Stage 19 report:
And there you have it. Pogacar keeps his commanding GC lead, Onley looks to have sewn up fourth, which is a remarkable performance over three weeks, and Arensman now has two Tour stage wins to go with his two Vuelta wins from 2022. Jonathan Milan is odds-on to seal the points classification and Florian Lipowitz will be the best young rider.
Pogacar tops the KOM classification with 117pts, Vingegaard is second with 104, Martinez third with 97. Arensman, after today’s win, went fourth with 85pts. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.
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Pogacar speaks: “We did a really good job until the last climb. Then some teams, some riders, think they can sprint 19km of the climb. The pace was incredibly high at the start. I was thinking maybe Jonas wanted to win a stage, but then he was just holding on to my wheel.
“Arensman went on a good attack. I decided not to follow, set my rhythm. A defensive rhythm that I feel comfortable with. And yeah, in the end, it was like this. I am just happy it’s over, and two more days to Paris.
“I had to pull the whole climb in the end. Of course I came quite tired to the finish line. But also, it was tough, the last three days for me. I’m happy that today is over. We go tomorrow.
“You never know. It’s Tour de France. We keep concentrated, and yeah, let’s go.”
Points classification - top five
1) Milan 352pts
2) Pogacar 272pts
3) Girmay 213pts
4) Vingegaard 182pts
5) Turgis 169pts
The sprinters have rolled in with five minutes to spare.
Hence, Jonathan Milan is looking very good for the points classification.
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“It’s a game,” Gasparotto says of Red Bull-Bora’s tactics. “If you want to win big, you have to risk a little bit, otherwise you don’t win big.
“We did a lot of analysis of Lipo’s performance [yesterday]. We were quite confident, staying on the wheel of Onley, that Lipo could be superior in the final.”
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Enrico Gasparotto of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe speaks to Hannah Walker on TNT Sports and is asked about their tactics:
“I would say it was clear yesterday that Primoz really wanted to win a stage. He knew our team goal was to finish on the podium, but for himself, he badly wanted to win a stage. At the end, this is what he did, he tried yesterday … at the end he missed the opportunity. Today was the last opportunity, he wanted to go flat out from the start. For us, for Lipo, it could work also for him. This is what he did. At the end, it’s a tactic we agreed on.”
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Roglic has dropped to eighth in GC, 25min 30sec down on the leader. A spectacular drop after his stage-winning attempts earlier.
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Arensman, the stage winner, has a chat: “I’m absolutely destroyed. I can’t believe it. To win one stage, from a break … now against the GC group, the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I’m dreaming. I don’t know what I just did.
“After the descent to La Plagne, we were talking in the radio … I said to the DS in the radio, today is the last mountain stage, I have no GC to ride for, but I will try to hang on for a few kilometres in the climb, and see how the legs feel. Tobias [Foss], I told him straight away swing off, then tomorrow is your day.
“I started the climb, I thought, I have no GC [aims]: maybe they will look at each other? You know what, I’ll just try it. I just don’t take no for an answer.
“Everyone knows Tadej and Jonas are the strongest in the world, almost aliens. Then just as a human, I still want to try to beat them. I just can’t believe I beat them today.
“I tried to not look behind, just go as fast as I could, and it was enough. It’s crazy. I was the first two weeks in the Giro, it was really good for me, the first two weeks, but then I got sick and someone crashed into me, and my knee was hurting a lot. I got to Rome … but to get to the Tour, to get two stage victories. It’s just crazy. I don’t know!”
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Top 10 GC after stage 19
1) Tadej Pogacar 69hr 41min 46sec
2) Jonas Vingegaard +4min 24sec
3) Florian Lipowitz +11min 09sec
4) Oscar Onley +12min 12sec
5) Felix Gall +17min 12sec
6) Tobias Johannessen +20min 14sec
7) Kevin Vauquelin (+22min 35sec)
8) Primoz Roglic (+25min 30sec)
9) Ben Healy (28 min 02sec)
10) Ben O’Connor (+34min 34sec)
So Onley is 1min 03sec behind Lipowitz now.
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The worst-case scenario for Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, after Roglic’s kamikaze attack for the stage win, was for Onley to skip away from Lipowitz on the final climb. But ultimately the German was much stronger.
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Top 10 on stage 19
1) Thymen Arensman 2hr 46min 06sec
2) Jonas Vingegaard +2sec
3) Tadej Pogacar +2sec
4) Florian Lipowitz +6sec
5) Oscar Onley +47sec
6) Felix Gall +1min 34sec
7) Tobias Johannessen +1min 41sec
8) Ben Healy +2min 19sec
9) Valentin Paret-Peintre +3min 47sec
10) Simon Yates +3min 54sec
Vingegaard came in second, two seconds behind the winner.
