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The 2019 Tour de France was the 106th edition of the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
, one of cycling's three
Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...
. The -long race consisted of 21
stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...
, starting in the Belgian capital of Brussels on 6 July, before moving throughout France and concluding on the
Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc de Triomphe is lo ...
in Paris on 28 July. A total of 176 riders from 22 teams participated in the race. The overall
general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...
was won for the first time by a Latin American rider,
Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'It ...
of . His teammate and 2018 Tour winner
Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...
finished second while
Steven Kruijswijk , birth_date = , birth_place = Nuenen, Netherlands , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2006 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2007–2009 ...
() came in third. Kruijswijk's teammate
Mike Teunissen Mike Teunissen (born 25 August 1992) is a Dutch racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships, and was the winner of the World Under-23 Cyclo-cross Championships in 2013. He was ...
won stage 1's
bunch sprint This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter a ...
to take the first yellow jersey of the Tour.
Julian Alaphilippe Julian Alaphilippe (born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-fold UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe. Career E ...
of took the lead of the race following his victory of stage 3. He lost the yellow jersey after the sixth stage to
Giulio Ciccone Giulio Ciccone (born 20 December 1994) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Bardiani–CSF (2016–18) Ciccone was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia, where he won stage 10. At the 2018 Giro d'Ita ...
() who was the highest placed rider of a breakaway group that finished ahead of the
peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
(main group). Ciccone's lead of the Tour lasted two stages, before Alaphilippe retook it after stage 8. Against expectations, he held the yellow jersey for the next eleven stages, including the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
, before losing it to Bernal on the second day in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
, stage 19, which was shortened by inclement weather. Bernal held his lead in the final two stages to win the Tour. The
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
was won by 's
Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...
for a record seventh time, with
Romain Bardet Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...
of winning the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
. Bernal also won the
young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for ride ...
. The
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
was won by and Alaphilippe was named the overall most
combative Combatives is the term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques within the Army branch of the United States military. History Sometimes called Close-Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were large ...
rider.
Caleb Ewan Caleb Ewan (born 11 July 1994) is an Australian road and track bicycle racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam . A sprinter, Ewan has a style similar to that of Mark Cavendish, taking an extremely low position that offers him an aerodynamic advantage ...
of won the most stages, with three.


Teams

The 2019 edition of the Tour de France consisted of 22 teams. The race was the 27th of the 38 events in the
UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...
, and all of its 18
UCI WorldTeams UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...
were entitled, and obliged, to enter the race. Additionally,
Amaury Sport Organisation The Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) is part of the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury. It organises the Tour de France and other cycling races, as well as golf, running, sailing and off-road motorsport events. The president of ASO is Je ...
(ASO), the organisers of the Tour, invited four second-tier
UCI Professional Continental teams UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...
to participate in the event. The three French and one Belgian teams had each participated in the race before. The presentation of the teams – where the members of each team's roster are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place in front of a crowd of 75,000 on the
Grand-Place The Grand-Place (French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or Grote Markt (Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels and two larger ...
square in Brussels, Belgium, on 4 July, two days before the opening
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
. Each squad was allowed a maximum of eight riders, resulting in a start list total of 176. Of these, 33 competed in their first Tour de France. The riders came from 30 countries. Six countries had more than ten riders in the race: France (43), Belgium (21), Italy (15), Spain (13), Germany (11) and the Netherlands (11). The average age of riders in the race was 29.71 years, ranging from the 21-year-old
Jasper Philipsen Jasper Philipsen (born 2 March 1998) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career In July 2019, he was named in the startlist for the 2019 Tour de France. In October 2020, he was named in the startlist for the 2 ...
() to the 39-year-old
Lars Bak Lars Ytting Bak (born 16 January 1980) is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the Fakta, , , , and squads. From 2022, Bak will act as team manager for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Ba ...
(). had the youngest average age while had the oldest. The teams participating in the race were: UCI WorldTeams * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * UCI Professional Continental teams * * * *


