Here’s a most relieved Sagan. And with the result confirmed for the day, barring a late-night appeal, it looks like Roglic has claimed the stage win. Thanks for reading.
💪 @petosagan 💪#TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/fEtdSFPZ6b
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 27, 2018
Stage 19 result
📊 STAGE 19 - TOP 10 GC 📊 #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/Izs5OowfhB
— Le Tour de France (@LeTour) July 27, 2018
Geraint Thomas speaks.
It’s good to get through that day. I am pretty tired. We knew we could come under a lot of pressure but the boys were really good. I was able to respond to the attacks and the descent was fast. I never thought I was going to get dropped but it was hard for sure. I had make him (Tom) do everything. It’s the first time I have seen him get a bit tired. [On Saturday’s decisive time trial] I need to ride for 30k as hard as I can.
Sagan made it through and the green jersey is all but his. He looked in great pain, but he beat the time limit. He can rest through the time trial, to see if he has the form to win in Paris.
Arrivée imminente du grupetto. Sagan va terminer dans les délais #TDF2018 pic.twitter.com/z1JC8YzCPM
— Le Parisien - Sports (@LeParisienSport) July 27, 2018
Sagan-watch: It’s believed the Slovak has another 10 minutes or so to finish the stage and his GPS tracker suggests he’ll be absolutely fine. That’s a heroic effort from one of the most charismatic and bafflingly eccentric men in the peloton.
Accusations of skulduggery: It seems that Primoz Roglic has been accused of drafting behind a TV motorbike by a couple of his fellow riders. More on that as we get it.
Updated
Thomas extends lead in yellow
Here’s our report from an eventful day in the Pyrenees.
Top 10 on GC after stage 19
Geraint Thomas maintains his lead with just tomorrow’s time-trial and Sunday’s procession to Paris to come. Behind him, Tom Dumoulin stays in second place, while Primoz Roglic’s heroic descent of the Aubisque means he leapfrogs Chris Froome on to step three of the podium for one night at least.
Stage 19 podium
-
Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo) 5hr 28min 17sec
- Geraint Thomas (Sky) +19sec
- Romain Bardet (AG2R) +19sec
Primoz Roglic wins the stage. Geraint Thomas was second and Romain Bardet seems to have got up for third. Chris Froome, Mikel Landa, Dan Martin and Rafal Majka all crossed the line together. Roglic’s margin of victory? Nineteen precious seconds.
Primoz Roglic wins stage 19!!!
A brilliant descent on the Aubisque helps Primoz Roglic win stage 19 of this year’s Tour de France. Geraint Thomas wins the sprint for second.
1.2km to go: Roglic has the stage won, but is not letting up until he gets to the line. Every second counts for him right now.
2.5km to go: Roglic is on the flat in Laruna and it doesn’t look like he’s for the catching after that outstanding descent. Chris Froome had a 16-second advantage over Roglic this morning and could get knocked off the podium.
4km to go: Roglic continues to blaze his trail down the Aubisque at an incredible lick. If he goes any faster he might disappear in a trail of flames and end up winning a stage back in1955.
Sagan-watch: He’s 32 minutes behind the leaders and will probably need to finish within 40 minutes of them. I’m not sure where exactly on the course he is, but the view seems to be that he’ll be OK.
7km to go: Roglic gains time on the rest as he drives on at 67km-per-hour. Behind him, the rest of the GC contenders seem unprepared to take the risks required to catch him.
8km to go: Primoz Roglic continues to lead the descent, with barely a bike-length separating each of the eight riders as they negotiate a series of hairpin bends that will bring them into Laruna.
12.5km to go: Roglic leads the downhill as Majka is reeled in. The Slovenian goes into super-tuck mode as he leads the charge down the mountain side. Dumoulin is directly behind in his slipstream and Geraint Thomas is following him. They’re currently being clocked at a leisurely 63km-per-hour.
15km to go: Zakarin seems to be the least accomplished of these descenders by a considerable distance. At the back of the group, he’s struggling to stay in touch and his back wheel takes a wobble, giving off smoke!!! He’s literally burning rubber.
18km to go: Descending through fog, Majka and chums descend down a winding road just wide enough to accommodate two cars side by side, with some seriously sheer drops to their right-hand side. It’s truly terrifying.
