The official results are in, with Bernal leading Alaphilippe by 48 seconds.
Stage 19 results
General classification
1 Egan Bernal (Col) Team Ineos at 78hrs 0mins 42secs, 2 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep at 48secs, 3 Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Ineos at 1min 16secs, 4 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma at 1min 28secs, 5 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe at 1min 55secs, 6 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team at 4mins 35secs, 7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First at 5mins 14secs, 8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team at 5mins 17secs, 9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team at 6mins 25secs, 10 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo at 6mins 28secs
Here’s Jeremy Whittle’s race report:
We’re still waiting for official confirmation of the new standings, but Egan Bernal has been awarded the yellow jersey. Time to wrap things up here, but stay tuned for Jeremy Whittle’s race report, and more reaction on our website. We’ll see you tomorrow, right? Here are those provisional standings again:
1 Egan Bernal
2 Julian Alaphilippe +45sec
3 Geraint Thomas +1min 03
4 Steven Kruijswijk +1:15
5 Emanuel Buchmann +1:42
Updated
Dave Brailsford speaks
Ineos team principal Sir Dave Brailsford said he had mixed feelings about taking the yellow jersey in such circumstances but it had always been his team’s plan to be aggressive on the day.
“Fortune favours the brave at the end of the day,” said Brailsford. “We were always going to take today on and I thought the guys rode really well, to be honest.
“Thomas and Bernal had a plan – G went first and then Egan went over the top.
“We were hoping to get to the descent in that situation, and then who knows what would have happened.
“We don’t control the weather. In one way, I’m really happy but in another way, I’m still really concerned for everyone else out there.”
Asked if the weather had helped his team win the Tour, as now seems likely, Brailsford replied: “It didn’t. No, we’ll win the Tour de France because of how we ride.”
(credit: PA Media)
We’re still waiting on those official general classification standings. Once we have them, you’ll have them.
Updated
Bernal awarded yellow jersey
The jerseys have now been handed out at a ceremony in Tignes …
The aforementioned mudslide, incidentally …
Race stopped landslide #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/uCA1o8aOS6
— joscelinryan (@joscelinryan) July 26, 2019
Re 17:05, this in from Jack Lee …
DEAD DEAD FAST?
What, like this you mean?”
⚡ Quand le #MaillotVert & le @MaillotjauneLCL collaborent /When the @Green__jersey & the #yellowjersey join forces ⚡https://t.co/AfUzxKdVJL
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 13, 2016
Video of the unexpected end to today's stage
💛 @Eganbernal, a very emotional new wearer of the Yellow Jersey.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2019
💛 Egan Bernal, un nouveau Maillot Jaune très ému.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/xJFkcuO8fW
Another question in the inbox:
Does anyone understand the rationale behind no stage winner and no combativity prize but everything else being awarded? Or is it just me that finds this confusing?
My assumption is that this is to factor in the possibility that riders were holding back their biggest effort for the finish. Kind of like the DLS method in cricket, where it takes in the idea that sides are likely to pick up the pace and aggression towards the end of their innings.
I’m not sure the organisers will go for it at 48 hours’ notice, but here’s Fraser Innes’s stage 21 suggestion …
RACE IT LIKE THE HAMMER SERIES
Set the riders off with the gaps they have between them in such a way that the first man over the line will win the GC.
Alaphilippe speaks
As reported by AP:
I gave it all, I don’t have any regret,” he said. “I’ve been beaten by stronger than me.”
Marc Madiot, the manager of Groupama-FDJ, said:
Safety is the first priority and the decision to stop the stage seemed to be the only decision to make,” he said. “Imagine that the race had continued and a rider had plunged into a ravine.”
Updated
Ian Davis has a point of order …
Would all those suggesting that the last stage is raced properly like to explain how a short, flat stage is going to affect the GC classifications.
If one of the riders pedalled DEAD, DEAD FAST?
Provisional general classification standings
From the Tour de France site: “The time bonuses at Col d’Iseran are taken into account. Here are the provisional overall standings”
1 Egan Bernal
2 Julian Alaphilippe +45sec
3 Geraint Thomas +1min 03
4 Steven Kruijswijk +1:15
5 Emanuel Buchmann +1:42
Updated
I’m still getting emails with names of 30-year-old films. It was still Ghostbusters II. I’m sorry. It just was.
