Cycling

Nairo Quintana secured a dominant victory on Stage 18 of the 2019 Tour de France on Thursday, crossing the finish line in Valloire ahead of Romain Bardet and Alexey Lutsenko:

A dramatic day of action saw the Colombian star produce a brilliant ride to win the stage by one minute and 35 seconds to move into seventh place in the general classification.

Julian Alaphilippe remains in the yellow jersey with a lead of one minute and 30 seconds over Egan Bernal, who has moved into second place ahead of defending champion Geraint Thomas:       

Quintana has endured a disappointing Tour but picked up a morale-boosting win in some style on a gruelling day in the Alps, with AccuWeather reporting a heat wave was set to push temperatures up to 40 degrees celsius.

The Colombian attacked from a breakaway group on the final climb of the stage up the Col du Galibier:

He crested one minutes and 43 seconds ahead of Bardet, effectively sealing the stage. The Colombian then enjoyed a solo descent to the finish line in Valloire to claim a big win:

There was plenty of drama behind Quintana on a crucial day for Alaphilippe in the yellow jersey.

Bernal also attacked on the Galibier and made up time on his rivals, moving from fifth into second place in the general classification:

Team-mate Thomas also made a move but was caught on the descent into Valloire and ended the day dropping a place in the standings. The defending champion offered his thoughts after the race:

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe survived what was expected to be a tough day for the Frenchman.

The leader looked in trouble as Quintana and Bernal attacked, but a strong descent meant his lead was cut by just five seconds:

The 27-year-old is now just three days away from becoming the first Frenchman since Bernard Hinault in 1985 to win the Tour de France.

Julian Alaphilippe has held the 2019 Tour de France lead for 13 stages, but the yellow jersey rider will undergo his most difficult test so far when he faces Stage 18 on Thursday.

Three days have passed since the last mountain stage, but the Alpine phase of Le Tour brings steep inclines back with a vengeance in what some predict could be the undoing of Alaphilippe.

Geraint Thomas remains one minute, 35 seconds off the leader in second, while Steven Kruijswijk of Team Jumbo-Visma sits another 12 seconds behind him in third.

The climbers will be eying this as their opportunity to employ tactics and help establish a new leader at the head of Le Tour unless Alaphilippe can prove his doubters wrong.

Date: Thursday, July 25

Distance: 208 kilometres (129 miles)

Start Time (approx.): 9:25 a.m. local time/8:25 a.m. BST/1:25 p.m. ET

TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), Eurosport 1 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

Preview

Stage 18 has the potential to shake up the general classification and features two Category H climbs, as well as one Category 1 climb and a Category 3 ascent near the start:

Riders will build toward the first Category H challenge, Col d'Izoard, a 14.1-kilometre-long climb at a gradient of 7.3 percent. They'll then descend before facing the 23-kilometre Col du Galibier, the second half or so of which averages a gradient of around 9 percent.

Team support will be a huge resource entering this phase of Le Tour, one factor cycling writer Neal Rogers recently touched on when discussing how open this year's competition was:

Six-time green jersey-winner Peter Sagan holds the points classification lead in his bid to defend that title. His team, Bora Hansgrohe, have only one rider in the top 10 of the general classification, with sixth-place Emanuel Buchmann sitting two minutes, 14 seconds away from leader Alaphilippe.

The top order went largely unchanged in Stage 17 on Wednesday, when the leaders sat back in the peloton and left an opening for Italian Matteo Trentin to win his first Tour stage since 2014.

Despite the diminished competition at the head of the field, Trentin showed remarkable endurance to defend his own lead after staging an impressive break on the ascent, via NBSCN:

Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider Alaphilippe has astounded up until now in his efforts to become the first Frenchman to win the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Defending champion Thomas remains in the running by his own merits and looks a genuine threat to overtake at some point, while his Ineos team-mate Egan Bernal is a supreme climber and is a second string to their bow should the champion crack. The Welshman remained resolute despite a crash in Stage 16:

The mountains could be where Team Ineos' best attributes come to the fore and aid Thomas in his bid for a second straight Tour win, but he will not have it all his own way.

Alaphilippe will have fervent French support, but he is not the only hope of the host nation. It could be the day Thibaut Pinot justifies his position as favourite for overall glory.

Pinot looked extremely strong in winning Stage 14, and he has indicated he will make a move on the Galibier if his legs are strong enough.

"All three stages are beautiful," Pinot said, per The Guardian's Jeremy Whittle, of the Alpine stretch, “but the hardest is the stage over the Galibier. If my legs are good I will attack there."

