That’s all from me for today, on a stage where Søren Kragh Andersen won again, Sam Bennett closed in on the green jersey, and Paul Griffin won us all over. Join us for Saturday’s mountain time trial, and keep an eye out for Jeremy Whittle’s report on the UCI/Jumbo-Visma row, online soon. Bye!
Updated
Some words from today’s stage winner, Søren Kragh Andersen. “For the last kilometre I was screaming, ‘Can you confirm one minute?’ because I didn’t believe it. Two wins in the same Tour, I’m speechless. I could have never dreamed something better ... This is memories for the rest of my life. I’m just super happy.”
As for the green jersey battle, Sam Bennett now holds a 55-point lead over Peter Sagan. Neither rider looks likely to claim any points in Saturday’s mountain time trial, so Sagan must take all 70 points on the final day in Paris and hope Bennett is nowhere near. Unless something disastrous happens, the green jersey is Bennett’s to keep.
“Thanks for everyone’s concern,” says our combativity award winner, Paul Griffin. “I’ve eased off as I’m tapering ahead of a triumphant Tour of Flanders later in the autumn”.
General classification
No changes in the provisional top three after today’s stage:
- Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) 83h 29’ 41”
- Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Emirates) + 57”
- Miguel Ángel Lopez (Astana) + 1’ 27”
Updated
Stage 19 result
- Søren Kragh Andersen (Sunweb) 3h 36’ 33”
- Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott) + 53”
- Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) +53”
- Greg van Avermaet (CCC) +53”
- Oliver Naesen (AG2R) + 53”
- Nikias Ardnt (Sunweb) + 53”
- Luke Rowe (Ineos) + 59”
- Sam Bennett (Quick-Step) +1’ 02”
- Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) +1’ 02”
- Matteo Trentin (CCC) +1’ 02”
Updated
The plucky trio of chasers ride home together, having defied the laws of plucky chasers by neither catching the leaders or getting sucked back into the peloton. Now the main bunch arrive, with GC leader Primoz Roglic home safely, seven minutes behind Kragh Andersen.
The chasing group of 11 gets split in the push for the line, with Luka Mezgec coming home second. Sagan and Bennett miss the first battle, but in a three-way tussle for points with Matteo Trentin, it’s Bennett who prevails again. The green jersey will now surely be his all the way to Paris.
Updated
Søren Kragh Andersen wins stage 19!
The Sunweb rider crosses the finish line for his second stage win of this year’s Tour, after a perfectly-timed solo break with 20km to go.
Updated
Flamme rouge passed by Kragh Andersen, who screams “time?!” at a passing motorbike. Don’t worry, Soren, you’ve got plenty. More than a minute, and now he’s beaming from ear to ear.
Updated
5km to go! Kragh Andersen leads by 50 seconds, and it’s almost all downhill from here. He still needs to be a little careful; there are some tight turns coming up on the road to the finish line.
Kragh Andersen got the jump on all his rivals in that leading dozen, and his lead over the rest is up to 46 seconds. It’s looking good. Incidentally, he shares a birthday with long-time leader Rémi Cavagna: 10 August. Which, as it happens, is also my birthday.
Updated
10km to go: Kragh Andersen has already won a stage on this year’s Tour - stage 14, which ended in Lyon. He’s opened up a 30-second advantage, although Trek’s Jasper Stuyven is leading the chase. Peter Sagan still can’t shake Sam Bennett, who has followed him like a shadow today.
Near the top of another winding climb, Soren Kragh Andersen makes his move. The Sunweb rider has carved out a 12-second gap over the rest of the leading group with 14km to go.
18km to go: The leading group are about to head north towards the finish line. The pure sprinters will be happy to ease off now, but the likes of Van Avermaet may be tempted to make another break. The chasing trio of Coquard, Hofstetter and Boasson Hagen aren’t making any ground, still 1’40” behind.
@niallmcveigh Any update on Paul Griffin's progress?= Is he still in the peleton, or has he been forced to retreat to the grupetto?
— Bob O'Hara (@BobOHara) September 18, 2020
I fear the Griffster is broom wagon fodder at this point, Bob.
Updated
Here are the 12 leaders, one of whom will in all likelihood win the stage:
Luke Rowe (Ineos), Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), Oliver Naesen (Ag2r La Mondiale), Sam Bennett and Dries Devenyns (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo), Greg van Avermaet and Matteo Trentin (CCC Team), Jack Bauer and Luka Mezgec (Mitchelton-Scott), Nikias Arndt and Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb).