Such an exciting weekend ahead now, on the back of all this, as Andrew (and many others) suggest …
@stuartgoodwin Could be the best thing for the TdF in years - a truly competitive final day, with all to ride for. Vastly better than the usual procession, if convention can be put aside. Let's hope it goes to the final sprint of the final stage.
— Andrew Benton (@thangnangman) July 26, 2019
The organisers show their working re: the decision …
The route of the race when the race has been stopped.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2019
L'état d'une partie du parcours lorsque la course a été arrêtée. #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/eHIxMR60RI
Provisional stage result
1 Egan Bernal
2 Simon Yates +5sec
3 Warren Barguil +41
4 Laurens De Plus +50
5 Steven Kruijswijk =
6 Geraint Thomas =
7 Emanuel Buchmann =
8 Vincenzo Nibali =
9 Richie Porte +1:18
10 Gregor Mühlberger =
11 Wout Poels +1:50
12 Damiano Caruso =
13 Alejandro Valverde =
14 Julian Alaphilippe +2:07
15 Rigoberto Uran +2:30
Updated
Wiggins on Eurosport: “I can’t see Bernal losing the race from here.”
Meanwhile, Reuters report:
Unofficial timings give Bernal a lead of 45 seconds going into Saturday’s final mountain stage, as he seeks to become the first Colombian to win the Tour.
Team Ineos sports director Nicolas Portal said: “We had the race in our hands and Egan would have liked to ride the last climb but the riders’ safety comes first, ASO [organisers] did a great job.
“We wanted to smash it today and the guys were super-motivated. It would have been ideal if the race could have continued because even if he had reduced the gap in the descent, Julian would have suffered in the last ascent.”
Updated
Very unofficial GC standings …
1 Bernal
2 Alaphilippe
3 Thomas
There will be no bonus handed out for the stage win, and no Most Aggressive Rider award. Still no word on whether the mountain climb time bonuses will be applied.
This in from Jonathan Peña on the email…
Regardless on whether it was good for him or not, it’s good for us. Now we have a TDF final of sorts to look forward to. Does not get much better than that.
John Cook …
Here’s an idea – race Paris! I think that the best way to handle this situation is to make the stage into Paris an actual race. Of course it breaks tradition, but also it’s an extra 128km that might help sort out this messy stage.
Updated
Quick PA report of where things are …
The official Tour rolling report is now saying: “Distinctive jerseys will be presented on stage – yellow and white to Egan Bernal, polka dot jersey to Romain Bardet and green jersey to Peter Sagan.”
Interesting conflicts of opinion in my inbox regarding whether the early finish is good or bad for Alaphilippe.
Rob Hicky …
Surely this could work out ok for Alaphilippe? While he might (and it’s a big ask) have caught the Thomas group on the descent, given his struggles going up the climb before that then he’d surely have been lost on the final climb and dropped out of the podium places altogether?
Hugh Molloy …
Alaphilippe was going to lose 5-10 minutes up the final climb. None of this “unlucky” narrative, he was toast if the stage had gone full distance.
But Kenneth Ross …
Completely ridiculous. Alaphilippe was robbed. They need to re-race the section they didn’t race today on Sunday. Move Sunday’s ceremonial ride into Paris to Monday. No one who seriously cares about this race cares about the final stage anyway.
Apparently there was no official time checkpoint at the top of Iseran, where the stage results will be taken from. With every second crucial, they are rightly taking their time over publishing official standings.
They’re obviously biased, but have a point …
Impossible conditions in the final part of the stage. The riders have stopped at Val d'Isère and will now head to the finish by car #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/eynnwZIDzG
— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) July 26, 2019
Updated
Bradley Wiggins, speaking on Eurosport, is suggesting they could have continued through, or resumed following the affected area.
There is a case to be made for neutralising the race, and then continuing afterwards. The perilous descent, and the speeds involved, surely played a part in the decision. The organisers needed to get them to stop riding as soon as possible. It’s such a hard one, and the fallout will be fascinating. It’s a decision that could cost Alaphilippe the Tour – you have to feel for him. I say again, he was almost freefalling down the mountain. Imagine if he’d fallen round one of the hairpins, and then later found the downhill wasn’t even technically part of the race.
License to Kill – no Jonathan Pena and Jan “40 guesses” Karremans.
Sea of Love – no, Adolfo Prieto.
The War of the Roses – sorry, Brian Goecke.