With Ineos and Jumbo-Visma at a disadvantage on account of the disqualification of Luke Rowe and Tony Martin following their clash on Wednesday, the stage could be set for Pinot to attack and Alaphilippe to defend.

It looks sure to be a day of drama, one not seen at the tour for a number of years because of the recent dominance of Ineos when they were known as Team Sky.

Matteo Trentin powered to victory in Stage 17 of the 2019 Tour de France on Wednesday, though yellow jersey-holder Julian Alaphilippe did enough to retain his lead in the general classification.

Mitchelton-Scott rider Trentin completed an admirable solo run to his third career Tour stage victory—his first since 2014—with Kasper Asgreen finishing 37 seconds behind in second and Greg Van Avermaet taking third:

Deceuninck-Quick Step star Alaphilippe brought a lead of one minute, 35 seconds into Wednesday's stage, which saw the pack journey northeast from Pont du Gard to Gap.

Riders were challenged with an uphill finish as the steeper inclines begin to make their way back into the Tour, and Trentin withstood Wednesday's "hilly" route to emerge with his first stage victory this year.

Mitchelton-Scott have now won four of the 17 stages to have taken place on this year's Tour, though they trailed team classification leaders Movistar by more than one hour coming into Wednesday's event.

Some correctly predicted this stage would provide the perfect platform for a number of breaks. Many riders focused on preserving their spot in the general classification would sit back ahead of the upcoming mountain stages in an effort to save energy.

Trentin's speed really picked up in the final descending kilometres, but it was his gruelling determination to lead an individual charge up Col de la Sentinelle that sealed his triumph, per LeTourData:

His win also maintained a strong look for the current kingpins of the continent, per Gracenote Olympic:

Thomas de Gendt and Xandro Meurisse were among those who formed breakaways in the first half of the race, stretching the field as it worked towards the first substantial climb, the Cote de la Rochette-du-Buis.

Those out in front had established a lead over the peloton of about 10 minutes going over the halfway mark. De Gendt set a blazing pace out in front until he was chased down with around 70 kilometres to go.

Dane Michael Morkov led the peloton alongside a group of his Deceuninck-Quick Step team-mates at 50 kilometres remaining, with Alaphilippe tucked in at the back and looking comfortable.

Team Ineos appeared content to allow the other teams make those breaks for the most part. Geraint Thomas suffered a fall in Stage 16 and took a slight knock in the standings, telling reporters his gears locked to cause the tumble.

They were happy to stick with the bunch and protect Thomas until the climax, holding back their best before the mountain terrain returns on Thursday:

Riders scaled La Montagne de Ceuse on their way up Col de la Sentinelle, the highest peak of the stage at 981 metres and the final climbs before a welcome descent to the finish.

Trentin embarked on a solo trip out in front and was the first rider to reach the Col summit, with Asgreen of Deceuninck-Quick Step tracking him around 30 seconds behind.

There was no catching the Italian from there, and the five-kilometre run into Gap looked a breeze as he sauntered to his first Tour stage victory in five years.

Alaphilippe looked somewhat motivated to pick up a few extra seconds in the home stretch, but he and the other heavy hitters will be expected to stage a stronger run at the lead on Thursday.

What's Next?

The mountains make their return in Stage 18 on Thursday for a 208-kilometre journey from Embrun to Valloire, the longest stage left on the Tour.  

Stage 17 of the 2019 Tour de France sees the riders race the 200 kilometres from Pont du Gard to Gap.

France's Julian Alaphilippe remains in the yellow jersey and will be aiming to keep his place at the top of the general classification ahead of some testing days in the Alps.

Defending champion Geraint Thomas will be hoping for a trouble-free stage. The British rider suffered a crash on Tuesday but escaped injury and was able to continue to the finish.

Date: Wednesday, July 23

Time: 12:40 p.m. local time, 11:40 a.m. BST, 6:40 a.m. BST

TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), Eurosport 1 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

Stage 17 Preview

Wednesday's race is likely to see riders again battling the heatwave conditions they endured on Tuesday's race around Nimes.

Green jersey leader Peter Sagan has spoken about the difficulty of competing in the heat:

Stage 17 is mostly flat but there is a category three climb up the Col de la Sentinelle just under 12 kilometres from the finish line in the Alpine town of Gap:

The stage does not wholly suit the sprinters or the general classification contenders, meaning it looks ripe for a breakaway to succeed.

Breakaway specialist Thomas De Gendt is one to watch, while Matteo Trentin and Michael Matthews are likely to thrive on the flying descent down the Col de la Sentinelle and into Gap.