Now here comes Ben Healy. What a race he’s had for EF Education–EasyPost, by the way.
Arensman collapses with exhaustion near the finish line. He appears to be weeping with joy. And why not?
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Pogacar appeared to collide with a member of staff at the line, but it was a minor knock. Onley comes in 45sec behind Arensman. The other three were nothing more than three, four seconds behind the stage winner.
Thymen Arensman wins stage 19
A second stage win of the race for the Ineos Grenadiers rider. He clings on, but only just. What a brave victory.
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200m to go: Arensman is going to cling on!
500m to go: Arensman kicks! He’s got six seconds!
600m to go: Only 8sec for Arensman!
800m to go: Lipowitz is setting the pace for the chasers. Onley battles on back down the road but he will not get back in touch.
1km to go: Flamme rouge for Arensman! But he has only 15sec! I think they might just catch him …
1.3km to go: Lipowitz leads Pogacar. Vingegaard is there, but has again been helpless to make any inroads into Pogacar’s lead.
1.5km to go: Onley is now distanced slightly and Lipowitz, sensing weakness, ups the pace.
Onley’s chance of the podium looks to be gone unless he can make up time tomorrow or on Sunday.
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2km to go: Onley is suffering. He drops off the back of Lipowitz’s wheel for a few seconds.
Pogacar looks happy simply to mark Vingegaard and let Arensman have the stage.
2.5km to go: It’s now or never for Pogacar? And indeed now or never for Onley to try and make up that 22sec.
3km to go: The crowds are huge and noisy now. Arensman makes his way through a large, screaming group of fans. The group of four, the top four in GC at the Tour de France, follow 19sec later.
Is Pogacar happy to let Arensman have the stage win?
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3.5km to go: Vauquelin is in a group of six, five minutes down on the leaders now. A tough day for the Frenchman who will be overhauled in the GC and certainly be knocked down to eighth, at least.
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4km to go: Onley sits third wheel. Lipowitz remains glued (not literally) to the 22-year-old Scot’s back wheel.
4.5km to go: It’s a 25sec lead for Arensman. Pogacar has clearly upped things a bit behind, but it looks like Arensman has responded.
Gall and Johannessen are now alone, third group on the road, having dropped the former yellow jersey-wearer Ben Healy.
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5km to go: Arensman stands up and dances on his pedals, maintaining a strong rhythm. He still has 24sec. La Plagne’s ski chalets dot the sides of the road.
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5.5km to go: Pogacar continues to control the pace in this group of four. The gap shrinks to 25sec, between them and Arensman. Neither Onley nor Lipowitz look to have the legs to attack at this stage. But of course they are riding their own head-to-head race, like Pogacar and Vingegaard, above them in GC.
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6km to go: Arensman looks a tiny bit ragged but is still putting plenty of power into the pedals. He knows a second stage win of the race is in reach … But he also knows there is a big threat in yellow back down the road.
6.5km to go: Pogacar, Vingegaard, Onley, Lipowitz, in that order, in this second group on the road. Arensman, grinding it out up front, has 31sec.
6.5km to go: Pogacar attacks! Vingegaard follows, and Onley too, and momentarily a gap opens up to Lipowitz! But the German manages to get back on.
7km to go: Arensman has 35sec. Is Pogacar waiting for the steepest slopes? Is Lipowitz going to try and attack?
7.5km to go: Vauquelin is over 4min down now and has slipped to eighth in virtual GC. Pogacar rides on at the front of the group, apparently playing at being a domestique. Maybe his own domestique?
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8km to go: Arensman has 36sec now. He and his team will be starting to dream …
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8.5km to go: Pogacar sits first wheel in that group of seven now. He looks in total control, barely out of breath. He stands up on the pedals and ups the pace a bit, but it’s not a concerted attack. He glances back at his rivals, gauging if they are in pain, calculating if and when to launch the attack that might win him the stage.
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9km to go: Arensman powers on alone. The pain is etched on his face. But he knows, from recent experience, what it feels like to win a Tour de France stage. And he wants some more of it. Pain is merely temporary, after all.
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9.5km to go: It’s wet on the road. There are lots of fans, although not yet the kind of crowds we’ve seen on other mountains. Slovenian flags are out in force.