Pre-race favourites

Pre-race predictions in the media, as well as the
bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...
s, on the
general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulati ...
were drastically altered when four-time Tour winner
Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...
() was ruled out with multiple injuries following his crash at the
Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is part ...
three weeks before the Tour. Although he was third overall behind teammate and winner
Geraint Thomas Geraint Howell Thomas, (; born 25 May 1986) is a Welsh professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam , Wales and Great Britain. He is one of the few riders in the modern era to achieve significant elite success as both a tra ...
in the previous year's Tour, Froome was considered the 2019 Tour favourite before his crash. Prior to Froome's withdrawal, there was no official announcement by on leadership for the Tour, which could have potentially been shared between himself, Thomas and
Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'It ...
. Another major absentee was the 2018 Tour runner-up
Tom Dumoulin Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Championships and two Olympic s ...
(), who missed the Tour with a knee injury he picked up at the Giro d'Italia, the
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...
of Italy that took place a month before the Tour de France, and a race he won in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. With their absence, the Tour was expected to be a more open race, with Thomas and Bernal as the leading contenders. Their closest rivals were thought to be
Romain Bardet Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...
(),
Jakob Fuglsang Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (born 22 March 1985) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Before turning professional for , he was a mountain biker racing for Team Cannondale–Vredestein, winning the Under ...
(),
Steven Kruijswijk , birth_date = , birth_place = Nuenen, Netherlands , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2006 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2007–2009 ...
(),
Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall. Career Early career Lan ...
(),
Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...
(),
Thibaut Pinot Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finished third overall in the 2014 Tour de France and first in the ...
(),
Nairo Quintana Nairo Alexánder Quintana Rojas, Order of Boyacá, ODB, (born 4 February 1990) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Nicknamed "Nairoman" and "El Cóndor de los Andes", Quintana is a specialist climber, known ...
() and
Adam Yates Adam Richard Yates (born 7 August 1992) is a British road and track racing cyclist who currently rides for . He placed fourth overall at the 2016 Tour de France and became the first British rider to win the young rider classification, one year ...
(). After celebrating his 2018 Tour victory, Thomas was overweight at the start of the 2019 season. His only result of note before the Tour was a third-place overall finish at the
Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. I ...
in early May. In June he abandoned the
Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...
following a crash, and required recovery time, which put his ability to perform at the Tour in doubt. Bernal made his Tour debut in 2018 riding as a
domestique In road bicycle racing, a domestique is a rider who works for the benefit of their team and leader, rather than trying to win the race. In French, ''domestique'' translates as "servant".However, in French, the term used is ''équipier''. In Ita ...
(leader's assistant) for Froome and Thomas, who are ten years his senior. In the 2019 season, he was planned to lead his team's Giro squad, but missed the race after he broke his collarbone. His major wins of the season up to the Tour were the
Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...
stage race before his injury and the Tour de Suisse on his return. In the Tour, he was to share the leadership with Thomas according to the team, although some in the media expected an internal battle between the two. Bardet had finished on the podium twice in his career, second in
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
and third in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
. His form was lacking in the build up to the Tour, although his experience and the consistency of his previous performances in the race were considered enough to make him a serious contender. Fuglsang was the most in-form contender, enjoying a successful
spring classic The Livamol Classic is a Weight-for-age Thoroughbred horse race run at Hastings Racecourse in Hawke's Bay and was at one stage New Zealand's richest horse race. It is run at a distance of 2040m. The race is run in October. The weather in the Haw ...
s campaign, including victory in the prestigious "monument" one-day race
Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...
as well as the stage races
Vuelta a Andalucía The Vuelta a Andalucía (Tour of Andalusia) or Ruta del Sol (Route of the Sun) is a regional Spanish road bicycle race first held in 1925. Since 2005, it has been a 2.1 category race on the UCI Europe Tour. The race became a part of the new UCI P ...