“I really hope it’s Blind Fury what with Rutger Hauer’s passing” – awwww, apologies Matthew Atkinson. I kind of wish it had been now.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Soz Matt Fulford.
“Ghostbusters”, asks Tom Cox.
Ghostbusters? 1989?
“Ghostbusters 2”, offer Dave Rotheram and Carlos Benitez.
HALLELUJAH! Congrats Dave and Carlos, and apologies for anything else you can see in my brain.
There had been a landslide as a result of the weather, too. The more we see the road conditions, the worse it all looks. Make absolutely no mistake whatsoever – the organisers have made the correct decision here. It’s horrible, desperate luck for Alaphilippe, but the riders were rightly kept well away from all this.
They’re still untangling this, and meanwhile Eurosport are showing images of a snowplough shovelling thick slush from the road. It’s definitely for the best that nobody was travelling at speed while that was coming down, or this could have been a much grimmer read.
*cough, cough, cough, cough corner*
38km to go, **Simon**, not Sean Yates. Apologies. There was a race going on and several dozen people pummelling me with the names of 80s films.
“Weekend at Bernal’s” – kudos to Craig Secor for the wordplay. Still no.
Ridiculous swing of weather over the two days, incidentally. It was 40C at points of yesterday’s stage.
Meanwhile:
Parenthood
Road House
Born on the Fourth of July
Weekend at Bernie’s (“Not very Guardian” – Thomas Atkins)
The Abyss
“The Delinquents starring the one and only Kylie”
Tango and Cash
Turner and Hooch
Drugstore Cowboy
Dead Calm
See No Evil, Hear No Evil
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Electric Blue 29 (“a more underground, art house-style film” – Jon Cowderoy
My Left Foot (“in honour of Pinot’s problems” – Daniel Hellerman)
All incorrect. I’m starting to worry I’ve got my years wrong.
Updated
Oooh – Uncle Buck. Didn’t think of that. Sorry Eric S – nope.
The riders are easing on down what was set to be a manic plunge. Hard not to feel a bit robbed of what could have been a stunning spectacle. It’s a huge blow for Alaphilippe. Unclear at this stage if the time bonuses from the Col d’Iseran will stand – we’ll let you know. It’s such a good result for Bernal, however they work it out.
From the TV pictures, it looks completely understandable. It’s apparently several inches of hail on the road.
Christian Prudhomme is currently taking pelters from riders as he passes them to relay the news.
Egan Bernal is going to take yellow. This will take some untangling – stay with us.
And no it’s not Steel Magnolias, dammit.
STAGE STOPPED BY HAIL
WHAT? Really? Eh?
Further ahead it looks like thick snow on the road, but it’s actually hail. Alaphilippe is distraught at hearing the news – they’ll be taking the results from the top of the Col d’Iseran.
He was flying down the descent, and all for naught. Ridiculous drama.
🏁 The day's course has been called due to adverse weather conditions, rider times have been taken at Col de l'Iseran.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2019
🏁 La course est arrêtée à cause des conditions climatiques. Les temps sont pris en haut du Col de l'Iseran.#TDF2019
Updated
30km to go: points and time bonuses from the big climb
1 Egan Bernal, 40pts, 8sec time bonus
2 Simon Yates, 30, 5sec bonus
3 Warren Barguil, 24, 2sec bonus
Willem Van Gemert says Black Rain. Appropriate, but no.
Jan Karremans has had way too many guesses, but all wrong so far. My Left Foot and Look Who’s Talking are valiant attempts, mind.
Several guesses for The Punisher. Haven’t seen it. Any good?
“Lean On Me. Obvious really,” says Maurice Murphy. Not strong, sadly.
36km to go: Alaphilippe was 34sec behind Bernal on the virtual standings as the Colombian went over the top, over two mins behind on the stage.
But now Alaphilippe is descending. This could be a sight to see.
38km to go: Time bonus for Bernal for reaching the summit first.
He leads the stage, with Sean Yates behind. Thomas is now part of a chase group of four, along with Kruijswijk, Buchmann and Le Plus.
It’s not The Little Mermaid or Back To The Future II.
Or Field of Dreams, or Honey I Shrunk The Kids.
Stop guessing When Harry Met Sally and Dead Poets Society. It’s not those.
Updated
Bernal takes the virtual lead of the Tour
38.5km to go: Alaphilippe is now in deficit. Seven seconds behind. This is a superb effort from Bernal.