10km to go: A group of seven now, second on the road, half a minute behind Arensman: Pogacar, Vingegaard, Healy, Lipowitz, Gall, Onley, Johannessen.
Roglic has indeed collapsed and is 4min 19sec behind the leaders. Ouch.
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10.5km to go: Arensman, out front on his own, has 28sec. He won last Saturday so is in flying form:
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11km to go: Gall, Onley, Lipowitz and co have rejoined “Pogi” and Vingegaard.
11km to go: I reckon Lipowitz has ridden within himself so far today. Of course we don’t know how he’s feeling after a big solo effort yesterday, but he is looking comfortable to stay with Onley right now.
11.5km to go: Healy, Lipowitz, Onley, Van den Broek and Johannessen are together, fourth group on the road.
12km to go: Gall has attacked the other GC contenders back down the road and is solo, the third “group” on the road, with a handful of seconds. Lipowitz and Onley still together.
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12.5km to go: Arensman attacks again! And this time he distances Pogacar and Vingegaard. He’s got 9sec.
Pogacar, in the grand scheme, is sailing to a fourth Tour de France stage win. But does he want to fight for the stage?
13km to go: Arensman, for a third time, lifts the pace, standing on the pedals. Pogacar still looks unruffled. Vingegaard draws alongside Pogacar and it seems has a quick word about something …
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13.5km to go: Now Ben Healy attacks, further down the mountain. Onley follows. Lipowitz follows too.
Arensman, having bridged back to Pogacar and Vingegaard, attacks again. Pogacar lifts his own pace and stays with the Ineos rider. Vingegaard stays with him.
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14km to go: Arensman attacks! Pogacar follows immediately. And then Pogacar counterattacks! He’s decided it’s time to go! Vingegaard responds and stays on his rival’s wheel.
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14.5km to go: Gall accelerates at the front. This is significant stuff from AG2R, they are putting the hurt on a lot of riders in this group.
15km to go: The yellow-jersey wearer Pogacar looks completely comfortable, sitting third wheel. He’s just getting a nice little lead-out from AG2R here.
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15.5km to go: Aurelien Paret-Peintre drops out of the front group. Callum Scotson is the man setting the pace.
Lipowitz will be happy with this. He’s sitting on Onley’s wheel. Surely Onley will try something? Or rather, surely he’ll try something if he’s got the legs. Maybe staying with this elite group is the limit for him.
16km to go: This is a strong move from Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale. A stage win is up for grabs, as well as fifth place in GC if Roglic collapses on this climb.
Mind you, if Pogacar stays in the lead group, he’ll naturally win the stage.
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17km to go: Onley sits sixth wheel. No, then Gall (Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale) moves up with a teammate or two. Scotson and Paret-Peintre are there with him.
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17.5km to go: Narvaez is on the front now for UAE. Adam Yates has been dropped by the front group, or rather has dropped to the back and is struggling to keep the pace. Pogacar is loitering with intent.
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18.5km to go: Roglic, as Rowe predicted, is cooked.
Oh well. He gave us some excitement – the dream of a daring solo stage win – and isn’t that what really counts?
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20km to go: We’re about to hit the final HC climb of this year’s Tour!
We? They.
Wellens leads the way into the foot of the climb. Narvaez is on his wheel, then it’s Pogacar in yellow. This looks ominous for, well, everyone else.
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21km to go: Wellens, having caught Roglic with a huge turn on the front of the chase group, looks across and gives him a subtle wave of respect. He doesn’t lift his hand off the handlebars but nonetheless the gesture is clear.
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22km to go: Onley, Scotland’s hope for the podium, has one teammate in the group of favourites: Thomas van den Broek. One way or another we are going to see fireworks on the road to La Plagne.
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24km to go: Only 11sec for Roglic. Wellens has shut this down efficiently, to say the least. Kelly, on commentary was just saying he doesn’t see why Roglic should work for Lipowitz, as he won’t be able to help him that much on the final climb anyway.
“The fourth edition of the Tour de France Femmes begins in Brittany on Saturday with defending champion Kasia Niewiadoma facing a range of new challengers as Demi Vollering seeks to avenge last year’s cruel four second defeat on Alpe d’Huez.
While the Polish star has stated her wish to win back-to-back Tours, Vollering, who moved to the French team FDJ Suez at the end of last season, is determined to again conquer the race she won in 2023.”
27km to go: It’s a group of 26 with the yellow jersey. Pogacar has Adam Yates, Narvaez and Wellens with him.