Overall leader Alaphilippe will be hoping for another quiet day, while Thomas appears unaffected after coming off his bike on Tuesday:

However, Astana's Jakob Fuglsang was not so lucky. The Dane also crashed out and has left the Tour:

The 2019 Tour de France has already thrown up plenty of unpredictable results, and Wednesday's stage could produce some more surprises ahead of Sunday's big finish in Paris.

Australia's Caleb Ewan picked up his second stage win of the 2019 Tour de France on Tuesday, pipping Elia Viviani and Dylan Groenewegen to the line in a bunched sprint finish:

A dramatic and hot Stage 16 saw defending champion Geraint Thomas and Jakob Fuglsang both suffer crashes on the 177-kilometre course that started and finished in the city of Nimes.

The stage was one for the sprinters and did not affect the general classification standings. The top six all finished safely in the group, meaning Julian Alaphilippe retains the yellow jersey.

Stephane Rossetto and Alexis Gougeard hit the front at the start of the race and were joined by Lars Bak, Paul Ourselin and Lukasz Wisniowski.

Yet there was drama further back in the peloton as Thomas came off his bike. The British rider avoided serious injury but was forced to wait for a replacement before continuing:

Thomas' team offered an update after the crash:

Bak took 20 points from the intermediate sprint ahead of Rossetto and Ourselin. Peter Sagan in the green jersey had to settle for eighth and eight points:

Meanwhile, at the front, the group of five continued to lead the way, although the peloton ensured it kept a close eye on the breakaway.

The second crash of the day involved Jakob Fuglsang, who started the day ninth in the general classification.

The Dane was forced out of the stage with 27 kilometres remaining, and there are fears his Tour de France may be over:

The peloton reeled in the leading pack of five as they approached the end of the stage back in Nimes.

An exciting finish ensued, with Ewan showing great acceleration to burst up the left and past his rivals to beat Viviani to the line.

Julian Alaphilippe remains in possession of the yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour de France, with the riders returning to action in Nimes after Monday's rest day.

The Frenchman saw his lead cut after Stage 15 but still tops the general classification standings from defending champion Geraint Thomas by one minute and 35 seconds:

Date: Tuesday, July 22

TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), Eurosport 1 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

Stage 16 Preview

Stage 16 is one for the sprinters and begins and ends in the city of Nimes in southern France. The riders race 177 kilometres in a loop that features only one categorised climb:

The route is predominantly flat and sees the riders go over the Pont du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct:

There is a long, flat run to the finish line which means another bunched sprint is expected and should provide an exciting conclusion to Tuesday's action.

Sprinters Dylan Groenewegen, Caleb Ewan, Elia Viviani look the most likely contenders for victory in Stage 16, although Greg Van Avermaet, Peter Sagan and Michael Matthews cannot be discounted.

Alexander Kristoff is another outsider for the win. The Norwegian star tends to finish strongly at the Tour de France and tasted victory in Nimes back in 2014:

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe will be out to retain his yellow jersey. The 27-year-old has been talking about what he needs to do to defend his lead:

Alaphilippe remains the man to beat with just five stages of the Tour de France remaining until Paris, but he showed his first signs of weakness during Sunday's action and still has some tough stages ahead of him.

Julian Alaphilippe is fighting to keep hold of his yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour de France, with the Frenchman set to embark upon the final stretch of this year's competition following Monday's rest day.

Le Tour resumes with Stage 16 on Tuesday, and some have anticipated the mountain stages will pose the true test as to whether Deceuninck–Quick-Step rider Alaphilippe is champion material.

Simon Yates breezed clear to win Stage 15 on Sunday—his second win in four stages—and Alaphilippe lost ground to Team Ineos star Geraint Thomas after he could only finish 11th.

Six stages sit between him and a special home victory in Paris on Sunday, July 28, when Alaphilippe could become the first Frenchman to win the Tour de France since Bernard Hinault in 1985.

Eurosport and ITV will continue to provide coverage in the United Kingdom, while viewers in the United States can tune in via NBC Sports.

Here's how the general classification looks heading into Stage 16, per Velon CC:

Remaining Stage Schedule (Stage Number)

(16) Tuesday, July 23: Nimes - Nimes 

(17) Wednesday, July 24: Pont du Gard - Cap

(18) Thursday, July 25: Embrun - Valloire

(19) Friday, July 26: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne i Tignes

(20) Saturday, July 27: Albertville - Val Thorens

(21) Sunday, July 28: Rambouillet - Paris

Visit the official Tour website for more route information.

