Richard Carapaz raced into the polka dot jersey with a stupendous raid across the Alps from Gap to Alpe d'Huez.

A day after his victory on Orcières-Merlette, Richie took off on the first climb out of Gap with Ben Healy, Alex Baudin, and Sean Quinn by his side in a 41-rider move. With their help, Richie racked up points over the Col Bayard, Col du Noyer, and Col d'Ornon, before launching a huge attack on Alpe d'Huez. Richie smashed what was left of the group down to five on the early slopes and pushed hard towards the summit, while the yellow jersey group charged behind them. Soon there were only two rivals from the break latched to his wheel. In the final kilometers, Richie launched again to try to shake them off and hold off the yellow jersey. He was caught with just over a kilometer to go. Richie pushed all the way to the summit and finished third on the stage.

"Today was a really tough day. We went looking for the breakaway right from the start and managed to get up there. Ben and Alex did an incredible job, and Sean was with me the entire time bringing up water and ice.

"I felt I had the legs to fight for the stage, but the breakaway group didn't cooperate very well toward the end. Plus, Pogačar simply had an extra change of pace. Still, I'm really happy – this polka dot jersey is something we've been chasing across all three weeks, and holding it is deeply special.

"At the bottom of Alpe d'Huez, we really believed the stage win was possible. It turned out to be extremely brutal, but now we have a clear mission all the way to Paris.

"Having polka dots is a proud and happy moment, and a truly special one for me. You work so hard every day just for moments like this. The team is super happy. This jersey makes it all worth it – my teammates worked so hard for this moment and for this podium. We still have a long way to go to Paris, but we're giving it everything." – Richard Carapaz

"It was yet again another intense day. Copy and paste: there were masses of teamwork. A big break went very early with Richie, and the boys did huge work to try to keep the gap out there.

"They came into Alpe d'Huez with what on paper would have been a doable time gap on Pogačar, but the race was super tactical up front with Martínez and Kuss. Richie tried – I don't know how many times – to get away, and unfortunately they couldn't resist the Pogačar train. Richie did an amazing ride again, on the back of yesterday.

"A small compensation is the polka dots, which we're going to defend again tomorrow.

"The main rival is actually Pogačar, who's going to score points along the road almost by accident. Standing here now, I'd favor Richie's chances against Paret-Peintre on much harder climbs than the ones we've seen until now, because Paret-Peintre is very, very quick. He obviously climbs well, but I think if Richie can recover, he's got the stronger hand tomorrow. At this stage of the race, though, it depends mostly on how much energy you've got left." – Charly Wegelius, sports director

Richie climbed Alpe d'Huez in 37 minutes and 47 seconds, averaging 387 watts for the duration of the climb. That's 6.23 watts per kilogram. When he attacked, Richie hit a peak power of 936 watts and held 592 watts for a minute.

EF Pro Cycling founder and CEO Jonathan Vaughters was at the summit of Alpe d'Huez this afternoon, cheering for Richie at the top of his lungs from the finish line. Earlier in the day, Vaughters scouted the climb with a couple of great friends of the team, riding the last 70 kilometers of the stage. They soaked in the atmosphere all the way up Alpe d'Huez, looking for places for Richie to attack.

Apple crumble is one of our squad's favorite desserts. It's sweet, tangy, nutritious, and very delicious. This is Owen and Chris's go-to recipe. They served it with homemade custard.

Ingredients

For the custard

500 ml whole milk

125 ml double cream

5 egg yolks

60 g caster sugar

15 g cornflour

1 tsp vanilla paste (or ½ vanilla pod)

Pinch of salt

For the crumble

1.3 kg Bramley apples (or 1 kg eating apples if that’s what you have), peeled, cored and sliced

500 g blackberries (fresh or frozen)

80 g caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp cornflour (especially if using frozen berries)

Zest of 1 lemon

Crumble topping

250 g plain flour

175 g cold unsalted butter, diced

150 g light brown sugar

70 g rolled oats

Pinch of salt

⁠½ tsp cinnamon (optional)

Method

For the custard

⁠Add all ingredients to a Thermomix bowl.

⁠Cook 10 minutes / 82°C / Speed 4.

For an extra-thick custard, cook 1–2 minutes at 90°C / Speed 3.

⁠Strain if desired, then cover the surface with cling film until serving.

For the crumble

Heat oven to 180°C fan (200°C conventional).

Toss the apples with sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and vanilla. Fold in the blackberries and cornflour.

Transfer to a buttered baking dish (around 30 × 22 cm).

Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

⁠Stir through the brown sugar, oats and salt.

⁠Sprinkle generously over the fruit without pressing down.

Bake for 40–50 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is deep golden.

⁠Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

The maillot à pois is the French name for the polka dot jersey, which is awarded to the leader of the Tour's King of the Mountains competition.

Riders race for points at the tops of mountains on the course. Climbs in the Tour de France are ranked according to their difficulty, from fourth category through to first, with the hors-catégorie – beyond category – designation reserved for the hardest, most prestigious ascents. King of the Mountains points are awarded in accordance with this classification. The harder the climb, the more points the first riders to cross its summit can earn.

During the race, the rider who has accumulated the most points so far in this contest wears the polka dot jersey. To win it by the end of the Tour in Paris, a rider needs to be more than just a great climber, though. Competing for King of the Mountains points requires a great deal of calculation. Do they go in an early breakaway and try to earn points on the first climbs in a stage? Or do they wait till later, when the breakaway is likely to be caught, and go for the later ascents, where they may have to climb against the riders who are racing for the yellow jersey? Every day, contenders for the King of the Mountains competition have to study the race map and make such decisions, always keeping in mind that the Tour de France is a three-week event. Every point counts, but if they race up every hill, they might not have the strength they will need for the biggest alpine passes, where they could earn the most points. To be crowned King of the Mountains at the end of the Tour, a climber needs to race smart.