Vingegaard has Simon Yates and Victor Campanaerts. I don’t know where Sepp Kuss is, but he’s not in the yellow jersey group.
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28km to go: “If Roglic rides the valley full-gas, at the bottom of the climb, he’ll be pretty much cooked,” opines Luke Rowe. “He should sit up, save what energy he can, and help Lipowitz on the final climb.”
But what about panache, Luke??
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30km to go: The front of the race is now on a flat section of about 10km. Roglic, out on his own, is powering on towards the base of the climb to La Plagne. However, with a gap of 40sec, he surely doesn’t have enough time to resist the attacks that will surely come among the GC favourites from behind.
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32km to go: Roglic grabs a drink and something to eat from a team helper. He looks as focused as a hitman with a bag of cement and a map to the river, as Sid Waddell once said.
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33km to go: “The noise of those disc brakes is horrendous!” emails Denis.
They are a bit screechy.
34km to go: The commentators were just saying that these conditions – half wet, half dry – are the most difficult and dangerous for descending. The point being it’s unpredictable, from one corner to the next, how much grip you’ll get on the road.
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36km to go: And what, if anything, can Visma do to Pogacar on the final climb?
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39km to go: Roglic is going all-out for the stage win. Surely, we have to say chapeau to Roglic and Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, in going for glory? They could end up with a stage win and keep Lipowitz on the podium too. What does Onley have in the legs for the final climb? How has Lipowitz recovered after yesterday’s exertions?
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40km to go: Roglic is flying down the descent. The gap between the front of the race and the yellow jersey group is a minute. Back down the road, Vauquelin is 2mins down.
48km to go: “I’m surprised by Matt White’s comments on The Pog,” emails Roland. “At not quite 27 years old, if he merely shows as much longevity as his countryman The Rog, he could well be around at the very top for some time to come … Unless of course the next big thing (Seixas, Onley, Lipowitz?) soon develops and gobbles him all up.”
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50km to go: There is now a long, long descent to the foot of the final climb. It’s 35km to 40km before the climb to La Plagne begins.
At this stage, while there is some activity in the race, it’s relatively serene. Safe to say that will not be the case on the final climb. Will Onley or Lipowitz have the legs to attack?
51km to go: Martinez heads through the KOM point having bravely battled back into the front group. He takes five points in the polka-dot jersey standings.
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52km to go: Martinez is back! Just in time for the KOM … He looks left towards the camera, nearly breaking the fourth wall, but quickly looking ahead again and focusing on the task at hand.
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53km to go: Roglic and Paret-Peintre are out front together now. Martinez has been dropped but is only a handful of seconds behind.
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53km to go: UnoX-Mobility are riding, trying to get their man Tobias Johannessen up into seventh on GC. Kevin Vauquelin has been dropped from the group of GC contenders.
54.5km to go: “He can do everything,” says Matt White of Pogacar. “It’s been a pleasure to watch him over the past couple of years and I’m sure he’s got a couple more years left at the top as well.”
“Pogi is flamboyant, he is super exciting,” says Rowe. “He is always going to be loved for what he does. He does it with panache, with class and style.”
55km to go: All the riders are now on the second climb, the Cormet de Roselend. It’s 5.9km long at 6.3% average gradient.
The gap between yellow jersey group, and breakaway group, has fallen to 25sec.
56km to go: There is heavy rain falling at the finish.
57km to go: “I live in Thailand, so not many opportunities to watch cycling live,” emails Ann. “But went to the Singapore crit (yes, yes, I know about crits), mainly so I could see my hero Mark Cavendish is his last event.
“Lots of opportunities to meet riders - but as an, erm, “elderly” woman I’m not familiar with taking selfies; messed up the one with Cav, but he did say “oh, bless!” when I told him I’d been cheering for him since the HTC days!
“Tried to take a selfie with Primoz - but I knew there was something wrong, and said “I’ve messed this up, don’t know how to take selfies” - he said “Don’t worry, I’ll do it,” and lent over to press the button on my phone. I actually had it set on video – “Oh we make a little video together!” he said. Lovely man!”
I too am a big fan of Roglic. I interviewed him once, briefly, at a small race in Spain. He was nice. Go Primoz!
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60km to go: There is a bit of up and down now before the second climb kicks up: the Cormet de Roselend (1,968m), a category-two.
Lots of action on the road, with Roglic, Paret-Peintre and Martinez leading the rest. They have 35sec on the maillot jaune group.
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64km to go: Martinez wins the KOM points on the Col du Pré, the first of three categorised climbs on this shortened stage. Roglic isn’t interested in sprinting for them and Paret-Peintre is just happy to be there. Although a bit out of breath.
