Preston ace Hugh Carthy in Tour de France action

Fulwood rider Hugh Carthy from Fulwood has become the first Prestonian to ride the Tour de France.
Hugh Carthy (photo: Getty Images)Hugh Carthy (photo: Getty Images)
Hugh Carthy (photo: Getty Images)

The race which started in Nice on Saturday winds its way through the mountains of the Pyrenees and Alps, before finishing three weeks and 2,146 miles later on the Champs Elysees in Paris.

This year’s course is widely thought to be the toughest and most mountainous route for decades. Sunday’s stage alone included 3,700 metres of vertical climbing.

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The mountains hold no fear for 26-year-old Carthy, who rides for the American EF Education squad.

He has already established himself as one of the most promising climbers in the world, winning the mountains competition in the Tours of Japan, Switzerland and Utah.

Carthy is no stranger to cycling’s Grand Tours, having ridden the Tour’s of Spain and Italy, finishing a superb 11th in 2019’s Giro d’Italia.

His role at this year’s Tour de France is as a support rider to his team leaders, meaning he had to drop back on stage two to pace back Daniel Martinez to the finish line, losing more than three minutes of time in doing so.

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Tuesday saw the first important stage of the race. Carthy rode up the final mountain climb alongside the Tour favourites to sit in 39th position, four minutes and eight seconds behind leader Julian Alaphilippe ahead of Wednesday’s action.

You can follow Carthy’s progress each day with live coverage of the Tour on ITV 4 and Eurosport, as well as an ITV4 highlights show each evening at 7pm.