20km to go: His face a mask of agony, Majka is first over the Aubisque. He puts his sunglasses on and prepares for the 20-kilometre descent to the finish. Mere seconds behind him, Thomas, Dumoulin, Froome, Roglic, Kruijswijk, Landa, Bardet, Martin and Zakarin follow.
Updated
20km to go: Rafal Majka grits his teeth and hits the final 700 metres to the summit of the Aubisque. The crowds are being their usual massive collective nuisance, forcing the riders through a tight corridor of drunken, sweating, braying humanity.
22km to go: Rafal Majka puts some distance between himself and the rest of the field, with two kilometres to go to the summit.
23km to go: The helicopter camera cuts to some Palomino horses standing high up on the mountain top, swishing their tails as they take the afternoon air and enjoy the racing entertainment. It’s misty up there as the four leaders make their way towards the summit with just a handful seconds between them and the yellow jersey group, which has been re-joined by Froome, Bernal, Jungels and Martin.
25km to go: Egan Bernal attempts to pace Chris Froome and Dan Martin back into touch with Roglic, Dumoulin, Thomas and Kruijswijk. Ahead of them, Landa, Bardet, Majka and Zakarin have a 25 second lead, with 4.7km worth of Aubisque to negotiate before the 20 kilometre descent to the finish line.
29km to go: Romain Bardet, Mikel Landa, Rafal Majka and Ilnur Zakarin lead the stage, but are only 30 seconds ahead of what passes for the yellow jersey “group”. The stage leaders are on a section of false flat, which precedes a slight downhill before they tackle the last climb of this year’s Tour the Col d’Aubisque.
Froome is suffering: The reigning champion grimaces as he tries to pace himself back into touch with Geraint Thomas, Tom Dumoulin and Primoz Roglic. Behind Froome, Sky’s Egan Bernal is trying to regain contact with his team superior.
Updated
In the yellow jersey group: Roglic attacks again, Froome has nothing to give and it’s now Roglic, Dumoulin and Thomas who are locked together on their own on the road up the Aubisque. They have 10 kilometres to go on this monster of a climb and Geraint Thomas is friendless!!!
31km to go: Primoz Roglic attacks the yellow jersey group andChris Froome sets off in hot pursuit. Sky rider Egan Bernal gets dropped.
Paul Fox has a question: “Pardon my ignorance but can someone please explain to me how Robert Gesink’s ‘herculean effort’ on the front of the Yellow Jersey group to protect Primoz Roglic’s GC opportunity actually benefits Primoz Roglic and not all the GC contenders that are in that group?” he asks.
Well Paul, he needed to close the gap Mikel Landa had opened, to protect Roglic’s position. Whether or not the others in the group benefited was of little or no concern to him. Landa, Zakarin and Bardet were the guys he was worried about ... I think.
33km to go: Tom Dumoulin attacks! With 14 kilometres of the climb to the Aubisque to go, the Team Sunweb rider launches an attack off the yellow jersey group and is immediately shut down by Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas.
34km to go: Mikel Landa and Romain Bardet go clear of the leading group, while LottoNL–Jumbo’s Steven Kruijswijk attacks off the front of the yellow jersey group.
An email from Brian Hudner: “Watching that Rochelle Gilmore video was a distinctly Brentian experience,” he says.
And then there were seven: Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Mikel Landa (Movistar), Rafal Majka (Bohra Hansgrohe), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Romain Bardet (AG2R) lead the stage. The gap between them and the yellow jersey group, which contains all the major GC boys, is 1min 36sec. They get over the penultimate climb of the day, with “just” the Aubisque to come. It’s all rosy in the garden for Geraint Thomas at the moment.
42km to go: Team LottoNL-Jumbo’s Robert Gesink can barely stay upright as he weaves from side to side of the road after ending his herculean shift at the front of the yellow jersey group. his effort was to protect Primoz Roglic’s (currently in fourth place on GC) potential podium position. Roglic must fancy his chances of making up the 16 seconds by which he trails Chris Froome in tomorrow’s time trial. The gap is down to 1min 37sec.