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64.3km to go: Valentin Paret-Peintre has put in a huge effort to get over to Roglic and Martinez. The gap has grown to 50sec in front of the yellow jersey group.
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65km to go: The yellow jersey group is 82 riders strong. Pogacar, Vingegaard, Lipowitz, Onley, Gall and Vauquelin all there. The gap to the break is being held at about 36sec.
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66km to go: Roglic and Martinez power on, working together, now a little over 2km from the summit of this HC climb.
“Onley can’t afford to get involved in this chase at all,” commentator Sean Kelly says of Roglic’s efforts for Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe early in this shortened stage.
Paret-Peintre is chasing the front two, only 7sec behind.
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67km to go: “Rogla wants to shake up the GC, but you have to be smart.” That is the message to Martinez from the Bahrain Victorious team car, over the radio.
67.5km to go: The penultimate kilometre of the climb is 11.3% average gradient, says Hannah Walker on TNT Sports.
Wellens is still working on the front of the yellow jersey group. Marc Soler is there too, working for Pogi.
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68km to go: Roglic is full of beans again, spinning a small gear with a high cadence and leading his fellow attackers up the climb.
Martinez then takes it up with Roglic on his wheel.
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69km to go: Valentin Paret-Peintre makes it to the front, creating a five-man escape group.
There are lots of switchbacks coming on the ascent in the next 5km.
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69km to go: Roglic, Rubio, Armirail and Lenny Martinez are now out front on their own, a group of four.
70km to go: Tim Wellens is riding on the front of the yellow jersey group, working for his team leader Pogacar. The lead group has 25sec.
In regard to Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe, Rolf Aldag said earlier he was pleased to have tactical flexibility with third and fifth in GC. It would be possible, of course, for Roglic to have licence to go for the win and Lipowitz still to have plenty of support in his battle with Onley.
71km to go: The Milan group, off the back, is 2min 16sec down on the front of the race already. Just over 7km to go to the top.
Roglic goes on the attack at the front of the race.
“It’s strange, in these three week Tours, you see the same guys going in the moves,” Matt White says of Roglic. “When someone comes into form at the back end of a grand tour, they get multiple opportunities to show their wares.”
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72.5km to go: Warren Barguil is dropped from the front group.
Presumably, Roglic isn’t going to do exactly what he did yesterday, and freestyle to an attempted stage win, leaving Lipowitz (and presumably teammates) to do their own thing?
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73.5km to go: It’s 10sec or so for this front group.
A reminder that Thierry Gouvenou of ASO said this climb, in his opinion, is the most difficult of this year’s race.
74km to go: The commentators mention that Onley and Lipowitz, predictably, are riding alongside each other.
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75km to go: There is a big group off the front. Roglic, T Johannessen, Jegat, Healy, Arensman, Barguil, Campanaerts, Scotson, Rubio, Storer, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Armirail, Stannard are all there. But it’s about 18 riders total.
The pace at the front is putting plenty of riders into the red back down the road.
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76km to go: The bunch hits the first climb. Abrahamsen is caught. Alex Baudin attacks … then Julian Alaphilippe … and Primoz Roglic is up there, too!
78km to go: “Greetings from South Carolina AKA Caroline du Sud,” emails JW Dunn.
“Heard on team radio that someone said something to the effect of ‘teams don’t want Pogacar to win green’. Any thoughts on this?
“Certainly seemed like there was not much of an effort to keep Milan from getting maximum points on the intermediate sprint. Same today?”
Indeed, there wasn’t much of a sprint at that intermediate, but personally I think that’s because Lidl-Trek had controlled it so well before, and Girmay and co. know that Milan has their number in a straight, mid-stage sprint.
I also think Steven de Jongh’s message on the radio yesterday, about teams not wanting Pogacar to win green, may have been a bit tongue in cheek? Even if there is truth in it too.
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79km to go: Jonas Abrahamsen of UnoX-Mobility (who else?) has clipped off the front on his own. He has 10sec.
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Jonathan Milan wins the intermediate sprint
Top 3 at Villard-sur-Doron:
1) Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
2) Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
3) Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)
That makes Milan’s lead 95 points in the green jersey classification.
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82km to go: Only a kilometre remaining until the intermediate sprint …
Lipowitz is being moved up to a prominent position in the peloton – the first climb, the Col du Pré, starts just 5km from the sprint.
