Tadej Pogacar put on yet another dominant display of climbing ability as he won stage 19 of the Tour de France to stretch out his advantage in yellow and move closer to another slice of cycling history.
Pogacar attacked on the climb up to Isola 2000 to distance defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and break the heart of the Danes Visma-Lease A Bike team-mate Matteo Jorgenson, who was trying to win this brute of an Alpine stage out of the breakaway but saw a near three-minute advantage rapidly disappear.
Pogacars fourth stage win of this Tour saw his lead grow to five minutes and three seconds and it seems only some drastic misfortune over the final weekend can deny the 25-year-old a third Tour crown and stop him becoming the first man to complete the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
Im super happy that I had good legs today, Pogacar said. We were here training for a whole month between the Giro and the Tour, it was a hard period, every day you need to go up the climb, so we knew it well and I was planning with my team-mates already how we wanted to race this day. We did it exactly like we said, it went 100 per cent perfect.
Its looking better than ever. Im super happy, its quite a margin now and tomorrow I can just enjoy the stage, let the breakaway go and maybe enjoy the roads where we were training. Lets enjoy tomorrow and hope nothing serious happens.
Vingegaard, who has worked so hard to fight back from terrifying injuries, followed Remco Evenepoel home some one minute 42 seconds after Pogacar took a bow, preserving his hold on second place but then being consoled by his wife and team-mates as the realisation that yellow is surely beyond him sank in.
The 144.6 kilometre stage from Embrun included the passage of the Bonette, the highest paved through road in France at 2,802 metres.
Vingegaard and Visma-Lease A Bike knew they needed to try something ambitious to try and shake Pogacars grip on yellow and sent both Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman in a breakaway seemingly as satellite riders Vingegaard could later bridge over to.
As what had been a 22-strong break was whittled down to just six by the barren summit of the Bonette, UAE Team Emiratess Nils Politt was setting a ferocious pace on the front of the yellow jersey group, shedding Vingegaards other team-mates until the defending champion was isolated.
It soon became clear Vingegaard did not have the legs to attack, so instead Jorgenson launched a move of his own near the foot of the final climb in search of a stage win, being chased by Simon Yates and Richard Carapaz, whose day in the break saw him take over the lead of the mountains classification.
Pogacar waited until some of the steepest sections of the climb to launch his move with around 10km to go, distancing Vingegaard and Evenepoel and setting off after Jorgenson, reeling in the survivors of the break one by one before catching the American with two kilometres remaining.
The Slovenian has won 10 grand tour stages during this season alone and more history beckons if he makes it to Nice on Sunday without mishap.
Jorgenson came in second on the day, 21 seconds down, with Yates in third at 40 seconds. PA
Speaking after his win, Tadej Pogacar siad: Queen stage of the Tour de France, now I can confirm its a very scary climb in the race. Im super happy that I had good legs today. We were here training for a whole month between the Giro [dItalia] and Tour, we were training for a long time. I knew this climb super well. I was speaking with teammates in the training camp how we wanted to race and we did it exactly how we wanted. It went 100 per cent perfect.
We were setting a good pace. We thought Jonas [Vingegaard] might try in the second climb, that was my first thought. But the main goal today was to take the stage. I take that.
I was a little bit empty in the last two kilometres. When I caught [Richard] Carapaz and Simon Yates I was already at the limit. But when I saw Matteo Jorgenson was also losing it, I tried to pass through. But then I killed my legs, I thought he might outsprint me in the end.
Looking better than ever I would say so. Im super happy. Tomorrow I can just enjoy the stage. We will let the breakaway go and maybe we can enjoy the roads where I have done all my training. Hopefully I can enjoy tomorrow.
This tour has been pretty amazing with the stage wins. Its pretty crazy and Im super proud and happy.
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has just crushed the Tour de France, winning his fourth stage at this years race and the 15th of his short career. The Slovenian gained 1min 41sec on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) following that cruel, cruel attack in Isola 2000 where he gained over three minutes on stage leader Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) in the final 9km.