@bglendenning erm Rochelle Gilmore lives on Mallorca I think, not on holiday there. The video though is WEIRD
— Al? (@Al__S) July 27, 2018
Jelle Vanendert has quit the race! The Lotto–Soudal rider was dropped by the grupetto and got lonely riding on his own, so decided to throw in the towel.
Our lead group: Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Mikel Landa (Movistar) and Rafal Majka (Bohra Hansgrohe), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Romain Bardet (AG2R). The gap to the yellow jersey group is now less than two minutes.
Meanwhile at the back of the race, big, big news of an abandonment coming right up ...
47km to go: Julian Alaphilippe has dropped out of the lead group, while Robert Gesink is putting in a huge shift on the front of the yellow jersey group. The gap is down to 2min 34sec and that’s almost entirely down to him.
More on Rochelle Gilmore shutting down Wiggle High5 THere’s more on the Australian’s often sterling contribution to the sport of women’s cycling in this Cycling Weekly article, which is worth a read.
49km to go: Romain Bardet and Mikel Landa have attacked off the front of the leading group at the foot of the Col des Borderes, which is the penultimate climb of the day. In the yellow jersey group, Robert Gesink (LottoNL-Jumbo) is putting in the hard yards. The gap is 3min 09 sec.
And this, from Alan Mackie, to restore some much-needed balance: “There’s been a lack of chat (and gentle teasing) about ‘Skybots’ today Barry, so I thought i’d rectify that by drawing your attention to this lad who I hear Brailsford has his eye on to lead ‘G’ and Froomey next year. Not sure about his lack of a power meter, mind...”
Geoffrey Walker makes an interesting point: “I am worried by the elimination of so many sprinters,” he says. “Sagan is a hybrid sprinter who can win in other disciplines. It seems that the organisers are pushing out this discipline in their totally unsuccessful attempt to make the Tour too difficult for Sky.”
Actually this article is more to the point: https://t.co/QIjqyMVwUm
— mt (@mt_pensum) July 27, 2018
53km to go: The gap between the leaders and the yellow jersey group is 3min 31sec, which will give Romain Bardet, Mikel Landa and Ilnur Zakarin a good opportunity to catapult themselves up the rankings. They’re about to tackle the penultimate climb of the day, the Cat 2 Col des Borderes.
Meanwhile in the world of women’s cycling: Rochelle Gilmore, owner of Wiggle High5, seems to be having a lovely time on holidays in Majorca, where she has taken time out to announce that the team will not be registering for next season and lots of people will be losing their jobs, presumably. This video is quite extraordinary.
Virtually, of course. There’s plenty of racing to be done before this afternoon is out.
Mikel Landa in virtual second place: The Movistar rides into virtual second place on GC out on the road. He began the day 4min 34sec behind Geraint Thomas. At the moment he is just 1min 24sec down on General Classification.
64km to go: The lightning fast descent continues and the two groups at the front are about to merge. The riders in question? Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Mikel Landa (Movistar), Andrey Amador (Movistar) and Rafal Majka (Bohra Hansgrohe).
66km to go: “It is a well-known fact that the Sky riders can do their dangerous descending technique because they have a larger budget than the other teams,” says Marie Meyer, poking fun at yours truly. Of course the joke is on Marie and Sky, because the rounder wheels they use compared to other teams mean they don’t even need to adopt such a risky technique.
Sagan watch: Pete and his travelling companions go over the top of the Tourmalet 19 minutes behind the leaders. Meanwhile at the sharp end of the race, the riders are pedalling into a headwind in the valley.
Sagan-watch: While the cameras have left the Bora Hansgrohe rider to endure his obvious suffering away from the public gaze, he seems – for the time being at least – to be safely ensconced in a grupetto of 19 dropped riders that is 18min 30sec behind the stage leaders.
71km to go: The descent of the Tourmalet continues, with several Sky riders in that terrifying super-tuck where they more or less hunch down on the crossbar and handlebar drops for extra speed on the way down. Dan Martin called for it to be banned the other day, on the grounds that kids are going to try and copy it and end up killing themselves. It’s unlikely to happen and this particular style of descending has probably accounted for quite a few crashes in this year’s Tour. Speaking of which ...