Yates' victory on Sunday helped Thomas cut around 30 seconds off the lead following a wet ride to Prat d'Albis. After Alaphilippe and Thibau Pinot notched successive French wins in Stages 13 and 14, Yates showed tremendous stamina to cross the line ahead of any competition:

The Mitchelton-Scott man helped force the pace ahead of the peloton, and it may be that we're starting to see Alaphilippe's lasting power at the front diminish following a string of strong rides.

Pinot is the only other Frenchman to win a stage on this year's Tour so far, having finished strongly to clinch victory when the mountain stages resumed on Saturday.

He followed that with an impressive sprint to take second behind Yates in Stage 15. Pinot and third-place finisher Mikel Landa were 33 seconds behind Yates, and the home favourite's sprint finishes have looked like a major strength of late, per LeTourData:

Cycling writer Neal Rogers remarked upon Pinot's resurgence since crosswinds on Stage 10 scattered the peloton and damaged some Tour campaigns far more than others:

Pinot also made up ground in the mountains classification thanks to his Stage 15 display and is now second behind Tim Wellens in the hunt for the polka dot jersey (14 points).

Thomas has recovered after a disastrous end to Stage 14 left him chasing Alaphilippe, and he spoke positively after cutting the gap back to one minute, 35 seconds on Sunday, via ITV Cycling:

Stage 16 will see riders race around a flat loop located in Nimes, promising to throw up a few surprises as the Tour focus turns to speed before the final, decisive slate of mountain stages.

Mitchelton–Scott's Simon Yates raced to victory on a gruelling Stage 15 on the Tour de France, while Julian Alaphilippe showed the first signs of weakness in the yellow jersey, as Thibaut Pinot made big strides in the general classification.

Yates produced a terrific acceleration on the final climb, riding away from Simon Geschke and then holding off the chasing pack to take a comfortable win. It's the Englishman's second stage win on the 2019 Tour.

In the race for yellow, Pinot staked his claim as the man to watch in the final week, as he dropped Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas and Alaphilippe on the final climb. 

Felix Lowe provided the results for the stage and the overall standings: 

With three first-category climbs for the riders to conquer on Sunday, there was always going to be drama on the stage.

In the breakaway, there were some big names in Nairo Quintana and Romain Bardet, although the struggles of those men early in the race meant they weren't threats deemed worthy of chasing down by the peloton.

After the first ascent, the peloton did start to reel in the leading group and it was Simon Geschke who made the first move out of the pack in the hope of a solo ride to the finish. 

It was the first significant burst from the leaders that had stuck, with the German breaking the elastic up the Mur de Peguere. He was joined by Simon Yates as they rolled over the penultimate summit of the day: 

After a routine descent, the leading duo were followed by a chasing group, who in turn were ahead of the peloton, with Alaphilippe still looking comfortable.

Mikel Landa was the man on the move at the start of the final climb, as he was able to bridge the gap from the peloton to the chasers. The Spaniard quickly swept past them too, leaving Quintana and Bardet behind.

Up ahead, Yates made his move with nine kilometres to go, putting the hammer down to leave Geschke behind: 

With the battle for the stage now seemingly between Yates and Landa, further back the general classification race started to light up, with Pinot making his move from the peloton. While Alaphilippe and Egan Bernal reacted, Thomas was left behind initially.

After another attack from Pinot, Alaphilippe finally cracked and dropped back from his compatriot for the first time. Per Neal Rogers, there was drama all over the ascent at this point: 

Meanwhile, after his stage win on Saturday, Pinot was looking serene as he set off after Yates: 

Eventually, the Frenchman was unable to compete for the stage, although he worked with Landa to take more time out of the yellow jersey holder.

Further back, Thomas was able to put together a late recovery, as he attacked past Alaphilippe and ensured the leader's advantage was less than two minutes going into Monday's rest day. The man in the maillot jaune, noticeably exhausted, eventually crossed the finish line with his lead intact, but severely diminished.

Julian Alaphilippe is still in possession of the yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour de France as the competition heads to Stage 15 for what's set to be another challenging day for the riders.

Alaphilippe outlined his credentials on Saturday, when he finished second behind Thibaut Pinot in Stage 14, which climaxed at the treacherous Col du Tourmalet. In doing so, the Frenchman extended his lead over defending champion Geraint Thomas to more than two minutes.

Stage 15, a 185-kilometre ride from Limoux to Prat d'Albis, is set to be another tough day in the saddle given the peloton will encounter three first-category climbs, including a summit finish.

With a rest day on Monday, expect the general classification contenders to pour everything into Stage 15. Here are the key details for Sunday's action.