The leading dozen have quickly opened up a two-minute gap, with little enthusiasm in the peloton to reel them back in. Three chasers - Bryan Coquard, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Hugo Hofstetter - are trying to join them.
Heading downhill again, and a number of those failed breakaway riders have tried again with 25km to go. This time they make it stick, opening up a 60-second gap on the peloton. Sagan, Bennett, Rowe and Van Avermaet are all in the group of 12 at the front...
“I thought readers may like to check out the ‘Pour de France’ episodes of our podcast Around the World in 80 Drinks,” says Ben McFarland. “As the peloton pedal around France, we taste the best spirits, wine, beer and leftfield liqueurs from each of the regional stages.” Cheers!
There’s still hope for a late breakaway, but it may need to happen soon, and four more riders including Michal Kwiatkowski, try to go again. We then cut away to a giant mural of a cow made of cheese, because this is the Tour de France. When we come back, the breakaway is over. 30km to go...
All back together! The chasers catch the leading quartet, but their joy is short-lived; within a minute, the peloton reel everybody in. Heading south now, on a long, gradual climb to the highest point of the stage.
@niallmcveigh to answer Daniel Fraser, surely the presence of Paul Griffin on the lead out train has been fundamental in Sam Bennet's success this year?
— Chris Hanson-Jones (@ChrisHansonJon3) September 18, 2020
The attempted sprinters’ union breakaway has failed, but a second group of chasers has got away - 10 riders, with the likes of Greg van Avermaet, Jesper Stuyven and Soren Kragh Anderson in the mix. They’re in sight of the leading quartet, but only 30-odd seconds clear of the pack, so it may not stick.
40km to go, with an awful lot of ups, downs, twists and turns to come. There’s a crash towards at the back of the peloton, with Ineos’ Pavel Sivakov going down. That leaves Rigoberto Uran adrift, with his EF teammates working to get him back into the pack.
Suddenly, it’s all happening. Cavagna has been quickly caught by the breakaway trio, while their move has spooked stage-win hopefuls Sagan and Bennett, who set off after them. Matteo Trentin goes too, along with two of Bennett’s Quick-Step colleagues, Michael Morkov and Kasper Asgreen.
Intermediate sprint: Cavagna goes over first, followed by the group of Cosnefroy, Rolland and Rowe. Here come the green jersey contenders, and Bennett gets the better of Sagan again, adding a point to his lead. I make that 309-256 in Bennett’s favour in the overall points race.
1. Rémi Cavagna, 20 points
2. Cosnefroy, 17
3. Rowe, 15
4. Rolland, 13
5. Sam Bennett, 11
6. Sagan, 10
7. Morkov, 9
8. Trentin, 8
9. Asgreen, 7
10. Devenyns, 6
11. Van Aert, 5
12. Kuss, 4
13. Oss, 3
14. Bilbao, 2
15. C. Pedersen, 1
Updated
“Why do you think Sam Bennett has been successful in challenging Peter Sagan for the green jersey where other sprinters have fallen short in the past?” asks Daniel Fraser. “Is it Sagan’s form, the placing of the intermediate sprints, the lack of punchy finishes?”
Well, Sagan’s penalty on stage 11 was perhaps the turning point, but Sagan isn’t quite at his peak any more and he’s up against a versatile rival in Bennett, backed by a Quick-Step team fine-tuned to support him.
Updated
With the pace dropping, a couple of familiar breakaway names decide to make a move - Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R) and good old Pierre Rolland (B&B). Team Ineos’ Luke Rowe has joined them. That’s also good news for Sam Bennett, with more sprint points likely unavailable to Sagan.
55km to go, and the pack are heading uphill towards the intermediate sprint at Mournans. Peter Sagan’s Bora team are close to the front but are missing Lukas Postlberger, forced out today by a bee sting on his mouth.
“Feeling for Postlberger, who is the second rider I know of to be forced out of the race due to an insect,” writes Jeremy Rigsby. Current EF team director Jonathan Vaughters had to abandon the 2001 Tour after a wasp got behind his sunglasses and stung him on the eyelid. Same happened to me about 10 days ago, bringing a quick end to my Tour du Local Area.”
We’re heading east, 15km from the day’s intermediate sprint. Expect to see your Sagans, your Bennetts, your Ewans jostling for points behind Cavagna. After that, we head into the final 50km, a wide loop into Champagnole, which is only a few miles south of where the riders are now.