A big call from Adrian Gentry: “I would like to make a bold prediction regarding the outcome of today’s stage,” he says. “Dumoulin attacks down the final decent and Thomas throws it in a ditch as he is prone to do. Dumoulin does enough to get close but not into yellow and then honks the TT tomorrow to win the Tour.” Oof!
It’s Well For Some Dept: “We are on holiday with no access to a TV and your updates and humour have been most useful and appreciated,” writes Sarah Parke. “Off for a Sangria but taking you along with us!” Careful with those roaming charges!
Mikel Landa: The Movistar began this morning in seventh place on General Classification, 4min 34sec off the pace and is steadily pedalling his way into the top five at the moment. He and his colleagues are being buffeted by a very strong wind as they make their way down the Tourmalet.
91km to go: the two leading groups go over the top of the Tourmalet within 42 seconds of each other and begin their descent. It’s fairly straightforward by professional cycling standards, although if I tried it I’d almost certainly kill myself. The yellow jersey group is approximately two minutes behind the leaders.
92km to go: The aforementioned half-dozen have a lead of 30 seconds over the six-strong group with Landa, Majka and Yates in it.
93km to go: A little over a kilometre to the top of the Tourmalet, at nearly 2,000m where the air is thin.
Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) and Tanel Kangert (Astana) lead the way.
94km to go: Mikel Landa (Movistar) and Rafal Majka (Bora Hangrohe) are having a pow-wow as they ride together in pursuit of the leading group of seven six. They’ve been joined by Andrey Amador (Movistar).
94.8km to go: Mikel Landa leaves Romain Bardet and Ilnur Zakarin behind him as he heads onwards and upwards. In the lead group, Tanel Kangert is bossing things. Having disappeared from the yellow jersey group earlier, Wout Poels has rejoined them and is riding at the front. The road is narrow and the boos are raucous as he tows his team up the mountainside.
Jon Izagirre writes (no, really): “I am a Jon Izagirre completely unrelated (in blood and talent, even though I do share their passion) to the Izagirre brothers,” he says. “I think it is Gorka, not Jon, who is in the leading group.”
You are correct, Jon, it is Gorka. That group is getting smaller by the minute and is now down to seven riders. Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott) and Tanel Kangert (Astana)
96km to go: The leaders have 4.6km to go to the summit of the Tourmalet. Behind them, in the second group on the road, Fugslang and Majka have caught up with Bardet, Zakarin and Landa.
Sagan watch: Goodish news for the Slovak. He’s now part of a group of 19 riders in a grupetto shelled out of the back of the yellow jersey group. If he can stay with them, or they can organise themselves to stay together and finish together, you’d have to say there’s a very good chance the race organisers won’t kick them out of the race even if they do finish outside the time limit. As well as being final, their decisions are also discretionary. And let’s face it, they owe Sagan one after kicking him off the race rather unfairly last year.
Also: Jakob Fugslang (Astana) and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hangrohe) are off the front of the yellow jersey group and are currently trying to peg back Messrs Landa, Bardet and Zakarin.
How things stand: Halfway up the Tourmalet, Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Bob Jungels (Quick Step), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Gorka Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) and Andrey Amador (Movistar) have a lead of 2min 30sec over a chasing group of Romain Bardet (AG2R), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpcin) and Mikel Landa (Movistar). The yellow jersey group is a further 2min 47 sec behind.
99km to go: Sky rider Wout Powels has been dropped from the yellow jersey group, leaving Geraint Thomas with “just” Chris Froome, Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo and Michal Kwiatkowski to act as his security detail. Castroviejo is doing the heavy lifting at the moment.
Updated
101km to go: The front group is shelling riders at a rate of knots, with Hardy and Bennati gone and others going backwards with them.
Behind them, the peleton is being smashed up, while Romain Bardet has attacked off the front and joined a trio of Mikel Landa, Ilnur Zakarin and Ian Boswell two minutes up the road.
Sagan-watch: Pete is now in a group of four riders including his team-mates Daniel Oss and Maciej Bodnar, along with Quick-Step’s Maximiliano Richeze who are huffing and puffing along 8min 40sec behind the stage leaders.
