Despite two mountain classifications, the German climbing specialist Simon Geschke will probably not launch another attack on the third to last section of this year’s tour.
The duel in the overall lead also seems to have already been decided. Vingegaard gave his opponent Tadej Pogacar another minute following a remarkable exchange of blows in the Hautacam ski area and leads the rankings by 3:26 minutes.
Tour de France
Tour preview, stage 19: Last chance for breakaways – or is it a sprint?
3 HOURS AGO
The starting shot is at 1:05 p.m. Eurosport.de accompanies the 19th stage live in the ticker.
62 km – Ten kilometers to the first mountain prize
From Denmark to Denmark? The pictures from the first mountain prize of the day in Lauzerte are reminiscent of the opening days of this 109th Tour de France. Because there in the town center are many Danish fans with Danish flags to celebrate Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey.
Two kilometers at 6.7 percent it goes uphill through the village to the 4th category mountain prize.
77 km – Across the Garonne heading northeast
The peloton has just crossed the Garonne and is now heading north-east in the Tarn-et-Garonne department. In 25 kilometers it gets a bit hilly once more with two mountain prizes in the 4th category. The peloton has reduced the gap to the leaders to 45 seconds.
88 km – 46.5 km/h in the first two hours of racing
Today we fly towards the destination. The four leaders drove an average of 46.5 km/h in the first two hours of racing today. This puts us above the fastest average according to the marching table and we can expect an arrival before 5:15 p.m.
100 km – one minute – everything the same
It stays the same: Lotto Soudal, TotalEnergies, Alpecin-Deceuninck, DSM and BikeExchange-Jayco continue to share the lead work in the peloton with one man each, one minute behind the front of the race.
110 km – distance grows once more to 45 seconds
Actually, little has changed in the race situation, but the peloton has probably been a little less afraid of the breakaways since Politt left the leading group. That’s why the sprinter teams relax a little and the gap widens slightly once more.
123 km – Politt gives up the run
The lead of the leading group has dropped to around ten seconds and Nils Politt looks around. He puts his legs up and falls back into the peloton as Mikkel Honoré accelerates up front. Simmons, Mohoric and van der Hoorn follow suit and so the quartet actually pulls away once more to 25 seconds – just now without Politt.
127 km – Only 20 seconds left for the escapees
The peloton is already moving much closer to the top. It’s early in the stage, but Nils Politt and Co.’s escape seems to be history soon. Only 20 seconds remain for the quintet.
136 km – little to get for the top – right?
The sprinter teams in the peloton reduced the lead of the five leaders to one minute. No wonder: This quintet is so strong, with five riders who can push extremely well on flat tracks and might survive for a long time alone in the final. Of course you don’t want to leave them too far away. So don’t be fooled by the small gap between the front and the peloton.
150 km – Simmons takes the intermediate sprint
Quinn Simmons sprints to the front of the group in the intermediate sprint and leads the quintet across the line. 1,500 euros for the team fund at Trek – Segfredo. But nobody objected. The peloton leads 1:25 minutes behind Jasper Philipsen in front of Wout Van Aert.
1:50 p.m. – We continue in the direction of Auch!
It took five, six or at most seven minutes before the race can now be continued. The five leaders pick up speed once more and soon the peloton is on the move once more.
Incidentally, it takes five minutes through the city of Auch, where the intermediate sprint awaits. It is also the home of Ineos sports director Nicolas Portal, who died two years ago – and there he is commemorated with many posters today.
156 km – road blockade, the Third
After the Megeve stage and the Carcassonne stage, now following 30 kilometers of racing we are seeing the race neutralized by a protest for the third time in the course of this tour. The leading group managed to get through, but the road in front of the peloton was once once more blocked. Everyone stops, takes their pee break and waits for the police to pull the demonstrators off the street.
Politt and Co. stop at the front to wait for the peloton. After a short break, they will probably be sent off once more with a lead of 1:15 minutes.
163 km – Politt the best in the classification
3 hours, 7 minutes and 13 seconds – that’s how far Nils Politt is from the yellow jersey in the overall standings. But that actually makes him the best-placed of the five escapees. So, of course, Jumbo-Visma has no reason to sound the pursuit in the field here. The sprinter teams do that today, and at the moment Lotto Soudal is working for Caleb Ewan, Alpecin-Deceuninck for Jasper Philipsen, DSM for Alberto Dainese and BikeExchange-Jayco for Dylan Groenewegen.
176 km – One minute advantage
The quintet continues to set themselves apart, while the main field has calmed down a bit. But you can’t be really sure that this group will be there for a long time.
185 km to drive – 5 drivers settle down – Politt there
It didn’t take long – and the breakaway group was already there. A quintet around Nils Politt (Bora – hansgrohe) has broken away. In addition to the German, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Mikkel Honoré (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert) and Quinn Simmons (Trek – Segafredo) are at the forefront.
13:10 – Departure free in Castelnau-Magnoac
The 19th stage is running and the sharp start has already fallen following only a very short neutralization.
INFO – Welcome
Hello and welcome to the live ticker of the Tour de France. Today, following three exciting stages, we are finally turning our backs on the Pyrenees and slowly but surely turning our attention to Paris. Flat conditions await us on the 19th stage, which should play into the hands of the escape experts and sprint specialists in the peloton. In the fight for the classification jerseys, the results are more or less sealed. Simon Geschke had to give up his mountain jersey to Jonas Vingegaard the day before and has no chance of a comeback in the remaining mountain classifications. Tadej Pogacar, on the other hand, will probably have to give up the fight for yellow, as he conceded another minute for the final bill on the 18th stage. The starting signal for the 188-kilometer section between Castelnau-Magnoac and Cahors is at 1:05 p.m. Eurosport.de accompanies the race events live in the ticker. Have fun!
Highlights: Vingegaard double hits Pogacar and Geschke hard
Tour de France
Geschke deeply disappointed: “I’m not in the mood for it now”
19 HOURS AGO
Tour de France
Vingegaard wins in yellow following an epic duel – Geschke loses mountain jersey
ONE DAY AGO