“Did Paul Griffin get a puncture or are his legs just going? Looks like he is really paying for that early aggressive break,” notes John Donnelly. Agreed John, it’s sad to see.
Cyclingnews.com reports that the UCI are refuting Jumbo-Visma’s version of events after yesterday’s row, which saw team director Merijn Zeeman thrown out of the race.
Updated: Contradicting a team statement, the UCI has insisted that Roglic's bike was not damaged during x-ray checks for mechanical doping. Zeeman was said to be 'highly emotional'. https://t.co/HqxoVqBCOm
— Cyclingnews.com (@Cyclingnewsfeed) September 18, 2020
Cavagna’s pace has dropped to 43km/h, and his lead has been whittled down to 1’20”. Some suggestions that the Frenchman is using today’s stage as a bit of practice for next week’s world time trial championships in Italy. Either that or he’s giving Lidl a bit of extra airtime thanks to the patch on his posterior.
Updated
With 75km to go, the pack is passing through Picarreau, a significant place for reader Rob Leedham:
“For over a decade, my sister lived in Picarreau. She named her home Maison Samedi because my son, Sam, was born in September 2002, the year she moved in.” Happy 18th, Sam.
What do you think of the parcours @niallmcveigh? I felt that we've had a super race despite the route, not because of it.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) September 18, 2020
An early ITT can shake up the sprinters and climbers (and bike swaps in tomorrow's ITT will demean it). Not enough opportunities for pure rouleurs either.
I like it when the Tour takes in some mountain routes away from the Alps and Pyrenees, so the trip into the Massif Central was interesting - but overall it hasn’t been a vintage route. Today in particular feels like a missed opportunity for a more testing, lively route among the Jura foothills.
Cavagna crests the peak, now 1’54” clear and with the chance to extend that lead now. Back down the road, Jumbo-Visma have edged to the front of the pack, with Tony Martin handing out the bidons.
There are no more categorised climbs today, but still a grand total of 14 hills on the way to the line in Champagnole, some 82km away.
“Obviously nobody wants to see a rider dismount, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Paul Griffin do so spectacularly today,” says Robin Hazlehurst. “I can see him doing something like a full 360-degree somersault and landing sitting astride a cow. A laughing one, obviously.”
90km to go as Cavagna reaches the day’s only climb, a Category 4 hill at Chateau-Chalon, which the official Tour website describes like so:
A sentinel on the banks of the Revermont, Château-Chalon is the beacon of the Jura vineyards. In the cradle of the famous Vin Jaune, legends and history intertwine to give all its fame to one of the most beautiful villages of France.
And who am I to argue? It’s 4km to the top, with Cavagna holding a 1’40” advantage.
Updated
Cavagna maintains a lead of 2’30” as the race enters Lons-le-Saunier, a tourist town known for its thermal baths and the iconic triangular spreadable cheese, La Vache Qui Rit aka The Laughing Cow.
“No surprise to see Griffin dropped early - showing his age a little,” notes Paul Bryant.
@niallmcveigh I reckon your guest breakaway star Paul Griffin may well be more use to them than the Total Direct Energie guys. I'm sure they're only allowed in the Tour because they're French.
— Do not adjust your mind, the fault is in reality (@RainbowChazer) September 18, 2020
We’ve raced 61km, with 105km still to go. We’re on the long road north towards the day’s only categorised climb, with Cavagna still motoring along but now only 2’18” clear of the chasing pack.
The other three poursuivants have also been reeled in by the peloton, leaving Cavagna out in front all on his own, some three minutes clear. Cavagna has 120km of road ahead, with Bora-Hansgrohe currently towing the peloton along.
Cavagna, a proficient time-triallist, is whipping along at 56km/h and leads the dwindling chasing pack, who have dropped Martin, Barthe and Griffin. Van Baarle, Walscheid and Soupe are still giving chase.
Also on Eurosport, former MTN-Quebeka director Brian Smith has said that black riders in his team have previously complained to him about racist comments in the peloton. Smith says he would have reported the incidents, but did not get information back on the riders involved.
South Africa’s Quebeka team (now NTT) have fielded a number of African cyclists in previous teams, including Eritrea’s Daniel Teklehaimanot who has worn the mountain jersey at the Tour and Giro.