103km to go: A group of 12 riders lead the race up the Tourmalet with a lead of 3min 36sec over the yellow jersey peloton.
They are: Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Jon Izagirre Insausti (Bahrain-Merida), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data), Daniele Bennati (Movistar), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo-Samsic), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) and Tanel Kangert (Astana)
Mike Somers writes: “Sadly Barry, I share your doubts over Sagan finishing the day,” he says. “He is already showing signs of severe stress and not got to the big one yet. I dread to think the pain he must tolerating, self inflicted or not. It will surely be the most sheepish collection of a jersey ever if Kristoff or Demare succeed by default.”
I don’t much about Arnaud Demare, but I’ve seen Alexander Kristoff in action and am familiar with his work. I can guarantee you he will not be in the least bit sheepish!
111km to go: “Blaming Sagan for being reckless?” writes Fiona. “Surely that is one of the reasons he is so popular. I hope he finishes as he is a spark of pleasure in an unusually dull Tour de France.”
On TV, Ned Boulting and David Millar are wondering how bad things would have to get for Sagan’s two team-mates Daniel Oss and Maciej Bodnar to leave him behind to save their own Tours. They conclude that it is a decision that won’t be made until the very last minute on the final climb. Sagan is now over eight minutes behind the leaders of this stage, who have just hit the lower slopes of the Tourmalet.
115km to go: Bora Hansgrohe boss Patxi Vila has been talking to France Television from his team car and it goes without saying that the main topic of conversation was Peter Sagan. “He told me that he suffers a lot,” said Vila. “After a crash, the hardest time is always 48 hours later. Peter is having the hardest day of his cycling life ever so far. He wants to make it across to the grupetto but it all depends on the reaction of his body.”
Sagan gets to the top of the Col d’Aspin four minutes after the peloton, takes a swig from his bidon and flings it to the roadside. C’mon, Peter!!!
Sagan-watch: He’s has lost three minutes on this climb so far, but it’s his posture on the bike that is perhaps the source of most concern, as it’s obviously being affected by his injuries. I’m reminded of that Blackadder quote, where Prince Edmund tells Percy that “You ride a horse rather less well than another horse would.”
122km to go: Julian Alaphilippe breaks clear of the leading pack to crest the summit of Col d’Aspin and guarantee himself the King of the Mountains jersey in only his second Tour de France. All he has to do is stay upright til Paris and he’ll be zipped into the polka-dots on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday evening.
Sagan-watch: Sagan is in a group of five riders, including two of his own team-mates, that is almost two minutes behind the yellow jersey group. His shirt is wide open, his mouth is wide open, and he’s just poured a couple of bottles of water over both his head and the bandages covering his right arm.
Looking at pictures of him, I wouldn’t bet a penny of anyone’s money on him finishing this stage inside the time limit, or indeed at all. It would be a crying shame if he didn’t make it to Paris, not least because the crash in which he injured himself came on the back of a descent that was - by all accounts - as reckless as it was unnecessary.
125km to go: The leading group of 18 riders has been reduced to 17, having lost Damian Gaudin. They’re 3min 04sec clear of the jersey group as they approach the business end of the Col d’Aspin. There are two Movistar riders in the breakaway, while the Spanish team’s Marc Soler has just attacked off the front of the yellow jersey peloton. They’re clearly trying to set up something for Nairo Quintana.
127km to go: If Sagan does not make it to Paris, Alexander Kristoff is next in line for the green jersey. Of those in the top five, only Julian Alaphilippe won points – nine of them – in today’s intermediate sprint.
Current standings
- Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) 467
- Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) 196
- Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 183
- John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) 148
- Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step) 134
Peter Sagan still suffering: Looking for a record sixth green jersey, the Slovak is really struggling at the back of the bunch, where he is surrounded by Bora Hansgrohe team-mates. Remember, he’s in a lot of pain following a bad crash on Wednesday and is visibly hurting.
130km to go: The riders are on their way up the Cat 1 Col d’Aspin. From this it’s on to the legendary Col du Tourmalet and then the Aubisque (via the Col des Borderes). The leaders enjoy a 3min 10sec lead over the bunch.