39km to go – 1.6km left to the Roof of the Tour: Bernal is NINE seconds behind Alaphilippe on the virtual GC. Thomas now just 32sec.
Remember, it is raining later in the course, and there’s a big descent coming up.
39.5km to go: I’ve just received 16 emails, all naming films from 1989.
Bear with me – both Bernal and Thomas are now well within a minute of Alaphilippe on the virtual GC.
42km to go: Absolute bedlam on the climb. I’m still not clear who the Ineos team leader is – Bernal initially stayed on Alaphilippe’s shoulder while Thomas rode away, before realising he could move away from him with ease. Steven Kruijswijk is in touch, and the yellow jersey holder is leaking time. But is it enough? We’ve seen slow-mo images of Alaphilippe grimacing already this week, and then look what happened.
Thomas tries to break
43.4km to go: Thomas make a move. It’s a big effort from the Welshman. Alaphilippe is struggling to keep pace. Landa’s leaving him behind too. There’s still 5.5km of Iseran for him to contend with. It’s a huge moment for the defending champion.
Jack Lee – it’s not Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Robert Hillier – not Do The Right Thing either.
Not Dead Poets Society James Ferguson.
Yellow card to Emmanuel Grieve for naming three: Turner and Hooch, Pet Semetary, The Burbs. All thankfully wrong.
Updated
44km to go: And then there were two. Dylan van Baarle was the third prong of the Ineos trio, and his work at the front of the peloton is done.
The division of labour is now 13 up front, a straggler in Michael Woods, and now just 13 in the group around Alaphilippe.
46km to go: Ineos are pushing at the front of the peloton. Thomas and Bernal are there as part of an Ineos trident. AG2R La Mondiale’s Matthias Frank initially tried to break clear, but to no avail – his stablemate Bardet is still knocking around, however.
TV pictures of Alaphilippe showed him rocking slightly in the saddle before calming. We’re still waiting for a decisive move.
Updated
49km: Up, up and away … time to climb. And here’s me thinking the little bump over the A road on Route 51 was a bit troublesome.
Meanwhile, Joseph Trivers is offering varying numbers of thumbs up for more films from 1989 …
Batman – always had a soft spot for it due to Prince’s soundtrack, and Danny Elfman’s score. I suspect I’m not alone.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, Her Lover – another fine film score too, this time from Michael Nyman
I’m going to keep posting these until someone names the 1989 film I currently have in my head.
50km to go: full intermediate sprint result …
1 Alexey Lutsenko 20 points
2 Tony Gallopin 17
3 Warren Barguil 15
4 Vincenzo Nibali 13
5 Andrey Amador 11
6 Simon Yates 10
7 Gorka Izagirre 9
8 Rigoberto Uran 8
9 Pello Bilbao 7
10 Michael Woods 6
11 Laurens De Plus 5
12 Dylan van Baarle 4
13 Dan Martin 3
14 Patrick Konrad 2
15 Giulio Ciccone 1
Peter Sagan is safely in the yellow jersey group, presumably swapping Panini stickers and telling NSFW jokes.
54km to go: Col d’Iseran coming up. Lots of refuelling, team pep talks, a little bit of sitting back in the saddle going on. Brave faces all round, but some telling deep breaths being taken too.
Rain is on the horizon too. Eeeeek. Never mind the climb, the descent could make or break the whole thing for the main players.
58km to go: intermediate sprint fun. An unexpectedly lively fight for the line. Alexey Lutsenko won it by a short helmet ahead of Gallopin, Barguil, Nibali and Amador.
More points were handed out a little earlier while I was trying to remember what films came out in 1989 …
⚪🔴 Damiano Caruso is chasing the polka dot jersey ! He scores 2 points at the top of the Col de la Madeleine.
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 26, 2019
⚪🔴 @CarusoDamiano chasse les pois ! Il marque 2 points au sommet du Col de la Madeleine.#TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/iK1g0hLCbc
61km to go: Big names still safely in the peloton.
Bardet, who looked to be suffering earlier as he fell off the back, is safely among the yellow jersey group. Seven of the top eight in the GC standings (Pinot the absentee) are still riding with Alaphilippe around them – that means Bernal, Thomas, Kruijswijk, Buchmann, Quintana and Landa Meana.
Uran and Valverde, who began today in ninth and 10th, are still in the lead group.
Adam Yates has just fallen from the back of the peloton.
Updated
63km to go: Just the one chase group now as the five merge.