Date: Sunday, July 21

Time: 11:10 a.m. (GMT), 6:10 a.m. (ET)

TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), Eurosport 1 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

Preview

Felix Lowe shared the overall standings following Stage 14, with Alaphilippe comfortably clear of the 2018 winner:

The competition Twitter account provided highlights from Saturday's thrilling stage:

Ahead of the individual time trial on Friday, few considered Alaphilippe to be a genuine contender for success despite his brilliant start to the 2019 edition and pedigree for winning stages. A couple of days on, perceptions have shifted.

After producing a stunning time trial on Friday, he showed he can climb with the best mountain men in the race on Saturday, finishing second to Pinot on a gruelling day.

Neal Rogers praised the manner in which the leader has handled the race, as the Tour edges closer to its third week:

Meanwhile, cycling journalist Daniel Friebe summed up the improvements Alaphilippe made in his climbing and outlined the challenges he still has to face if he's to ride into Paris in yellow:

At this stage, Pinot appears to be as good a bet as any to chop down the gap to his compatriot, albeit he's more than three minutes behind Alaphilippe. 

On Stage 14, he looked the most comfortable of the general classification contenders on the final climb, while he was also able to surge away from the leading group late on. He will see the ascents on Sunday, as well another steep finish, as a chance to make up more ground.

Thomas will also be looking to bounce back after he was left behind by the two Frenchman on the Tourmalet, not to mention his Ineos team-mate Egan Bernal. Matt Dickinson of the Times said the Welshman was deflated with his display on Stage 14:

Twitter account La Flamme Rouge thinks a change in strategy may be needed if Ineos are to have a winner:

With the next hugely strenuous day for the peloton set to come on Friday, when they take on the Galibier, expect a number of attacks from the big names on the trio of Category 1 climbs.

Alaphilippe will be under major pressure as a result. Following on from two hugely strenuous days, if he can maintain his lead over Thomas come Sunday evening, he will surely be the favourite for glory despite the amount of racing still to be done in the 2019 Tour.

Thibaut Pinot won Saturday's Stage 14 of the Tour de France on the mighty Col du Tourmalet, while Julian Alaphilippe strengthened his position in the general classification, finishing in second place.

The favourites for the yellow jersey turned the stage into a marathon, opting for a relentless pace over multiple attacks on the final climb. Pinot was the strongest, while Alaphilippe easily survived. The latter maintains his lead in the GC.

Here are the stage results:

Saturday's stage was expected to be a key one in this year's Tour, with the finish line at the top of the iconic Col du Tourmalet likely to shake up the general classification.

The drama started early in Stage 14, as the break had two unlikely names in GC contender Vincenzo Nibali and the favourite for the points jersey, Peter Sagan.

BBC World Service's Alex Murray was understandably confused:

They were soon joined by several more riders, including some breakaway and climbing specialists like Tim Wellens, Alexis Vuillermoz, Luis Leon Sanchez and Sergio Henao.

With so many big names hitting the front, the pace in the peloton never dropped, leading to a frantic lead-up to the Tourmalet. Romain Bardet, seen as France's best hope of a Tour win before the start in Brussels, was among those dropped.

Adam Yates also couldn't keep up:

An attack of Wellens and Nibali tore up the leading group, and the two held their advantage over the Col du Soulor and into the descent.

The lead groups came back together in the valley, and in the run-up to the Tourmalet, Sagan made his ambitious move work by taking seventh place and key points in the intermediate sprint.

Elie Gesbert tried his luck with a solo effort at the base of the Tourmalet, and behind him, the peloton swept up the leaders in a hurry.

Tates and Dan Martin were among the Tourmalet's early victims, dropping out of the pack, and Nairo Quintana and Fabio Aru soon followed. Quintana fell back as a result of the pace set by his own team, Movistar, amid rumours he's set to leave for Arkea.

Sports writer Lars Pollman couldn't help himself:

An attack from Warren Barguil had Alaphilippe struggling, clinging on at the back of the GC group. Bauke Mollema and Richie Porte were the next to break, but with no real attacks, the rest of the top contenders were able to stay in the leading group.

Defending champion Geraint Thomas lost contact with the leaders in the final kilometer, while Pinot launched his attack late, avoiding a sprint. Alaphilippe impressed on his way to second place, ahead of Steven Kruijswijk.

Sunday's stage will consist of another day in the Pyrenees, with three first-category climbs and an uphill finish at the Prat d'Albis. It will be the final stage before the second rest day in Nimes, so fans can expect more fireworks.