and the Dauphiné. Fuglsang was thought likely to benefit from a strong team, but doubt was cast on his ability to perform over a three-week Grand Tour, as he had never finished in the top three places in a Grand Tour. That too was the case with Kruijswijk, who had performed well in the season and was considered a top contender, despite suffering with illness leading up to the Tour. Landa's form was considered harder to predict, as he had stayed away from racing after the Giro, where he just missed out on a podium place. His best overall result in the Tour so far had been in 2017, when he finished fourth riding as a domestique to Froome. Veteran rider Nibali had no wins so far in 2019, but placed second overall at the Giro and was considered to be a danger due to his experience. He was the only rider on the start list apart from Thomas to have won a Tour, the 2014 edition. Pinot was also considered to be in form after finishing fifth overall in the Dauphiné, and before that, winning the general classification of the non-World Tour
Tour de l'Ain Tour de l'Ain, also known as the Prix de l'Amitié, is an annual professional cycling stage race held in eastern France. G.P. de l'Amitié The first edition of the race was in 1970, as the G.P. de l'Amitié (Friendship G.P.). It was held over fo ...
and
Tour du Haut Var The Tour du Haut Var ( en, Tour of the Haut Var) is an early-season two-day road bicycle race in the Var department region in the south of France. Until 2008 it was run as a one-day race, part of the UCI Europe Tour. In 2009, the race transformed ...
. It was however speculated that the pressure of being a home favourite could affect him negatively, as well having issues with heat. His previous results in the Tour had been mixed: he had finished third in 2014, but had dropped out of the race twice since then. Quintana, a two-time Grand Tour winner, was seen as a podium contender. Yates returned to the race after finishing 29th overall the previous year. Although he withdrew from the Dauphiné a few weeks earlier for illness, he had been in good form before then. Other riders expected to place high in the general classification were
Emanuel Buchmann Emanuel Buchmann (born 18 November 1992) is a German professional racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2015 he won the German National Road Race Championships. He has competed in the Tour de France six times, finishing fourt ...
(),
Dan Martin Daniel Martin may refer to: People * Dan Martin (actor) (born 1951), American actor *Dan Martin (drama educator) (born 1953), American academic *Dan Martin (cyclist) (born 1986), Irish road bicycle racer *Dan Martin (footballer) (born 1986), Britis ...
(),
Enric Mas Enric Mas Nicolau () (born 7 January 1995) is a Spanish racing cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is a climber, and has finished in top 10 in world tour stage races, and has also won a stage at the Tour of the Basque Country. Career Mas wa ...
(),
Richie Porte Richard Julian Porte (born 30 January 1985) is an Australian professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His successes include wins at 8 UCI World Tour, World Tour stage races: Paris–Nice in 201 ...
(),
Rigoberto Urán Rigoberto Urán Urán, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the road race. He became the first Colombian ever ...
and
Tejay van Garderen Tejay van Garderen (born August 12, 1988) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2008 and 2021 for the , , and . Following his retirement as a cyclist, van Garderen became a directeur sportif for ...
(both ),
Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . Valverde's biggest wins have been the Vuelta a España in 2009, Critérium du Dauphiné in 2008 and 2009 ...
() and
Ilnur Zakarin Ilnur Azatovich Zakarin (russian: Ильнур Азатович Закарин; born 15 September 1989) is a Russian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Early career and doping ban In 2007, as a 17-year-old, he won the juniors tim ...
(). The 2018 winner of the
points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
,
Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...
(), returned to defend his title in an attempt to break
Erik Zabel Erik Zabel (; born 7 July 1970) is a German former professional road bicycle racer who raced most of his career with Telekom. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some to be one of the greatest German cycl ...
's record of six wins. Before the Tour he shared the record with Zabel, after winning the classification in six out of the past seven editions. Sagan was regarded as the clear favourite for winning the points classification. The riders thought to be Sagan's biggest rivals were
Caleb Ewan Caleb Ewan (born 11 July 1994) is an Australian road and track bicycle racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam . A sprinter, Ewan has a style similar to that of Mark Cavendish, taking an extremely low position that offers him an aerodynamic advantage ...
(),
Dylan Groenewegen Dylan Groenewegen (born 21 June 1993) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won five individual Tour de France stages and one team time trial stage. He has also won the Dutch National Road Rac ...
(), Michael Matthews () and
Elia Viviani Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, winning stage 2 ...
(). Other contenders for the green jersey were
Julian Alaphilippe Julian Alaphilippe (born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-fold UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe. Career E ...
(),
Edvald Boasson Hagen Edvald Boasson Hagen (born 17 May 1987) is a Norwegian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He was ranked as no. 3 in the world by UCI as of 31 August 2009, when he was 22 years old. He is known as an all-rounder, havin ...
(),
Alexander Kristoff Alexander Kristoff (born 5 July 1987) is a Norwegian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Norwegian National Road Race Championships in 2007 and 2011. His biggest victories have been the 2014 Milan ...
() and
Wout van Aert Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the men's elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He joined in ...
().