Ineos’ Jonathan Castroviejo is currently at the head of the peloton, which is now 1:47 off the front. At this stage that gap is much less significant than the climbs that lie ahead.
64km to go: The field fragments. There are now three groups ahead of the peloton. The leaders now number 21, with stragglers forming two chase groups behind. Aru, Kreuziger, Bettiol, De Gendt and Gesbert are those currently riding ‘tween front and yellow.
66km to go: Official word on Pinot from Groupama-FDJ. The strapping was on a muscular injury that it was hoped would improve overnight. It evidently hasn’t. And thus: sad toodles to Thibaut.
Thibaut suffers from a muscular lesion on his left thigh. Yesterday, he finished stage 18 with a sharp pain and had troubles walking in the evening. His condition didn't improve today, he just withdrew from the #TDF2019.
— Équipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@GroupamaFDJ) July 26, 2019
Updated
67km to go: Mollema is blowing. Fighting to the lead group has taken its toll and he’s currently riding an entirely different race to those around him.
Richard Donallon writes:
What do you think the chances of a Bergal/Thomas duo attack, too risky? If they run ahead, leave it to the two of them for a sprint finish for who leads the team … As you can tell, I’m a bit of a dreamer. It would be the outcome Ineos fans want, whilst maintaining the newly unpredictable nature of this tour?
I think the final climb is going to be mesmerising with this in mind. My suspicions for most of the race have been split evenly between suspecting Thomas isn’t in the form he needs, and waiting for him to explode for a huge effort on one of the mountain stages. There’s little clue of a team hierarchy on the stage yet, which is interesting.
69km to go: More final day thoughts …
@stuartgoodwin such is the respect for the Paris procession in the peleton that I suspect any rider attempting break it would be hunted down by the sprinters trains and literally sat atop on the Champs-Èlysèes until the yellow jersey unhurriedly crossed the line.
— Cycling Tiger (the tempus is fugiting) (@cyclingtiger) July 26, 2019
Updated
71km to go: keep an eye on Uran and Valverde. EF Education First’s Uran isn’t the Colombian most thought would be prominent today, but these are the only two of the top 10 GC riders in the main group.
The peloton had dropped to 75sec behind, but with the leaders riding into a headwind, it’s now down to 54sec. Expect that to grow again for a spell as the peloton find the wind brushing their ears. Cort’s lead evaporated almost as quickly as it opened up.
Updated
73km to go: A couple more names to report in the lead group – Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Michael Matthews (Sunweb). Which I only realised as Matthews dropped off the back. He’s wincing, suddenly.
Cort is having a go at the front. He’s opened up a 14sec gap.
78km to go: The peloton edges back. Now back to a lovely round minute back from the lead group.
On the final stage protocol front, lots of correspondence regarding the 1989 Tour, which ended with an individual time-trial into Paris, out of which Greg LeMond emerged victorious.
As with most things from the late-80s, feels like a different world now. An age thing, of course, but is the gap from 1989 to today really the same as that from 1959 to then?
The Gap from Ben Hur to Lethal Weapon 2 … the same as from When Harry Met Sally and Hobbs and Shaw. Sorry, there’s a race happening …
80km to go: The lead group now features 26 riders.
Here’s who’s up front, now 62sec ahead of yellow jersey group …
Dylan van Baarle (Ineos)
Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Tony Gallopin (AG2R-La Mondiale)
Vincenzo Nibali and Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Merida)
Sébastien Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ)
Alejandro Valverde, Marc Soler and Andrey Amador (Movistar)
Pello Bilbao, Gorka Izagirre, Magnus Cort and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana)
Laurens De Plus (Jumbo-Visma)
Rigoberto Uran, Alberto Bettiol and Michael Woods (EF Education First)
Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott)
Dan Martin and Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates)
Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo)
Jesus Herrada (Cofidis)
Guillaume Martin (Wanty-Groupe Gobert)
Roman Kreuziger (Dimension Data)
Warren Barguil and Elie Gesbert (Arkéa-Samsic)
84km to go: Valuable points for Damiano Caruso.
At the top of Montée d’Aussois, the Bahrain-Merida rider took five points. He started the day in third place in the KOM standings.
Pinot abandons the race
86km to go: Pinot is off his bike. It’s over.
He was almost 5min behind the leaders, and after an arm round the shoulder from a Groupama teammate, he’s done. A sad, sad end to what had been an excellent campaign for the home hope.
