Thymen Arensman won the nineteenth stage of the Tour de France. The Dutchman launched a long-range attack on the final climb, after which Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard watched each other. The two arrived at the finish just seconds too late, allowing Arensman to succeed Michael Boogerd at La Plagne and claim his second stage win in this Tour. Vingegaard finished second, Pogacar third. Furthermore, Florian Lipowitz secured his third place in the overall classification.
The nineteenth stage from Albertville to La Plagne was a very short ride. Due to an outbreak of a contagious animal disease on the Col des Saisies, it was decided to cancel this climb and that of the Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine, reducing the distance riders had to cover to just 95 kilometers. This did not make it an easy final mountain stage in the Tour, as three tough climbs remained on the menu.
Primoz Roglic attacks again
The stage did not start immediately with attacks, as the Lidl-Trek team set a steady pace from the outset. After about ten kilometers, there was an intermediate sprint on the menu, and they wanted to guide Jonathan Milan towards maximum points. The other teams accepted this situation, allowing Milan to take 20 points and sleep easy in the battle for the green jersey. Immediately after that intermediate sprint, the fight for the early breakaway began.
Thibau Nys leading the Lidl-Trek train - photo: Cor Vos
Jonas Abrahamsen was the first attacker of the day. Abrahamsen didn't last long on the Col du Pré. On that hors catégorie climb, we saw Primoz Roglic attack again. The fifth-placed rider in the general classification saw Victor Campenaerts, Michael Storer, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Lenny Martinez, Bruno Armirail, Tobias Foss, and Einer Rubio slip away. Strong riders, which immediately opened the door for the peloton behind. Surprisingly, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) was among those struggling, along with Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler (UAE Emirates-XRG).
UAE keeps the breakaway within reach
The pace in the peloton was very high, thanks to Belgian champion Tim Wellens, who immediately thinned out the peloton. Jonas Vingegaard quickly lost many teammates; with just a few kilometers to the top of the Col du Pré, only Simon Yates remained with him. Pogacar had more teammates around him and seemed willing to use them in the pursuit of the stage win. Wellens did not allow Roglic and company to get too far ahead. After the tough Col du Pré, the breakaway, which had split significantly on the climb, held a lead of just under a minute.
Up front, Roglic, Martinez, and Paret-Peintre were the best climbers. Martinez claimed maximum points at the summit of the Col du Pré, making good progress in the mountain classification. Yet, the fight for the polka dot jersey seemed almost hopeless for the young Frenchman, as the peloton made up significant time in the valley (and Pogacar was still ahead of him in the GC). They reeled in the dropped attackers and came within half a minute of Roglic, Martinez, and Paret-Peintre. In other words, the last mountain stage was ridden at a blistering pace.
Strangely, the pace-setting in the peloton was not only by the UAE riders but also by the Uno-X Mobility squad. Team leader Tobias Halland Johannessen saw that Kévin Vauquelin, the rider ahead of him in the standings, had been dropped and tried to increase the Frenchman's deficit by putting Andreas Leknessund to the front. Vauquelin lost more and more time, suffering a real off-day.
Pogacar received help from an unexpected source - photo: Cor Vos
Roglic falters, Arensman remains in the peloton
Roglic and company saw the peloton close in to about twenty seconds briefly, but then the three riders gained some breathing space again. They began the descent after the top of the Cormet de Roselend with a one-minute advantage. It was a very long descent, during which Roglic pressured his breakaway companions. Eventually, Roglic was left alone; Martinez and Paret-Peintre were caught by the peloton. Still, an unshaken Wellens led the chase.
Wellens soon reeled in lone Roglic, who then quickly dropped back. This left a thinned peloton to start the final tough climb of the nineteenth stage and the entire Tour de France: the ascent of La Plagne (19.4 km at 7.2%). This was the signal for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale to take over the initiative, working for Felix Gall. About ten riders could still follow, including Dutchman Thymen Arensman.
Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Arensman
Pogacar and Vingegaard each still had a teammate with them, respectively Jhonatan Narváez and Simon Yates. On the 14-kilometer mark, Arensman saw his moment to attack, but the climber from INEOS Grenadiers was quickly countered by yellow jersey Pogacar. He went past Arensman with Vingegaard on his wheel. However, the Dane did not take the lead after the acceleration, allowing Arensman to bridge back.
The Dutch rider launched several more attacks, but Pogacar kept closing the gap. Vingegaard stayed on the Slovenian's wheel, who was clearly fed up with it. At the next attack of Arensman, Pogacar did not respond, allowing Arensman to quickly build a strong gap. In the background, several other favorites rejoined Pogacar and Vingegaard, thanks in part to the hard work of a very strong Frank van den Broek.
Golden opportunity for Arensman
Gall then took the lead of the group of favorites again, keeping Arensman’s advantage around 30 seconds. With just under seven kilometers to the finish, Pogacar launched a new attack, but it didn't have much impact. Vingegaard, Onley, and Lipowitz followed relatively easily. Arensman – who was succeeding Michael Boogerd on La Plagne – hardly had to lose any of his lead, making the situation look promising for the INEOS Grenadiers rider.
Arensman had already claimed the combativity prize, but the stage win was still within reach 3 kilometers from the top. Pogacar slightly increased the pace, causing Arensman to lose around ten seconds of his advantage. However, Pogacar waited to launch a decisive attack, making for a nail-biting finale.
Arensman makes it
In the penultimate kilometer, Onley was dropped, then Lipowitz began to push the pace to deal the final blow to the Picnic PostNL rider. The German brought Pogacar and Vingegaard closer to Arensman, who still held a gap of about ten seconds entering the last 500 meters.
It became a real nail-biter, but there was no major attack from Pogacar or Vingegaard. The Dane made a last effort a few hundred meters from the finish but came up short. In this way, Arensman won his second Tour stage in phenomenal style and succeeded Boogerd. Vingegaard finished second, ahead of Pogacar. Lipowitz came in fourth, securing his third place in the overall classification and the white jersey.
Arensman came close to a second stage win in the Tour - photo: Cor Vos
Tactical and very strong, that’s how Arensman rode - photo: Cor Vos
Tour de France| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02:46:06 | |
| 2 | + 02 | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | + 06 | |
| 5 | + 47 | |
| 6 | + 01:34 | |
| 7 | + 01:41 | |
| 8 | + 02:19 | |
| 9 | + 03:47 | |
| 10 | + 03:54 |
Albertville) La Plagne)