And we’re back: Sorry about that, but with nothing resembling a support team among my colleagues in the office, I’ve had to organise my own feed zone. I am now the proud owner of a musette containing a bottle of water, a bottle of unhealthy fizzy pop, a salt-beef sandwich with mustard, some sushi and a bag of Skittles.
141km to go: The two groups merge, which means we have 18 riders in front with a 3min 19sec lead over the peloton.
They are: Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Jon Izagirre Insausti (Bahrain-Merida), Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Arthur Vichot (Groupama-FDJ), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data), Marcus Burghardt (Bora Hansgrohe), Daniele Bennati (Movistar), Romain Hardy (Fortuneo-Samsic), Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora), Silvan Dillier (AG2R), Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) and Tanel Kangert (Astana).
I have to nip away for 10 minutes, so here is Team Mitchelton-Scott’s Stage 17 and 18 video diary for your viewing pleasure.
145km to go: Our two leading groups are about to merge and form one big happy 18-man rolling commune, which will have a lead of 3min 52sec over a peloton being led by Katusha-Alpecin riders Nils Politt and Pavel Kochetkov.
On TV, assorted commentators and analysts don’t seem to have any idea what Katusha are up to. Are they protecting Ilnur Zakarin’s 13th place? Whatever they’re up to, it’s handy for Sky, whose riders are getting a tow they probably weren’t expecting.
Updated
150km to go: The peloton is now being towed along by two Katusha-Alpecin riders, with Sky lined up behind them. Further up the road, our leading group of six is now a leading group of five, with Tanel Kangert having joined the chasing dozen.
Mike Somers has a question: “If, God forbid, Peter Sagan had to pull out or does not make the cut off, who is next in line for the Green jersey?”
Alexander Kristoff is next in line on 196 points, with Arnaud Demare behind him on 183 and John Degenkolb on 148.
154km to go: Katusha-Alpecin send their four remaining riders to the front of the bunch, possibly with a view to getting a stage win or getting Ilnur Zakarin into the top 10 on General Classification.
And again: This time with all 12 namechecked: Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Jon Izagirre Insausti (Bahrain-Merida), Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Arthur Vichot (Groupama-FDJ), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data), Marcus Burghardt (Bora Hansgrohe), Daniele Bennati (Movistar) and Romain Hardy (Fortuneo-Samsic)
159km to go: Our six leaders have opened a gap of 4min 35sec over the peloton, which has assorted members of Team Sky lined up at the front.
The bunch of 12 riders between the leaders and the bunch are being forced to work hard to join the leading six. They are: Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic), Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), Jon Izagirre Insausti (Bahrain-Merida), Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie), Arthur Vichot (Groupama-FDJ), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton-Scott), Tom-Jelte Slagter (Dimension Data), Marcus Burghardt (Bora Hansgrohe), Daniele Bennati (Movistar) and Romain Hardy (Fortuneo-Samsic).
Updated
160km to go: The bunch hits the foot of the second climb of the day, the Cat 4 Cote de Capvern-les-Bains. Peter Sagan is riding at the front of the peloton, trying to discourage other riders from upping the pace. Further up the road, the leading group of six riders is now being chased by a group of 12, who are a minute behind them.
169km to go: The state of play at the moment: Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora), Silvan Dillier (AG2R), Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) and Tanel Kangert (Astana) are in the lead group of six riders.
They’re being pursued by another group of six, including Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic) and Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step), which is 50 seconds behind them. Alaphilippe is the current holder of the polka-dot jersey, while Barguil is the only rider in the race who can take it from him.
There’s another half-dozen riders behind on the road between this second group of six and the peloton, which has sat up and is no longer chasing.
So, three distinct groups of six riders out on the road in front of the peloton and the gap between the lead group and the bunch is 3min 05sec. I suspect we’ll soon have one distinct group of 18 riders ahead of the posse before too long.
An email from Guy Hornsby: “I’m surprised at those seeing this as a done deal for G,” he writes. “Yes, he’s been pretty imperious up to now, and with a strong team (and Froome) behind him he’s in the box seat, but today’s stage is brutal, even if it’s not a summit finish. Tomorrow is a bumpy TT where fatigue could result in disaster, with Dumoulin about the best TT rider in the race.