Updated
89km to go: Pinot is in tears. This is hard to watch. He had a brief spell of trying to fight back, but he’s lost a further 30 secs and it seems hideously unlikely that he’s reaching the finish line today.
Meanwhile, Zakarin is off his bike – mechanical problems have necessitated a change. He’s off again and fighting back to Alaphilippe’s group.
Breakaway group caught
90km to go: the breakaway quartet has been reeled in. There’s now a sizeable bunch of 25 at the front of the race. The peloton is 47sec back.
Bradley Wiggins is tracking Pinot’s disintegration well off the back of the peloton for Eurosport. The problem seems to be with the Frenchman’s knee. He’s now 3:30 behind the leaders.
Updated
92km to go: Pinot briefly had to stop completely to receive more help. He’s off again, but it looks ominous for the home hope. Don’t forget, he started the stage fifth in GC. Not the biggest of his problems, but his sunglasses look slightly skew-whiff to me as well.
Updated
Pinot is in big trouble
93km to go: Pinot’s receiving attention from a medical support car. Looks like a dressing on his left-thigh is being replaced. He tries to ride off, but away, but looks seriously uncomfortable. He’s off again, but seemingly going backwards.
Bardet, meanwhile, has fought back to the peloton, and up ahead there’s a 19-strong chase group. Peloton is now at 53sec back.
Updated
96km to go: Bardet is labouring to keep with the yellow jersey group. The polka-dot holder is a surprise struggler. Alaphilippe’s mob are now down to a group of 40.
Two riders have gone down round a hairpin bend – Sergio Henao among them. Both are thankfully up and racing again.
100km to go: the leading quartet are on the descent. Now the stage is on. The peloton fragments as some take a well-earned breather while several put the hammer down to make some ground back. Bradley Wiggins reports some sad-looking faces at the back of the peloton, and there are much more severe climbs still to come today.
Meanwhile, Richard Simpson isn’t one for tradition …
Apart from adding in jumps, I can’t think of anything better than watching the first-placed rider, coasting into Paris drinking a glass of champagne for photographers being horrified as the second placed rider bursts past, gets a jump and wins the tour. I’d buy that man’s T-shirt.
102km to go: Riders are gradually feeling the heat at the back of the peloton, and it’s going to be a long day for some. Gap to the front now – with the same quartet still working hard together – is just 21secs. Meanwhile Barguil and Gallopin have broken away to try and bridge the gap as the first summit approaches.
104km to go: Another chase group tries to develop. Fabio Aru is prominent. Wellens shows interest too. Nah. Swallowed up again. But the gap to the front is now down to 27secs.
106km to go: The peloton reels in the chase group. The gap to the front is closing, now just 33secs, and the gradual climb is curbing ambitions from those wanting to bridge the gap behind.
108km to go: The chase group becomes a quintet, then an octet. Politt and Rosskopf are joined by Perichon, King, Sicard, Gesbert, Quintanilla and Haga. The main players are yet to make a move, and until that changes, it’s great news for Alaphilippe.
Updated
110km to go: Joey Rosskopf has moved up to give Politt a hand. This chase group is now 25secs off the front, with the peloton a further 16 back.
111km to go: Gap is now 39 seconds. Nils Politt is on his own betwixt peloton and breakaway.
Mark Ballard asks something that, coincidentally, is an annual argument in the Guardian office that we’ve already had once this morning …
Can you help settle a family argument please? If it was close after Saturday is there any way that the Paris stage would be GC raced rather than a procession? I (aged 41.5) think it wouldn’t be due to history and convention but my Dad (aged 71 and some) reckons it could be …
Imagine being in charge of selling kit for a team that breaks the tradition.
Updated
118km to go: Vincenzo Nibali’s on the move. He’s joined by Dan Martin, Jesus Herrada and Pello Bilbao Lopez de Armentia. It’s a pretty convincing break from this quartet – the gap is 17 seconds and rising.
Updated
122km to go: Three riders attempt to burst clear, but the break fails to have a decisive air and the peloton – for now – looks largely unconcerned.
124km to go: Tim Wellens looks a reluctant breakaway leader, looking round to see who’s around him. He’s happy to give way and it’s a predictably tentative start.
Updated
On the weather front, much, much, much kinder temperatures for the riders today. It’s looking like a steady 21C in Tignes through to the finish, but – interestingly – raining. Will be fascinating to see if slick roads play a part on the descents.