That was a ride for the ages. The front page of tomorrows Équipe could be interesting.
SOUND ON Listen to that noise for Tadej Pogačar #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/D0QUaFVEdu
ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 19, 2024
Tadej Pogacar has got the time to look around as he rides towards the Giro-Tour double and the 15th Tour de France stage of his career. He has gained over 1min 30sec on defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel.
Tadej Pogacar is riding towards his fourth stage win at this years Tour de France. It has been a brilliant team performance from UAE Team Emirates, and an out-of-this-world ride from the two-time champion who will, barring disaster, on Sunday seal his third title.
Tadej Pogacar is closing in on Matteo Jorgenson. This is beyond belief. Pogacar has gained over three minutes in the last seven kilometres.
Do not adjust your sets, Tadej Pogacar caught and dropped Ricard Carapaz before riding through to Simon Yates. The Briton is hanging on for dear life, briefly.
Remco Evenepoel attacks Jonas Vingegaard, the Belgian attempting to dislodge the Dane and take his second spot on general classification. Vingegaard is having none of it though and is glued himself to the Soudal-Quick Step leaders wheel. Further up the road and Tadej Pogacar is eating up the road. Looks like it could be heartbreak for Matteo Jorgenson this afternoon.
Simon Yates has managed to shake off Richard Carapaz. Matteo Jorgenson leads the stage by 33sec, with Yates in second spot; Carapaz is third and Tadej Pogacar has reduced his deficit to just 1min 20sec. Pogacar, by the way, has put over a minute into Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel in the last four kilometres.
Tadej Pogacar could be riding towards his fourth stage at this years Tour today. He will be all but sealing his third Tour de France title, thats for sure. He will become the first rider since Marco Pantani in 1998 to win the Giro dItalia-Tour de France double.
Tadej Pogacar has gained about 1min 30sec on stage leader Matteo Jorgenson. This is ridiculous. Absolutely daft.
The yellow skinsuit of Tadej Pogacar darts off the front of the general classification group. Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard are in pursuit, but in truth it could all be in vain. If the numbers we have been reading about this week are correct (7.19w/kg!) then it is little wonder Evenepoel and Vingegaard are unable to respond in kind.
Richard Carapaz is out of his saddle. He may be struggling.
Matteo Jorgenson, the Visma-Lease A Bike rider who won Paris-Nice in March, has increased his lead to around 25sec. He is looking fairly relaxed. Richard Carapaz launched himself up the road, in pursuit of the young American. Simon Yates, meanwhile, is clawing his way back … but he is 31sec down on Jorgenson.
Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), who finished fifth here last year, has popped. Out of the back the Spaniard goes, as Adam Yates continues to pull. Tadej Pogacar, ominously, sits at third wheel. Poised, patiently, before the inevitable attack. But will it come and most importantly, can Jonas Vingegaard respond?
Tadej Pogacars group has been whittled down to just 11 riders. The maillot jaune is barely breathing. he looks as if he is popping down the shops. But he is not, he is riding in a mountain stage in the third week of a grand tour. By the way, this is the 57th day of of his career he has led a grand tour, and quite remarkably the 37th this year alone following his win at the Giro dItalia in May. Extraordinary stuff.
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) have been dropped. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease A Bike) and Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) are riding together after Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) attacked. As it stands, the American leads the way . . . but he is 13km from the summit of this relatively long climb.
Pavel Sivakov almost rides to a standstill having done a huge turn on the front of Tadej Pogacars group. Adam Yates replace him on the front, followed by Joao Almeida who has been bouncing up and down riding out of his saddle. The injection in pace from UAE Team Emirates has whittled down the lead of the breakaway group to 3min 40sec.
Onto the final climb of the day goes the stage leaders. Are Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman going to have a crack? Can Simon Yates end his five-year wait for a stage win at the Tour de France? Will Jai Hindley save Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohes race by adding to the stage he won last year? Is Richard Carapaz going to win his second stage of the week? Will today be the day when Cristián Rodríguez wins the first WorldTour race of his career?
