At the finale of this most breathless of Tour de France stages, as the riders hammered down Col d’Aubisque at speeds touching 91kph in thick mountain mist, Geraint Thomas held his nerve while playing for the highest stakes. Then – staggeringly – he also showed his strength by powering away from his closest rival, Tom Dumoulin, to increase his lead to two minutes and five seconds.
True, there are still two stages remaining, including Saturday’s 31km time trial from Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to Espelette. But barring a freak incident, or recklessness, Thomas will become the first Welshman to win the Tour when the race arrives in Paris on Sunday. “It was squeaky bum time, as they say in the UK, but all I had to do was to follow Tom,” said Thomas. “The gap should be enough but we will see. I just have to think of it like any other race and not think of the endgame.”
The stage was won by Primoz Roglic, a ski jumper in his youth, who handled the descent best to win the 200.5km stage 19 from Lourdes to Laruns by 19 seconds, a victory that also moved him into third above Chris Froome in the general classification.
Afterwards Roglic strongly denied accusations from Dumoulin that he had been helped down the mountain by drafting on a motorbike. Meanwhile Thomas was more diplomatic about the incident. “I didn’t see it – I was concentrating on going around the corners and looking at Tom’s back wheel,” he said. “But the way he got down so fast was a bit surprising.”
Before the peloton left Lourdes on the road to Laruns some riders were blessed by a local priest. Those chasing Thomas, however, needed something more akin to an act of God. At least the parcours offered faint hope, with 4,700m of climbing, much of it over the fearsome 2,115m Col du Tourmalet before the one-two punch of the Col de Bordères (1,156m) and Col d’Aubisque (1,709m) near the finish.
And there was no hanging about as the peloton averaged 44km in the first hour, rushing up and over two fourth category climbs up the Côte de Loucrup and Côte de Capvern-les-Bains as if they were minor speed bumps.
The pace was enough to cause the green jersey holder, Peter Sagan, who was struggling with gauze over his right shoulder and elbow following a serious crash on Wednesday, to slip back immediately . Every time the TV cameras cut to him he was shaking his head in agony, his jaw locked in near-permanent rictus. At times it looked as if he might abandon the race, but he came in with the grupetto just inside the time limit.
Far in front of him a group of 12 had established a lead as the riders went up the Tourmalet but soon they were being chased by Movistar’s Mikel Landa and Romain Bardet, who had started the morning in seventh and eighth on general classification.
Team Sky decided against pursuit. Landa was 4min 34sec back from Thomas, so what damage could he really do? It turned out to be more than many expected. By the time they had reached the top of the 17.1km Tourmalet, they had a 2min 10sec advantage over Team Sky. When Thomas rode the Tourmalet in 2011 he admitted to having “goosebumps” after leading up the mountain and being awarded the Prix de la Combativité, the daily prize given to the most aggressive rider.
This time he was surely a little more jumpy – especially as the gap continued to grow. With 60km remaining Landa had caught the leading group and was only 1min 24sec down on general classification on the road. Although Sky still appeared unmoved, they accelerated gradually, the gap began to erode and the scene was set for an almighty battle over the last 40km – and so it proved as the race surged into life on the Col du Soulor. Earlier it had been covered by wispy cloud, like a Christmas pudding dressed in whipped cream. But in the mid-afternoon, with the heat blazing, it looked a tasty opportunity to attack as Dumoulin put in two accelerations.
It was enough to drop Nairo Quintana, who had won Thursday’s stage, immediately and soon Froome also fell 30 seconds back, his tongue out and his day apparently done. Suddenly Thomas was alone without a teammate but not worried. “I was quite confident,” the Welshman said. “I wasn’t super-stressed. It was certainly a tough day but we were expecting that.”
Somehow the Colombian Egan Bernal, who had already performed a heroic stint on the front of the Team Sky train, was able to bring Froome back to the yellow jersey group.
Barnel, who is only 21, has had a stunning Tour. His mother named him Egan as she was inpsired by Greek mythology, after discovering the name meant “champion” and “spirit of fire.” He has certainly lived up to that legend on this Tour – and more. But despite all his efforts Froome then slipped back again on the descent.
Thomas, however, continued to prove equal to every challenge. It will be some party in Paris on Sunday.
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