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83km to go: A problem for Alexey Lutsenko (Israel–Premier Tech). A puncture, it seems. Bad timing to say the least if he was hoping to get in the break, as he has done on previous stages.
84km to go: “It’s going to be so fast, it’ll be difficult for breakaways to get away,” says Kelly on commentary. “In a longer stage, Lipowitz might have a bit of an advantage over Onley.”
That’s the opposite of what Rowe said, in regard to Onley v Lipowitz.
87km to go: As per usual, there are 20pts on offer to the winner of the intermediate. Expect another success for Milan.
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88km to go: Lidl-Trek continue to drive it on the front of the peloton. Slightly further back down the road, Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe are visible, massed together.
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89km to go: The “official start” will come after the intermediate sprint, observes Rob Hatch on commentary. Unofficial, I think would say, but yes.
91km to go: It’s not just the podium on offer for Onley, of course. If he overhauls Lipowitz today by gaining more than 22sec, he’ll be wearing the white jersey tomorrow, too and will look to defend it for the last couple of days.
Stage 19 begins
Here we go. A short, sharp 93km to race, finishing in La Plagne at an altitude of 2,052m.
Quinn Simmons leads the peloton up an early incline.
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There is an intermediate sprint after just 12.1km today, at Villard-sur-Doron. The racing will be bright and breezy early doors. The peloton is massed behind the race director’s car. And they’re off!
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Points classification top five
1. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) 332
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 257
3. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) 196
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 165
5. Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) 156
“We want to battle until Paris,” says Visma’s Marc Reef. “We tried at Mont Ventoux, we tried yesterday. It will be an explosive stage. So far he [Pogacar] has been stronger than Jonas … normally he will be ready to counter everything, but we’ll have to see what we can do … the race is only over when it’s really over.”
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KOM classification top five
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 105
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) 89
3. Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) 72
4. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) 65
5. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) 51
(Looks like Martinez was docked 8pts for a few sticky bottles on the first big climb yesterday, by the way.)
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The neutralised roll out has begun.
Onley said that if he feels good, he will attack, but that it’s also about being smart and making every effort count.
Rolf Aldag, Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe sports director, speaks to TNT:
“Oscar Onley is riding a fantastic race. Yesterday better than ever. There was a change of emotion for us yesterday in the race. It looked really really brilliant for us, for a moment, then it turned into looking not so good anymore. So we take the fight on, Onley is our direct competitor, let’s see what we can do. Remember we are not only third, we are also fifth.”
What is Roglic’s role today? “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, Primoz would say. It gives us tactical flexibility. Why not try to be in a break?”
Does the shorter stage suit them? “It’s super hard to judge. In general Lipowitz is very consistent in his efforts … Talking about recovery, after a super hard day yesterday for him, maybe the shorter stage is good to him. But I wouldn’t worry about the length of the stage, it’s super-hard, it’s going to be very intense, so it remains the same.”
“I thought it was perfectly reasonable for Roglic to attack and try and get a podium place,” says McEwen of those Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe tactics yesterday. “But after yesterday, now, today, they need to focus on securing a podium place. As a team, they best thing they can do is that Primoz does stick with Lipowitz.”
“I don’t understand why Roglic wasn’t required to support Lipowitz yesterday,” emails James. “From a Red Bull team perspective, it may end up costing them a podium place. It was fantastic seeing Onley emerge through the mist yesterday and stay with the top two when Jonas launched his attack near the top.”
Luke Rowe points out that the shortened stage is bad news for Oscar Onley’s podium charge. “If you want to make up time, you want more climbs, a harder day,” he says.
Thierry Gouvenou, of ASO, says there was a risk of contagion after the outbreak of disease among cattle, and that having spoken to the farming community, they “wanted us to be aware of their despair”.
Hence the route change.
“Honestly, for me, it doesn’t change much,” he says of the sporting stakes.
“The Col de Pré is the most demanding of this year’s Tour and a perfect place to launch an attack. But will the riders have the energy?”
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“I’m not sure they made a mistake,” Matt White said of Red Bull’s-Bora Hansgrohe’s tactics (speaking on yesterday’s TNT highlights). “I think they were probably looking for that elusive stage win. And I think Florian Lipowitz just spent too much time on his own, on the toughest day of the Tour de France. The big question is does he recover for tomorrow? Because he did look very strong today. And he missed a couple of opportunities where he could have been dragged over in a group in front there, that would have given him a lot more recovery. But if he pulls up well tomrorow, it’s going to be a very, very close battle for that final place on the podium, and a life-changing experience for either of those gentleman [Lipowitz or Onley].