Matteo Jorgenson, who has been riding well in the leading group, was just spotted telling his colleagues to continue rotating. With a Visma-Lease A Bike team-mate alongside him, Im guessing the American is concerned he and Wilco Kelderman are doing more work than the others. Their lead over the maillot jaune is 4min 12sec. Is Jorgenson thinking about going for the stage win today, or are they definitely here purely as satellite riders? Probably a bit of both.
Egan Bernal is forced into taking a bike change from his Ineos Grenadiers team car. Not sure what happened, but guessing it was a mechanical issue that caused that. The Colombian wasted little time in getting back in the saddle, off in pursuit of the Tadej Pogacar group that contains his team-mate Carlos Rodríguez.
Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) takes a rather sticky gel from his team car as the leading six-man group rolls along a flat piece of road. Once over a small ridge in a short while, the road will continue its descent towards the bottom of Isola 2000 which, you may have guessed, will take riders back up to 2,000 metres above sea level. Well, 2,024 metres to be precise.
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) is followed closely by Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) down off the Bonette. Everybody is flying at breakneck speed, the gaps between each group holding firm. The leading group has 4min 12sec on Tadej Pogacar, with Guillaume Martin around another 20sec down the road. I mean, technically Martin is up the road as he is higher … but let us not be pedantic about these things.
Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman have been ling out the leading group who are flying down this descent. Further back, it looks as if Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is closing the gap on the maillot jaunes group.
The descent off the Bonette looks like another cracker. The riders have good clear sightlines and the road surface looks great. It is the kind of descent where you barely need to touch the brakes. In around 35km the stage leaders will hit the bottom of the third and final climb of the day, the category one Isola 2000 ascent. It is 16.1km in length with an average gradient of 7.1 per cent.
This is the kind of climb that suits Tadej Pogacar, but will the maillot jaune attack Jonas Vingegaard where he could all but seal his third Tour title?
Onto the descent which was last tackled in 2008. Hopefully for all involved we do not see a repeat of what happened to John-Lee Augustyn that afternoon.
@mrendell’s piece on John-Lee Augustyn, the man who went over the edge of the Cime de la Bonette on stage 16 of the 2008 Tour ️#TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/oMZ2drPNws
ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) July 15, 2024
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) goes over the highest point in this years race to take virtual lead in the mountains classification. Carapaz now has 97 points, 20 more than Tadej Pogacar who started the day as the leader of that competition.
Carlos Verona is riding with his jersey unzipped which would suggest the Spaniard is overheating or he is unable to zip his jersey back up. Little wonder, the pace being set by UAE Team Emirates would make most overheat. The stage leaders are 3.5km from the summit when, I suspect, Richard Carapaz will attack in an effort to add another 40 points to his tally in the mountains classification. If that happens, the Ecuadorian will become to virtual leader in that competition.
Simon Yates has been sitting near the rear of the leading group, the 2018 Vuelta a España champion continually rising out of his saddle. Probably not worth reading too much into that, thats quite common for Yates.
Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) is the latest rider to be dropped by Tadej Pogacars group. There are just 18 riders in this group now. Enric Mas (Movistar) and Carlos Verona (Lidl-Trek) look to be struggling with the pace being set by Pavel Sivakov.
Richard Carapaz and his breakaway colleagues have gone above 2,00 metres, and they are still 9.5km from the summit. Nils Politt, meanwhile, has finally flicked his elbow before peeling off the front of the chasing group. The Germans work is done for the day.
Visma-Lease A Bike are starting to look a little laboured. Jan Tratnik was just spotted falling out of the rear of the chasing group. UAE Team Emirates appear to be in complete control, Nils Politt pulling hard, grimacing and grinding his was up this nasty looking climb. Pretty strange seeing a rider that ordinarily excels on the flatlands of northern Europe riding like a mountain goat, but there you go. Tadej Pogacar has four other team-mates Pavel Sivakov, Marc Soler, Joao Almeida and Adam Yates for company.