“I’m not saying it’s wide open, but the coronation of Thomas feels a bit premature. I’d be over the moon for him if/when he does it, seeing as he’s always been the bridesmaid or in a ditch in Grand Tours, and he’d absolutely deserve it, but there’s still a lot of kms to go before a stroll towards Paris on Sunday.”
179km to go: Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora) and Silvan Dillier (AG2R) are about to be joined by Adam Yates (Mitchelton–Scott), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step) and Tanel Kangert (Astana). The gap to the bunch is 28 seconds, but there’s plenty of counter-attacking going on at the front of the attack.
Lance Armstrong speaks: I was listening to Lance Armstrong’s The Move podcast on my way into Guardian Towers this morning and in his preview of today’s stage, the former cyclist suggested there might yet be a twist in the tail of this year’s Tour.
“My spidey sense tells me ... I dunno, I just feel like this race isn’t over,” he said, in conversation with his former team-mate George Hincapie. “Somebody is gonna have a bad day. I think if Geraint Thomas has a bad day, then Chris Froome will do whatever he wants to do and he has every right to. [Thomas] would have to get tossed on the Tourmalet, very early.
“It is a very, very hard climb. I dunno ... it’s gonna be the Team Sky show again. They’re so strong and so dominant as a unit. Even having lost Gianni Moscon, it’s like they’re totally unaffected.”
186km to go: Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora) and Silvan Dillier (AG2R) are just under a minute clear of the peloton.
192km to go: The camera focuses on Peter Sagan at the back of the bunch and the Slovak already looks like he’s going through a world of hurt. His right arm, right leg and right shoulder are all heavily bandaged from the crash he suffered on Wednesday afternoon.
Sagan’s fall wasn’t captured by the TV cameras, but it seems to have been a sickeningly heavy one. He looked ashen-faced when he crossed the line on Wednesday evening, his shirt was shredded and by his own account, he said he “hit a rock with my ass, really hard”. He’ll have a time limit to finish inside this afternoon and it seems quite clear he’s already struggling in these early stages.
193km to go: Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie), Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora) and Silvan Dillier (AG2R) form a little three-man breakaway, putting about 19 seconds into the rest of the bunch. Dillier is first over the top of Cote de Loucrup.
Thomas to avoid crowds during crucial stage
Easier Said Than Done Dept: Geraint Thomas will avoid riding close to the crowds lining the route on Friday’s key mountain stage after a spectator deliberately grabbed him and nearly caused him to crash on stage 1, writes Jeremy Whittle.
197km to go: And there’s two kilometres to go until the riders hit the foot of the first climb of the day. It’s the reasonably steep Category 4 Cote de Loucrup, where we could see the first significant attack of the day.
They’re racing on Stage 19: Christian Prudhomme waves his flag as the peloton rolls out of Lourdes and out into the countryside.
Today’s roll-out has begun: The super holy town of Lourdes is the picturesque setting for today’s processional leg-loosener as the riders travel the first five kilometres in neutral before getting the signal to start racing from race director Christian Prudhomme.
It could be a fascinating day’s racing and one suspects that if he’s the religious type, Geraint Thomas might have offered up a few decades of the rosary last night, praying for safe passage to Laruns with his lead on GC still intact. Lourdes is the right place to pray to the Virgin Mary. Many Catholics believe she appeared to Marie-Brenadette Soubirous on a total of eighteen occasions in this very town back in 1858.
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Geraint Thomas's date with destiny
Geraint Thomas is expecting the worst but hoping for the best in the final mountain stage of the 2018 Tour de France, which is also likely to be one of the most gruelling in this year’s race, writes Jeremy Whittle.
Guardian report: Arnaud demare wins stage 18
Sean Ingle was in Pau to see Arnaud Demare win the bunch sprint at the end of an otherwise fairly uneventful stage.
Stage 19, Lourdes-Laruns (200.5km)
From William Fotheringham’s stage-by-stage preview: A final day of classic Pyrenean climbing: the triptych of Aspin, Tourmalet, Aubisque – climbed via the little known Col des Bordères – before a descent to the finish. A holding operation before the next day’s time trial for whoever is in yellow, with a break going all the way – someone such as Rafal Majka for the win – and perhaps a final fight for the King of the Mountains jersey.
