1 last, but big, obstacle for Bernal at Tour

VAL THORENS, France (AP) — One last but big obstacle stands between Colombian Egan Bernal and his first Tour de France victory, a landslide-shortened Stage 20 ridden in damp and unseasonably chilly weather to the ski station of Val Thorens on Saturday.

Torrential rains that turned the long climb to Val Thorens into a river prompted a late decision from organizers to close the route to the Tour’s caravan of publicity floats that usually rolls along distributing gifts each day a couple of hours ahead of the riders.

Instead, the caravan was staying in Albertville with the stage shortened to 59 kilometers (37 miles) and shorn of two of its three planned climbs.

Spectators who lined the Val Thorens ascent and its hairpin climbs shivered under umbrellas and coats as bolts of lightning lit up the mountains. But the storm, at least at Val Thorens, appeared to be abating as the start of the stage approached.

Bernal took the race lead when Stage 19 was dramatically cut short on Friday by a landslide across the route to Tignes and by a violent hailstorm that made road conditions too icy for riders racing on two wheels barely wider than their thumbs.