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PA Media’s story below on today’s route:
Changes have been made to Friday’s stage 19 of the Tour de France due to the culling of cows taking place in the Col des Saisies area. The discovery of a contagious disease amongst cattle has meant the route will be shortened from 129.9 kilometres to 95km with two climbs - the 11.3km Cote d’Hery-sur-Ugine and the 13.7km Col des Saisies - removed.
An outbreak of nodular dermatitis meant the affected herd has needed to be culled and race organisers have taken the decision to divert the route in light of “distress” amongst those farmers concerned. In a statement ahead of the Albertville-La Plagne stage, the Tour said: “The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals.
“In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville-La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies.
“The ceremonial start will take place as planned at the exit of Albertville. After a 7km parade, riders will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. The race will then rejoin the original route shortly before Beaufort (at km 52.4 on the original schedule).
“Due to this change, which notably bypasses the Col des Saisies, the stage will now cover a total distance of 95km instead of the originally planned 129.9km.”
During Thursday’s stage 18, Tadej Pogacar conquered his demons on the Col de la Loze to stretch his advantage in yellow amid a hailstorm, as Ben O’Connor wrapped up the stage win.
On the mountain where Pogacar famously cracked in 2023 as Jonas Vingegaard rode away to his second Tour crown, Pogacar was the one gaining time two years later as a late dig at the summit saw him add 11 seconds to an overall lead that now stands at 4min 26sec.
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“Hard to disagree with Adam Blythe’s take on Visma’s tactics,” emails Peter. “But what were Bora doing, leaving Lipowitz to lose time, riding alone up Col de la Loze, with Roglic also dropped by the leaders and no hope of moving up on GC?”
Thanks for your email Peter and yes, I think this is a very interesting question. What are Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe playing at? What were their instructions to the riders yesterday, and what will they be today? Were those instructions ignored? Lipowitz will presumably be knackered after riding on his own for so long yesterday, but he also knows if he successfully man-marks Onley today then he will take a massive step to wrapping up third on the podium.
If Roglic attacks again, though, will teammates help him, or will they help Lipowitz, or what? The rest of the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team seemed to go AWOL on the road to Courchevel. If anyone has any insight on the situation at Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe feel free to let me know on email.
“Clearly the only strategy Visma have left is to try to run Pogacar over with their team car,” emails Bob. “That will definitely work.”
“Oh.”
Good question about the shortened stage. On the one hand, you might think the riders would be happy to see 30km or so and a couple of climbs taken out, given all they’ve been through since Lille. On the other hand, maybe it’ll mean it’s much faster and furious-er, and all the more painful for it?
I think we would have seen attacks regardless, with plenty of stage hunters on the loose, so I am not convinced it’ll make all that much difference.
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“What’s the equivalent of a cycling Hail Mary?,” emails Joe. “Surely that’s what Visma need now …”
“And what changes will teams be making tactically with the shortened stage, do you think we’ll have a load of attacks from the off from those who it might be the last chance for a stage win?”
From the second rest day, here’s an ITV Cycling interview with Onley, via the magic of Twitter:
"The team have a lot of confidence in me. Maybe sometimes I need to have a little bit more confidence in myself"@friebos sat down with Oscar Onley to assess the first 2 weeks and look ahead to the Alps in week 3 🏴#TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/qSSvtLV19J
— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 21, 2025
Earlier in the race, Jeremy Whittle wrote about the young British talent at this Tour.
Oscar Onley now has the podium in sight – especially if Lipowitz and Roglic appear to have been given the OK by their team to fight each other, which it seems will simply open the door for the young Scottish rider to find his way on to the podium.
“For Oscar Onley, his second Tour has been a world apart from his debut, in 2024, when he finished 39th. The 22-year-old from Kelso admitted that he was overwhelmed on his first appearance in the race. “I really struggled during the first week,” he recalled. “I was wondering: ‘What am I doing here?’”
“This year, Onley has coped much better, holding on to a high overall placing through one of the toughest and fastest opening weeks in Tour history. “Once you’re racing, it’s just another bike race,” he said, “but it’s the scale of everything around it, the expectations, the media.”
“His steady progression has been marked by stage wins in the 2025 Tour of Switzerland, second place overall in the Tour of Britain and third place overall in this year’s Swiss national tour. Onley’s team expects there may be a drop-off in his performances as he goes deeper into the Tour, the longest race he has ever ridden, but he is already looking further ahead.
“I rode Mont Ventoux recently for the first time, which may not be a good thing, but I’m looking forward to going there in the Tour.””