Ecuadorian rider Richard Carapaz, riding in his natural habitat today, is looking comfortable in the leading group. Remember, he will have twin ambitions today: to gain points in the mountains classification he can take virtual lead in the competition if he takes maximum points atop the Bonette, and challenge for a second stage at this years Tour de France.
Richard Carapaz, Jai Hindley, Matteo Jorgenson, Wilco Kelderman, Cristián Rodríguez and Simon Yates have chalked off around eight kilometres of this behemoth of a climb. Unfortunately for them, though, they have another 14km to pedal before they reach the summit. Their lead over Pogacar has grown to 4min 15sec.
As the road ramps up, so does the pace and three riders Oscar Onley, Nicolas Prodhomme and Ilan Van Wilder have been dropped. The six-man groups lead over Tadej Pogacar has dropped to 3min 55sec. Nils Politt is still riding on the front for the maillot jaune. just ahead of team-mates Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike)
Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease A Bike)
Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)
Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla)
Cime de la Bonette averages 6.9% over 22.9 kilometers and it was used for the first time at the #TDF2024 in 1962, during a stage from Antibes to Briançon.The greatest climber of all time, Federico Bahamontes was the first at the top on his way to a fourth KOM jersey. pic.twitter.com/6yIdNdaIHy
Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) July 19, 2024
The stage leaders have got their ascent of the Bonette under way, as have the chasing group which has a phalanx of UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease A Bike riders near the front. Wout van Aert is riding at second wheel, tucked in just behind Pavel Sivakov.
Richard Carapaz and his breakaway pals have gained a handful of seconds on the maillot jaune. They inching their way towards the bottom of the second big climb of the day, the 22.9km long drag up the Bonette. At 2,802 meters above sea level this is the highest point in this years race. Indeed, it is the highest paved road in France but not, as a lit of people have been reporting the highest paved road in Europe. There are two higher roads in Europe: Austrias Ötztaler Gletscherstraße (2,830m) and the Pico Veleta in Spain that goes above 3,000m.
The stage leaders and maillot jaunes group are navigating their way down what looks like a beautiful sweeping descent. Thankfully the roads look to be in good nick and dry.
As widely expected, Richard Carapaz is first over the top of the first climb of the day, adding 20 points to his mountains classification account. The peloton trails by 3min 30sec.
This nine-man group at the front of the stage has been working well together. They are 3km from the summit and have increased their advantage over Tadej Pogacars group to 2min 40sec. There are three former grand tour winners in this group, and a young Scot called Oscar Onley. Onley is making his Tour de France debut and has been in a few lumpy breakaways. he has been very impressive, as you would expect from a lad who won his first WorldTour race at the Tour Down Under in January. He was later third at Gran Premio Miguel Indurain behind winner Brandon McNulty and runner-up Maxim Van Gils, was followed by a fifth spot on the final stage at this years Itzulia Basque Country. Challenging the likes of Carlos Rodríguez, Juan Ayuso, Marc Soler and Mattias Skjelmose in northern Spain tells you all you need to know about the trajectory this young man is on.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team-mates Bob Jungels and Matteo Sobrero have been spotted labouring off the back of the peloton. Quite incredibly, Nils Politt, the big German who was runner-up at the 2019 edition of Paris-Roubaix, is riding on the front of the peloton on behalf of Tadej Pogacar. He clearly had his Weetabix this morning.
UAE Team Emirates are setting a decent pace on the front of the maillot jaunes group. Joao Almeida is on the front, ahead of team-mate Adam Yates whose brother Simon is 1min 25sec up the road. Simon Yates will be hoping to challenge for the stage win today. He was rolled over by Richard Carapaz a few days ago on the stage to Superdévoluy so will not want a repeat of that.
There has been a big shakedown on this first climb. The nine-man group is 13km from the summit and has a lead of 1min 3sec over the UAE Team Emirates-powered peloton.
