain stage of this year's Tour de France, was a short leg (only 125 kilometers) but still provided a significant challenge for the riders. After 4 medium-grade climbs, it then had a tough category 1 climb and finished at the top of an even more difficult unrated climb. And the hero of the day was a young Columbian rider (Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas) -- who won the stage, vaulted himself into 2nd place overall, and claimed both the White Jersey (given to the best young rider in the Tour) and the Polka Dot Jersey (given to the best climber).

American rider Andrew Talansky also had a good day -- finishing 6th in stage 20, claiming 2nd place in the race for the White Jersey, and moving into 10th place in the overall standings. That is a very good Tour for this young rider. Both Quintana Rojas and Talansky, along with young Polish rider Michal Kwiatkowski, showed they are riders who have a bright future and could win a Yellow Jersey for themselves in future Tours.

But this year's Tour belongs to Christopher Froome of Great Britain. He will wear the Yellow Jersey into Paris on Sunday in the final stage of this year's Tour de France -- a stage that will not affect the overall standings, but just award some final points to the sprinters vying for the Green Jersey. Here are the top finishers in stage 20 and the current standings:

STAGE 20 TOP FINISHERS
1. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar
2. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain) Katusha
3. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling

YELLOW JERSEY (Best Overall Time)
1. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling
2. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar..........5' 03"
3. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain) Katusha..........5' 47"
4. Alberto Contador (Spain) Saxo-Tinkoff..........7' 10"
5. Roman Kreuziger (Czech Republic) Saxo-Tinkoff..........8' 10"
6. Bauke Mollema (Netherlands) Belkin Pro Cycling..........12' 25"
7. Jakob Fuglsang (Denmark) Astana..........13' 00"
8. Alejandro Valverde (Spain) Movistar..........16' 09"
9. Daniel Navarro (Spain) Cofidis, Solutions Credits..........16' 35"
10. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........18' 22"
11. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........19' 42"

GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan (Slovakia) Cannondale..........383 pts
2. Mark Cavendish (Great Britain) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........282 pts
3. Andre Greipel (Germany) Lotto-Belisol..........232 pts
4. Marcel Kittel (Germany) Argos-Shimano..........177 pts
5. Alexander Kristoff (Norway) Katusha..........157 pts
6. Jose Joaquin Rojas (Spain) Movistar..........156 pts

POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar..........147 pts
2. Christopher Froome (Great Britain) Sky Procycling..........136 pts
3. Pierre Rolland (France) Europcar..........119 pts
4. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spain) Katusha..........99 pts
5. Christophe Riblon (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........98 pts
6. Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spain) Euskaltel-Euskadi..........98 pts

WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Columbia) Movistar
2. Andrew Talansky (United States) Garmin-Sharp..........13' 19"
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) Omega Pharma-Quick Step..........14' 39"
4. Romain Bardet (France) AG2R La Mondiale..........22' 22"
5. Tom Dumoulin (France) Argos-Shimano..........1h 30' 10"

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Saxo-Tinkoff (Denmark)
2. AG2R La Mondiale (France)..........8' 30"
3. Radioshack Leopard (Luxembourg)..........8' 52"
4. Movistar (Spain)..........22' 45"
5. Belkin Pro Cycling (Netherlands)..........38' 26"
6. Katusha (Russia)..........1h 03' 48"
7. Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spain)..........1h 30' 40"
8. Omega Pharma-Quick Step (Belgium)..........1h 50' 25"
9. Sky Procycling (Great Britain)..........1h 54' 23"
10. Cofidis, Solutions Credits (France)..........2h 07' 07"