Tour de France stage 19 LIVE: Result and standings as Tadej Pogacar pulls off stunning win in yellow jersey
Tadej Pogacar landed surely the winning blow to see off Jonas Vingegaard’s brave challenge with a fourth stage victory of this Tour de France
Tadej Pogacar all but sealed victory at the Tour de France 2024 with a stunning win on a brutally hard stage 19 route through the Alps.
Pogacar carefully tracked his nearest rival Jonas Vingegaard before launching a devastating attack on the final climb, where he reeled in the leader Matteo Jorgenson and stormed to a famous win in Isola.
The Slovenian increased his overall lead to more than five minutes as he took a fourth stage win at this year’s Tour, and he is now on the verge of a historic Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double.
Follow all the latest reaction from stage 19 of the Tour de France below.
Tour de France stage 19: Pogacar marks Vingegaard in yellow-jersey group
65km to go: Back in the rapidly shrinking peloton, Pogacar is letting some of his UAE teammates take the lead – Nils Politt finally drops off the from the front after a hard 13km stint at the start of this big climb, and Marc Soler takes over. Pogacar is sitting on the wheel of Jonas Vingegaard, marking his main rival. The top 10 in the general classification are all still in this yellow-jersey group.
How drug testing works at the Tour de France
It is a topic that hasn’t come to prominence at this year’s Tour de France, but doping’s shadow always hangs over the sport.
Testing the riders is an immense operation in itself, as around 600 blood and urine samples are acollected during the 2024 Tour.
Here is a closer look at how it works:
How drug testing works at the Tour de France
Around 600 blood and urine samples will be collected during the 2024 Tour de France
Tour de France stage 19: Breakaway is breaking up
Britain’s Oscar Onley is fading on this savage Cime de la Bonette (22.9km at 6.9%) climb, and so too are Prodhomme and Van Wilder. Matteo Jorgenson is the man on the front setting a hard pace and only six are left in the break now:
Richard Carapaz, Matteo Jorgenson, Wilco Kelderman, Jai Hindley, Cristian Rodriguez and Simon Yates.
The peloton is still four minutes back down the road – or what’s left of the peloton. This climb is tearing the main group to shreds.
Best pictures from stage 19
A few images from the road so far:
The big question: How do Tour de France riders go to the toilet?
Professional road cycling is a gruelling sport, and the Tour de France is arguably its toughest test, with riders contesting three weeks of high-octane racing.
Across 21 stages in 2024, the world’s best male bike riders are covering almost 3,500km on a circuitous route from Florence to Nice, spending hours in the saddle each day.
With temperatures soaring, re-hydrating and re-fuelling are vitally important, which poses a question: what do riders do when nature calls?
Read more:
How do Tour de France riders go to the toilet?
How do the peloton answer nature’s call out on the road?
Tour de France stage 19: Breakaway begin giant Cime de la Bonette climb
78km to go: Here we go then, as the breakaway begin the middle climb of three today, the giant Cime de la Bonette (22.9km at 6.9%), the highest paved road in France at 2,802m. Those nine breakaway riders are:
Carapaz, Jorgenson, Kelderman, Van Wilder, Onley, Hindley, Rodriguez, Yates and Prodhomme. The peloton is four minutes back.
Tour de France stage 19: Carapaz leads breakaway over first climb
110km to go: Richard Carapaz is the first rider over the top of the Col de Vars, and he’s closely trailed by Jorgenson, Kelderman and Van Wilder, and then the rest of this nine-man break.
The peloton is 3 minutes back.
Lanterne Rouge
Spare a thought for the sprinters left in the peloton. There is no battle on the Champs-Elysees this year, nothing left to gain but the pride of finishing a Tour de France. It will be a long day at the back. Davide Ballerini currently carries the lanterne rouge, though his teammate Mark Cavendish is only one place and one minute ahead of him.
Tour de France stage 19: Carapaz joins slimmed down breakaway
114km to go: The breakaway has been shaken up, with several riders falling back and a couple of new recruits burning to bridge over and join them.
Kelderman, Jorgenson, Prodhomme, Van Wilder, Hindley, Rodriguez and Onley have been joined by Richard Carapaz, which they won’t be delighted about – he has looked so strong on the high climbs. Simon Yates is also catching them.
Tour de France stage 19: Breakaway escapes up the road
120km to go: Here are the breakway members listed in X form. And it’s good to see Oscar Onley in there twice, just to make sure. Jai Hindley might be the strongest climber among this lot, but there is plenty of talent and this breakaway could well stay clear. Michal Kwiatkowski, and Neilson Powless are more strong climbers, while Anthony Turgis has already won a stage this year.
Wilco Kelderman and Matteo Jorgenson are in there as Visma-Lease-a-Bike options to support Jonas Vingegaard further down the track.
🏁 132 km
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 19, 2024
2️⃣2️⃣ 🚴♂️ < 45" < 🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚴♂️🚗
Today's breakaway :
L'échappée du jour :
🇺🇸 @MatteoJorg
🇦🇺@jaihindley
🇳🇱 @W1lcokelderman
🇧🇪 @IlanWilder
🇦🇺 @jackhaig93
🇫🇷 @MadouasValentin
🇫🇷 @WarrenBarguil
🇪🇸 @RodcrisMar
🇬🇧 @OscarOnley
🇫🇷 @NicoProdhomme
🇵🇱 @kwiato
🇮🇹 @davideformolo
🇫🇷… pic.twitter.com/tUKduCkpeJ
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