Tadej Pogacar secured a significant advantage in his quest for a third Tour de France title by claiming victory in another gruelling mountain stage. The Slovenian distanced himself from his main rival, Jonas Vingegaard, extending his overall lead to over five minutes with just two days of racing remaining.
The 145-kilometre journey from Embrun to Isola 2000 was set to be a challenging day in the saddle, with three major climbs on the menu. The first climb, Col de Vars, began early in the stage, quickly sorting the peloton into various groups. Team dsm-firmenich PostNL were active from the start, with Oscar Onley and Warren Barguil making it into the initial breakaway group.
Despite several teams missing the initial move, the breakaway maintained a strong pace. Onley, however, had to let go of the group as the race intensified on the second major climb, Cime de la Bonette, the highest road in France at 2,802 metres. This climb further reduced the breakaway group, with only the strongest riders remaining at the front.
As the peloton approached the final climb to Isola 2000, Matteo Jorgenson of Visma-Lease a Bike launched a solo attack from the breakaway group. He quickly built a lead, looking poised to secure a stage victory. Behind him, the yellow jersey group, including Pogacar and Vingegaard, started to fragment.
With about 9 kilometres to go, Pogacar launched a decisive attack. The Slovenian closed a three-minute gap to Jorgenson inside the final kilometre, passing him with 2 kilometres to go. Pogacar’s powerful ascent left his rivals trailing, securing his fourth stage win of this year’s Tour and 15th career stage victory.
Pogacar crossed the finish line 21 seconds ahead of Jorgenson, with Simon Yates finishing third, 40 seconds behind. Richard Carapaz took fourth place, 1:11 behind, while Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard finished 1:42 behind Pogacar.
Post-stage reactions
Reflecting on his second-place finish, Jorgenson remarked, “You gave everything, that’s all that matters,” offering words of consolation to Vingegaard, who was visibly upset after the stage.
Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, who secured the mountains classification, praised his team’s efforts. “My team did a great job to allow me to get into the breakaway on the day, and once I was there, I fought to get as many points as possible,” Carapaz said. He acknowledged the difficulty of the climb and Pogacar’s dominance, stating, “I was aware that the climb is very tough and I tried to stay as close to Jorgenson as possible. However, I couldn’t… and Tadej came from behind to take away any chance of victory.”
Remco Evenepoel of Soudal-QuickStep offered his perspective on the stage, praising Vingegaard for his efforts despite the outcome. “When Tadej went for it, he put everybody on the limit,” Evenepoel noted. “Then when he attacked, nobody could follow him. Then when I found my own pace, I found it was the same as Vingegaard. So I waited for him so we could ride up together.”
Pogacar, reflecting on his performance and comparisons to cycling greats, dismissed the notion of being a “cannibal” like Eddy Merckx, joking, “A cannibal? He eats human flesh. I eat sweets at the finish and gels and bars on the bike.”
With the Tour’s final stages looming, Pogacar remains focused on maintaining his lead and securing his place in cycling history.
2024 Tour de France Stage 19 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