Kevin Reza has spoken to Eurosport’s Orla Chennaoui after his comments about the lack of anti-racism support on the Tour. His remarks about his B&B-Vital Concept teammates are pretty sobering:
I would encourage them not to ignore [the issue] ... it’s not something we talk about as a team. It’s been in the news for months. I am the only black rider in my team, so I certainly think about it a lot. If people say inappropriate things around me, now I will say something. Sometimes I would like to tell my white teammates: look around, follow the news, and try to be less selfish.
We now have a chasing group a minute off Cavagna, with the peloton dropping the pace and now a further minute back. They are: Dylan van Baarle (Ineos), Max Walscheid (NTT), Paul Griffin (Guardian-Liveblogs), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), Cyril Barthe (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) and Geoffrey Soupe (Total-Direct Énergie).
We saw Lukas Pöstlberger getting some ointment from the Bora-Hansgrohe team car a few minutes ago. It now emerges that he’s abandoned the race - after a bee stung him on the mouth. Eek, sounds nasty.
🇫🇷 #TDF2020
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) September 18, 2020
A bee stung Lukas in the mouth. 😱
hope he will be fine 🙏 pic.twitter.com/IqOsXxgMBf
Boosted by a tail wind, Deceuninck-Quick-Step rider Rémi Cavagna has carved out a lead of a minute over the peloton. It’s a fraction over a year since the Frenchman won a Vuelta stage with a solo breakaway, albeit much later in the race.
The race is on! The riders are heading east out of Bourg-en-Bresse, towards (but not into) the Jura mountains. There are tentative attempts at a breakaway, with Rémi Cavagna and Max Walscheid among those trying in vain to get clear.
“Any chance you could slip my name into a break this year?” asks Paul Griffin. “Not at the sharp end, obviously, but just early on in a stage. I haven’t been in a break in a road race since about 1993, and obviously never at this exalted level. I don’t need to spectacularly crash or puncture or anything - you can just erase me with no explanation. Everyone will just assume it’s slipshod journalism.”
The peloton have made their ceremonial start outside Bourg-en-Bresse, with 6km of rolling through town before they officially get under way.
On Eurosport, Jens Voigt reckons Bora-Hansgrohe will target the day’s only categorised climb, the Cat 4 Côte de Château-Chalon, to get Peter Sagan a head of steam for the sprint at Mournans. Sagan is still seeking his first stage win at this year’s Tour, and needs something drastic to catch Sam Bennett in the green jersey battle.
🎙️ 🇸🇰 @petosagan
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) September 18, 2020
"Nous allons voir. Il reste 2 étapes de sprints : aujourd'hui et Paris. Je dois faire de mon mieux dans le sprint. On verra ce qu'il se passera. Ce n'est pas facile."#TDF2020 pic.twitter.com/fsaRKLp1Dw
Updated
Kevin Reza, the only black cyclist in this year’s Tour, has spoken out about the lack of any anti-racism gestures in the race, or in the sport in general:
“I’ve been a professional for 10 years now and I haven’t seen a lot of solidarity in cycling,” Reza told cyclingnews.com when asked about his own experience of racist abuse. “That’s not a criticism – it’s just an observation.
“I don’t carry as much weight in world sport as Lewis Hamilton in Formula One or LeBron James in the NBA,” Reza said, but added: “I feel really free and ready to fight and move forward.”
Updated
More on the news that Jumbo-Visma director Merijn Zeeman has been excluded from the rest of the Tour after a row with an official during a check on race leader Primoz Roglic’s bike. The team, who had enjoyed a flawless race before the incident, have issued a statement this morning, with sporting director Zeeman apologising:
I got upset when the commissioner dismounted the crankset from Primoz’s bike. We stand for a fair sport and that includes checks, but that must be done in a reasonable way. Despite that, I should have kept myself cool and approached the UCI commissioner in a more respectful way.
Zeeman will be allowed to stay in France with the team, but is barred from carrying out his usual race-day duties.
Preamble
After three gruelling days in the Alps where Primoz Roglic’s rivals tried and failed to dislodge him from his perch, we hit the home straight to Paris with a curious stage that should offer Roglic a rest before Saturday’s mountain time trial.
Today’s route skirts the Jura mountains between France and Switzerland, and the profile features plenty of lumps and bumps - but it all adds up to one of the flatter stages in this high-altitude Tour.
It also offers a last chance for teams seeking a win to pull off a successful breakaway, although in all likelihood it’ll be a day for the sprinters to enjoy after a week of mountain misery.