Tadej Pogacar drops back down the general classification group for a quick chat with team-mate Joao Almeida. Pogacars every move is marked buy Jonas Vingegaard.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike)
Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease A Bike)
Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL)
Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale)
Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)
Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step)
Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla)
All of the hard work that has been done by Visma-Lease A Bike may come to nothing. UAE Team Emirates have responded in kind. Marc Soler has been riding extremely hard on the front of the maillot jaunes group. As a result, the breakaway which has splintered all across the mountain has lost around 15sec.
Christophe Laporte has dropped out of the leading group on the road, leaving two Visma-Lease A Bike team-mates (Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman) at the pointy end. Simon Yates, meanwhile, is making his move. The Bury-born rider has Jayco-AlUla team-mate Christopher Juul-Jensen for company, along with Egan bernal, Richard Carapaz and Romain Bardet. That five-man group is within touching distance of the breakaway.
Richard Carapaz, Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Romain Bardet (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) have clipped off the front of the peloton, the trio attempting to bridge over to the breakaway. Jasper Philipsen, by contrast, is going backwards as the road pitches up. The Belgian sprinter is struggling to keep hold of the wheels as the pace ramps up.
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), for the second time this week, has won the intermediate sprint. Such is the lead of Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in the points classification, the Frenchman cannot move up the standings in the race for green. Presumably he was thinking about cementing his third spot and a few euros that will be going into his teams prize pot.
First big climb of the day incoming . . .
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike),
Christophe Laporte (Visma-Lease A Bike),
Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease A Bike),
Christopher Juul-Jensen (Jayco-AlUla)
Michal Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers)
Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale)
Jack Haig (Bahrain Victorious),
Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step),
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ)
Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost),
Brent Van Moer (Lotto Dstny)
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis)
Davide Formolo (Movistar)
Oier Lazkano (Movistar)
Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)
Warren Barguil (DSM-Firmenich PostNL)
Oscar Onley (DSM-Firmenich PostNL)
Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility)
Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility)
Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies)
Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies)
The breakaway has gained another 20sec. Full composition of the breakaway incoming.
There was a brief moment of hesitation in the peloton while Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) appeared unsure whether he needed to ride or let someone else take control. As a result, the early breakaway saw its advantage balloon to over 30 seconds. Good start for Visma-Lease A Bike . . . but does Jonas Vingegaard have the legs he will need if he is to kick Tadej Pogacar off top spot?
Hello, Visma-Lease a Bike have got a second rider Matteo Jorgenson into the 22-rider group that leads the stage by a handful of seconds. There are no UAE Team Emirates jerseys in what is a very strong-looking group.
Christophe Laporte has managed to get himself into a small group at the front of the race. That could be a significant move, it certainly suggests that Visma-Lease A Bike may have a plan here today. Positioning satellite riders up the road could benefit Jonas Vingegaard later in the day.
Having navigated their way safely through the neutralised zone, race director Christian Prudhomme has popped his head out of his shiny red Skoda and dropped the flag to signify the start of racing.
Good morning and welcome to our live rolling blog from stage 19 at the Tour de France, the 144.6 kilometre run from Embrun to Isola 2000.
Although relatively short, the penultimate day in the high mountains more than packs a punch with 4,400 metres of vertical elevation. With a maximum of 70 points up for grabs in the mountains classification 20 on the col de Vars, 40 at the highest point in this years race at the summit of the Bonette at 10 at the Isola 2000 finish line today is a day that could see someone have a crack at taking the maillot à pois, or polka dot jersey, off Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Today could be a race of two halves: one for the stage win; the other in the general classification. In previous years, the smart money would be on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) attacking Pogacar when the road reaches lung-busting heights atop the Bonette (2,802m). The defending champion, though, has, other than the stage into Le Lioran, failed to land the slightest of jabs on his great rival and lacks the team-mates to launch to sort of attack they did to such devastating affect on the col du Granon in 2022.
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) or Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla) may fancy their chances if a breakaway forms, while the added carrot of points in the mountains classification may be enough to lure Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) into baring his teeth and having another crack.
Heres what the main classifications look like going into the stage
Racing starts at 11.30am. Back to take you through to the end.
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