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GC top 10 before Stage 19
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 66hr 55min 42sec
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) +4min 26sec
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +11min 01sec
4. Oscar Onley Team Picnic PostNL +11min 23sec
5. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) +12min 49sec
6. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R-La Mondiale) +15min 36sec
7. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +16min 15sec
8. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +18min 31sec
9. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) +25min 41sec
10. Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) +29min 19sec
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We’ve got plenty of time before the stage starts. So let’s discuss one of the key talking points from yesterday. People were piling in on Visma-Lease A Bike’s tactics, but one of the TNT Sports pundits (Rowe or Blythe, I can’t remember who) said there wasn’t much they could have done differently.
It did play into the hands of Pogacar to be reunited with Adam Yates and Jhonatan Narvaez on the final climb. But the flip side of that is, had Visma kept the hammer down completely from the Col de la Madeleine, then Vingegaard and Pogacar may well have been duking it out alone from very early on the final ascent to Courchevel. And there would only be one winner there. Right?
The problem with all these supposed tactical masterplans is that Pogacar is simply on better form than Vingegaard and is capable of dealing with pretty much anything thrown at him, on his own if necessary. In theory it would make sense to isolate Pogacar and have multiple Visma riders set an infernal pace on a long climb, but achieving the first bit of that plan (isolating him) is the hardest thing, in the heat of a Tour de France stage.
Anyway, if you were the Visma-Lease A Bike sports director, what would you have done differently yesterday? And what would be your plan today? You can email me.
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Meanwhile, what’s the vibe in the bike race? Ben O’Connor produced a stunning solo win on the climb to Courchevel yesterday:
Tadej Pogacar not only covered the attacks from Visma-Lease A Bike, again he was strong enough to skip away from his rival Jonas Vingegaard at the end, and nab a few seconds in the overall race. His advantage is now 4min 26sec, and Vingegaard is the only rider within 10 minutes of the reigning champion. In short, it is utter dominance.
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) is third overall, 11min 01sec behind Pogacar, while the 22-year-old Oscar Onley is knocking on the door, 22sec behind. This is from Jeremy Whittle’s report:
“That’s not much,” Picnic PostNL’s Onley said of the slim margin between him and the third-placed German Lipowitz, on the eve of the Tour’s final summit finish at La Plagne. “We’ll give it everything tomorrow.”
“After being dropped by Pogacar and Vingegaard towards the top of the Col de la Madeleine, Onley stayed calm and finally rejoined the main group on the valley roads leading to Courchevel. “Visma set a hard pace,” Onley said of Vingegaard’s team, “I just did what I could.”
He added: “I wouldn’t say I kept my cool, but I still felt good. I’m just not at the level of those guys when they attack. It showed at the end when they went pretty hard up there.””
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If you missed it: read Jeremy Whittle’s exclusive on the latest questions hanging over Team Ineos/Team Sky.
“David Rozman, a long-term member of Ineos Grenadiers’ staff, has left the Tour de France after the International Testing Agency (ITA) launched an investigation into alleged messages he exchanged in 2012 with the subsequently convicted German doping doctor Mark Schmidt.
“The allegations stem from a recent documentary made by the German TV outlet ARD, which linked Rozman to Schmidt but did not name him, with further media reports including alleged texts between the Ineos staff member and Schmidt from June 2012 when the team were racing as Team Sky.”
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Preamble
Today’s stage is hard. No change there. Although the route between Albertville and La Plagne, the last proper mountain stage of this year’s Tour, has been shortened at the last minute due to an outbreak of disease among cattle in the local area.
Initially the route was 129.9km, but the riders will now cover a little under 95km. A news update on the official Tour site reads: “The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals. In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the Col des Saisies.”
There are three categorised climbs on the revised route: the Col de Pré (HC), the Cormet de Roseland (category two) and the HC climb to the ski resort of La Plagne to finish. The GC looks to be sewn up but there is plenty more up for grabs, especially after the Scottish rider Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) rode to within 22sec of third-placed Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) on yesterday’s stage to Courchevel.
The official update on Le Tour website explains more on the route: “The ceremonial start will take place as planned at the exit of Albertville. After a 7km parade, riders will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. The race will then rejoin the original route shortly before Beaufort (at km 52.4 on the original schedule).
“… As a result, the start in the neutral zone will be given at 2:30pm, one hour later than originally scheduled.”
C’est comme ça. Let’s go/Allez!
Stage start time: 13.45 UK/14.45 local time
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