Christian Prudhomme is waving his flag. Stage 19 is now under way. Strap in folks.
Updated
🇫🇷 - @LeTour - Étape 19 / Stage 19
— AG2RLM Pro Cycling Team (@AG2RLMCyclisme) July 26, 2019
Échauffement pour @romainbardet dans son nouvel uniforme avant cette étape courte. @romainbardet warming up in his new jersey before a short stage. #allezALM pic.twitter.com/4zhBXrEFoe
Alaphilippe looks utterly at ease, chatting with green jersey holder Peter Sagan as the riders prepare for the rollout. A lovely reception from the fans and locals in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne as the easy 4.8km begins.
Declan Clark writes:
I don’t want this Tour to end … Not just because it’s been the most beguiling, exciting and wide-open editions in years, but also because to me, the end of Le Tour is the end of the summer, autumn’s chilly dawn being heralded by the start of the football season next weekend.
True, La Vuelta is still to come … but that’s a bit like being deserted by your teenage sweetheart, and her trying to get her rather dowdy friend to go out with you instead. It just isn’t the same. The desolation outweighs the attempt at consolation.
If anyone with Photoshop skills fancies mocking up a Vuelta preview poster with that as the tagline, absolutely feel free.
And indeed, Brailsford is giving nothing away. Speaking to Eurosport, the Team Ineos manager says:
We came in here wanting to win it – we still want to win it. There comes a point in time where it’s all or nothing. The person who’s willing to die the most is going to win it. The one who’s turning himself inside-out is Alaphilippe.
We want to win. This is coming down to a man-on-man GC battle. There’s six guys fighting it out, and two of those are from the same team. We’ve got to make that count.
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And so, to the Team Ineos question. Bernal outclimbed and outfought Thomas yesterday, and goes into today with a five-second advantage over the defending champion.
So who is the de facto team leader for the remainder of the race? Dave Brailsford told French broadcasters yesterday: “We will discuss this between ourselves – we are going to decide tonight. For me, there is no difference of level between the two. They are two good climbers.”
Word is the decision has been made, and I’m sure the team will let the riders show the outcome rather than pre-announcing.
Bradley Wiggins, speaking on Eurosport, thinks Thomas should be The Man. It’s going to be fascinating, as the Welshman has had the air of a man clinging on for several days. Is there a huge effort in him, given how lightly he raced in preparation for this year’s Tour?
Europop? 90s alt-rock? Dinosaurs? Where’s the live cycling (q: two different emailers)
We’re just under half an hour from the start of today’s racing, folks.
Jonathan Dando writes:
I love this Tour … it’s brilliant. For the first time in years it feels like it’s about the ‘sport’. There isn’t anyone in the top 10 I would not like to see win.
We all want to see a French winner, just for the love of the event, but who would complain if we also see a Colombian or Welsh winner?
Despite all the money it’s still the only event/sport which lets the fans in. People want to get dressed up as a polka-dot sperm to run up the hill with the cyclists. I would love to see that in football.
Oh my days. Can you imagine polka-dot-clad sperm running up and down the line with the officials at the football? Make it happen Uefa.
And you didn’t think I’d missed that surname, did you? Did you really? I’ll be less obvious and give you a version of the original though …
Quick reminder of yesterday’s events …
Geraint Thomas chased a fierce attack by his Team Ineos teammate Egan Bernal, yet still lost second place overall to the Colombian as the tension in the Tour de France ramped up another notch and the unflappable Julian Alaphilippe again clung on to his overall lead.
Bernal, widely tipped for victory before the Tour began, was finally unleashed by Team Ineos in the thin air on the approach to the 2,642-metre summit of the Col du Galibier as his fellow Colombian Nairo Quintana rode clear on his own to a third career stage win in the Tour.
“It was Geraint’s decision,” Bernal said of his attack. “He asked me to attack to try to move the race and tried to come with me but when he saw the other guys on his wheel he just stayed with them. But I attacked because he asked me to attack.”
Jeremy Whittle’s full report here …
Jakob Mathiszig-Lee is first into the inbox today …
I have a night shift tonight which is great because it means i have the whole of today to watch what should be an amazing stage.
Here on Guardian sport there is occasionally a pleasing wefting of early sport and late shift. It can be a beautiful thing. Sorry, do continue …
Think there’s going to be some fireworks from pretty early on today after Alaphilippe showed some uphill weakness yesterday. Head says Bernal is wearing yellow in Paris but would very much like to see Julian hold on to it today so i can see how half of France fits on to roadside of the final climb tomorrow.
