161km to go The five riders up the road are Mathis le Berre (TotalEnergies), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Nikolya Vinokurov, Aaron Gate (XDS Astana) and Lewis Askey (NSN). They managed to get 45secs on the main bunch but that is about to disappear rapidly.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 174km to go Five riders have broken away and churned out a lead of around 20 seconds. That is unlikely to last when they hit C\u00f4te d\u2019Engins shortly.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 177km to go There are reports of illness in the UAE Team Emirates camp, Adam Yates has been struggling the last couple of days and now Isaac del Toro is said to be unwell. Given the stresses the Tour places on the body, in many ways it\u2019s remarkable that 163 of the 184 riders are still going.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 180km to go The peloton is gunning along at nearly 60km\/h, no breakaway yet but the first climb is coming up fast so that won\u2019t remain the case for long.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Kilometre zero<\/p>\n After little bit of a delay due to Cofidis\u2019 Milan Fretin suffering a technical, Christian Prudhomme finally waves us off.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The riders are rolling out from Gap to kilometre zero. Flag drop due in 8km.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Yesterday was a big moment for stage winner Jasper Philipsen, the Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech rider had finished in the top five in five sprints without winning one before stage 17, with the threatening to get away from him.<\/p>\n A second stage win for Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech is probably par the course, given they do not have a GC contender and Philipsen has been bailed out to some degree by Mathieu van der Poel, who won stage nine. Van der Poel was on leadout services for Philipsen yesterday and duly delivered.<\/p>\n Asked by Reuters for his feelings at the stage finish in Voiron, Philipsen was very honest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a relief,\u201d Philipsen said. \u201cIt was a rollercoaster \u200cof emotions in this Tour de France<\/a>. The first stages were just horrible, I couldn\u2019t find myself, I couldn\u2019t find the feeling I was hoping for.\u201c<\/p>\n \u201cI was just disappointed, angry that I couldn\u2019t take a stage win,\u201d the 28-year-old added.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t find my feeling, \u200cthe team had to deal with it.<\/p>\n \u201cI just doubted myself. I did everything I could, we did amazing preparation with the team but I was just \u2060not myself.<\/p>\n \u201cWas it because of the heat? It \u200bwas really horrible. \u200bWas it something else? I \u200bdon\u2019t know, but I was not at the level \u200bI was hoping \u200cfor.<\/p>\n \u201cMentally, it \u200bwas a rollercoaster.\u201c<\/p>\n Mads Pedersen\u2019s lead in the green jersey race is down to just seven points, but Philipsen said \u201cit will be very hard\u201d to dethrone the Dane. Today is not the day for that, but it does add intrigue to the closing stages of a race where the GC battle is all-but over.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here\u2019s a visualisation of today\u2019s parcours:<\/p>\n Allow Instagram content?<\/p>\n This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>William Fotheringham’s stage guide This Tour\u2019s most prestigious mountain stage finish; with a stage this short, it will be touch and go for the day\u2019s escape to make it to the finish. That said, the opening 25km over the Cols Bayard and du Noyer are tough enough to allow a decent move to get established and then there are 60km until the Col d\u2019Ornon, where Pogacar and Vingegaard will probably get their teams moving. If the big two give a move some leeway, the 21 hairpins to the finish will suit a pure climber such as Netcompany\u2019s Thymen Arensman, a double stage winner last year.<\/p>\n Check out William Fotheringham\u2019s full stage-by-stage guide:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n With the real quiz of Alpe d\u2019Huez to come on Friday there will be a number of riders not named Tadej Pogacar who will fancy taking a prized stage win at Orci\u00e8res today. Five climbs, but none in the hors category, means that this 185km stage will be brutal, but not quite as masochistic as others in the road book.<\/p>\n With the uphill road starting after just 20km, we will see splits early and opportunities for climbers such as Richard Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre to get away. There are a maximum of 29 polkadot points on offer today, which could see those aforementioned riders move within range of Pogacar in the mountains classification standings should either secure a full house. Food for thought, at least until the race leader inevitably sets off for a solo victory up Alpe d\u2019Huez tomorrow.<\/p>\n The battle for third on the podium is also a live concern. The French public will be roaring on Paul Seixas to beat Pogacar\u2019s teammate Isaac del Toro over the last few days of the Tour. That contest has been given extra bite amid noise that the home hero is getting preferential treatment from doping control<\/a> (a claim rejected by the authorities) by so far avoiding being woken in the middle of the night to provide a sample. A very Tour story, this one.<\/p>\n![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784806570_908_William_Fotheringham,_L.png\")
William FotheringhamStage 19, Friday 24 July: Gap to l\u2019Alpe d\u2019Huez, 127.9km<\/p>\n