Stage 19 ended in a solo win barely a few seconds clear of the bunch sprint, which made no difference to the standings at the very top of the Tour de France.
Tadej Pogacar narrowed the gap, minutely, though with a 5-second gap over yellow jersey Jonas Vingegard following his sprint for 5th place, as a gap opened between the top 10 finishers and the remains of the peloton – containing Vingegaard.
With a gap of 3:21 between Vingegaard and Pogacar, it’s unlikely to have a big impact on the prospects of Pogacar snatching the yellow jersey in tomorrow’s time trial.
It comes after stage 18, which was not only the most exciting stage of the 2022 race, but arguably one of the most enthralling in years of Grand Tour racing, where Jonas Vingegaard tightened his grip on the yellow jersey after dropping Tadej Pogačar within the final 3km.
Jumbo-Visma’s Vingegaard won the stage atop the Hautacam ascent by over a minute to UAE Team Emirates’ Pogačar, with a superlative effort by Wout van Aert to take third place, having led Vingegaard’s final attack on the Slovenian.
Behind them, Geraint Thomas took fourth place with a gap of 2:54, securing his podium spot over Nairo Quintana, who lost 5:22 to Vingegaard and slipped back to fifth position.
Overtaking Quintana was David Gaudu, who came fifth on today’s stage, losing only 4 seconds to Thomas on the stage finish, but slipping back to 3:05 behind the Welshman in the overall standings.
The top 10 beyond them has stretched out considerably, now spanning a yawning 20:17.
Romain Bardet had another challenging day in the mountains, losing 6:40 to Vingegaard. He remains narrowly within the top 10, having enjoyed a second place position last week, but now in eighth position he is 16:11 down on the yellow jersey holder.
Louis Meintjes and Aleksandr Vlasov benefitted where Bardet fell, moving into sixth and seventh places, respectively. They finished together today, after a brave attack from Meintjes on Col de Spandelles briefly saw him slip into the top 5 in the virtual standings.
Behind Bardet, Alexey Lutsenko‘s sixth-place finish on today’s stage saw him move from 11th to ninth, while another difficult day for an unwell Adam Yates saw him lose a further 5:34 to Vingegaard, and he rounds off the top 10 in 10th place.
Saturday’s time trial will be an opportunity for a shift in the GC, but we’d struggle to see an outcome other than a Danish yellow jersey rolling onto the Champs-Élysées on Sunday, or an upset to the podium as it stands.
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How the Tour de France standings evolved
The Tour de France classifications
Here’s a rundown of all the ongoing competitions at the Tour de France. Click here for a more comprehensive explainer, including minor competitions such as the intermediate sprints prize and the fighting spirit prize. Speaking of prizes, click here to find out how much the riders can win during the Tour de France.
Yellow Jersey/Maillot Jaune – The yellow jersey is worn by the overall race leader on the general classification who has completed the stages so far in the lowest accumulated time.
Green Jersey – The green jersey is the points classification. Riders accrue points at one of the two intermediate sprints during stages and also at stage finishes, and the man with the most points leads the ranking.
Polka Dot Jersey – The red and white polka dot jersey is the mountain classification. Points are handed out to the first riders over certain hills and climbs during the Tour de France, with the hardest mountains giving the most points. Once again, the man with the most points leads the ranking.
White jersey – The white jersey is the best young rider classification. It works the same way as the yellow jersey, but only riders aged 25 or under are eligible to win.