He’s not that fussed about yellow. Literally gave it away yesterday before giving interviews (beautiful moment, incidentally) …
Julian Alaphilippe a reçu la visite de proches en zone mixte au moment où l’orage s’est abattu sur Valloire. Parmi eux, un petit garçon frigorifié. Personne n’avait de veste à lui prêter, alors... 👏🏼 #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/O02v9knWc6
— Louis-Pierre Frileux (@LPFrileux) July 25, 2019
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Now I won’t lie to you, the first minute of this video may be a slight slog if hi-NRG Europop isn’t your bag.
But from 1:01 … oh mama …
The only Links Rechts video you’ll ever need. Beefeaters, Bananaman, kids forced to where our hats whether they like it or not......oh and a T’Rex on his way to the shops 🤣. Peak Beefeater Bend! #TDF #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/iTlvZUnVWH
— Beefeater Bend🎶🍻 (@tdfbeefeaters) July 25, 2019
General classification standings after stage 18
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fr) Deceuninck-QuickStep 75hrs 18mins 49sec
2 Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos +1:30
3 Geraint Thomas (GB) Ineos +1:35
4 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma +1:47
5 Thibaut Pinot (Fr) Groupama-FDJ +1:50
6 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe +2:14
7 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar +3:54
8 Mikel Landa (Sp) Movistar+4:54
9 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education First +5:33
10 Alejandro Valverde (Sp) Movistar +5:58secs
11 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo +6:30
12 Warren Barguil (Fr) Arkea Samsic +7:47
13 Guillaume Martin (Fr) Wanty-Gobert +15:11
14 Fabio Aru (It) UAE Team Emirates +16:21
15 Roman Kreuziger (Cz) Dimension Data +17:00
Selected others
19 Daniel Martin (Ire) UAE Team Emirates +34:23
27 Adam Yates (GB) Mitchelton-Scott +49:35
33 Nicolas Roche (Ire) Sunweb +1hr:05:40
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Preamble
And so, the Tour hits the roof. This year’s toppermost peak arrives, the Col de l’Iseran, 2,770m above sea level, for the literal highlight of the first of two remaining mountain stages. Today is beautifully set up, with aspirant GC contenders knowing they’re running out of road this year. They have a very real need to get a wiggle on.
A couple of blips aside, Julian Alaphilippe has looked utterly at home in yellow since first donning it after stage 8, and unless yesterday’s struggles over the Galibier left him more sapped than it appeared, one or more of the chasing pack need to pull out something memorable.
Alaphilippe’s descending prowess could push them to even bigger efforts on today’s climbs – yesterday’s fightback on the downhill was a soil-yourself piece of riding by the Frenchman, as he rounded parked motorhomes so tightly on hairpin bends that you feared someone had convinced him they’re all holograms. It may take a career-pinnacle up-and-down effort from the likes of Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas and Thibaut Pinot to go into Saturday with any chance still remaining.
Bernal goes into today his closest challenger, as he lies 1min 30 behind the Frenchman, defending champion Thomas is five seconds behind his Ineos teammate in third. Steven Kruijswijk is at 1:47, three seconds ahead of Pinot.
Eyes suddenly look beyond Emanuel Buchmann (2:14) in sixth to see if Nairo Quintana can repeat yesterday’s trick with the altitude holding no fears and a deficit that’s suddenly down to 3:54 from a previously-unlikely 9:30. If the Colombian makes a break for it early on, expect mayhem behind. He jumped from 12th to seventh yesterday.
First to the top of the Iseran gets the Souvenir Henri-Desgrange, the award handed out for those leading the way over the Tour’s biggest climb each year. Point of order: Quintana won it last year after a superb climb up Col du Portet.
Good morning folks. What a day we have in store.
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William Fotheringham's stage 19 preview
Uphill for the first (gulp) 89km, this stage is about one climb, the Col de l’Iséran, the “roof of the Tour” at 2,770m above sea level. It’s rarely used in the race, and still less frequently at the key point in a stage. It will make it hard for a break to stay away, but teams will fire any domestiques with any strength left up the road to support their leaders later – Movistar particularly like this tactic – and the finish will be about who of a very select group has anything left on the short climb to Tignes. Egan Bernal might be the best candidate depending on Ineos’s tactics.
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