Route and stages

On 30 May 2017, the ASO announced that Brussels would host the 2019 edition's opening stages (known as the ''Grand Départ''), honouring one of the Tour's most successful riders, Belgian
Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...
, on the 50th anniversary of his first of five overall victories. It was the second time the ''Grand Départ'' had taken place in Brussels and was the fifth Belgian ''Grand Départ''. It also marked 100 years since the race leader's yellow jersey was first seen at a Tour. Further details of the ''Grand Départ'' were revealed on 16 January 2018: the opening stage that featured the
Muur van Geraardsbergen The Muur van Geraardsbergen (English: ''Wall of Geraardsbergen/Grammont'', French: ''Mur de Grammont'') is a steep, narrow road with cobblestones in Geraardsbergen, Belgium. It is also known as Kapelmuur, Muur-Kapelmuur or simply Muur. The hil ...
climb, an iconic steep
cobbled Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fr ...
climb of the
Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...
"monument" race, and a second stage
team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...
around the streets of Brussels. The entire route, which the race director
Christian Prudhomme Christian Prudhomme (born 11 November 1960) is a French journalist and general director of the Tour de France since 2007. Pre-Tour career Born in Paris, Prudhomme studied at the ESJ school of journalism in Lille from 1983 to 1985. He joined RT ...
described as "the highest Tour in history", was unveiled on 25 October 2018. The opening stage visited
Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.
and looped back to Brussels, to connect the regions of
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and
Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...
in a stage. Starting in
Binche Binche (; wa, Bince; Dutch: ''Bing'') is a city and municipality from Wallonia, in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Since 1977, the municipality consists of Binche, Bray, Buvrinnes, Épinois, Leval-Trahegnies, Péronnes-lez-Binche, Ressaix, an ...
, the third stage left Belgium for France, with the following stage taking the race to the north-east to the
Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
Mountains for two further stages. The transitional stage 7 moved the Tour south-west and towards the
Massif Central The (; oc, Massís Central, ; literally ''"Central Massif"'') is a highland region in south-central France, consisting of mountains and plateaus. It covers about 15% of mainland France. Subject to volcanism that has subsided in the last 10,00 ...
highland region, with stage 8 ending in the city of
Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; frp, Sant-Etiève; oc, Sant Estève, ) is a city and the prefecture of the Loire department in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Saint-Étienne is the t ...
. Stages 9 and 10 traversed the Massif Central, before the Tour's first rest day. The following two stages moved the race to the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...
, which hosted four stages. After the second rest day, the Tour took a long transfer east for stage 16, finishing in
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
. Stage 17 took the race up to the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
at Gap. After three Alpine stages, an air transfer moved the Tour to the outskirts of Paris, ending with the Champs-Élysées stage. There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of . There were two time trial events, stage 2's team time trial and stage 13's
individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also track-b ...
. Of the remaining nineteen stages, seven were officially classified as flat, five as hilly and seven as mountainous. The longest mass-start stage was stage 10, at , and the shortest was stage 14, at . The route contained five mountain-top finishes: stage 6, to
La Planche des Belles Filles La Planche des Belles Filles () is a ski station in the Vosges Mountains, in France. It is located in the Haute-Saône département. Since 2012, the climb to the summit has been used several times during the Tour de France cycle race. Etymolog ...
; stages 14, to the
Col du Tourmalet Col du Tourmalet (; elevation ) is one of the highest paved mountain passes in the French Pyrenees, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées. Sainte-Marie-de-Campan is at the foot on the eastern side and the ski station La Mongie two-thirds of th ...
; stage 15, to
Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...
; stage 19, to
Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Route ...
; and stage 20, to
Val Thorens Val Thorens (), is a ski town located in the Tarentaise Valley, Savoie, French Alps at an altitude of . It is located in the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Belleville in the Savoie department. The resort forms part of the Les Trois Vallées ski are ...
. The Iseran mountain pass, the highest paved pass in Europe, featured on stage 19. This was the seventh time that the Tour climbed the Iseran, but only the second ascent from the more difficult southern side. It was among five ''
hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is the ...
'' (beyond category) rated climbs in the race. Of the 34 stage start or finish hosts, the race visited Binche,
Saint-Dié-des-Vosges Saint-Dié-des-Vosges (; german: Sankt Didel), commonly referred to as just Saint-Dié, is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Saint-Dié is located in the ...
and
Pont du Gard The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge built in the first century AD to carry water over to the Roman colony of ''Nemausus'' ( Nîmes). It crosses the river Gardon near the town of Vers-Pont-du-Gard in southern France. The Pont ...
for the first time.


Race overview


First week: Belgium, north-eastern to southern France

Stage 1's
bunch sprint This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter a ...
finish was won by 's
Mike Teunissen Mike Teunissen (born 25 August 1992) is a Dutch racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships, and was the winner of the World Under-23 Cyclo-cross Championships in 2013. He was ...
. He was initially a member of the team's
sprint train A sprint train is a group of road bicycle racers who at the end of a race work together to set a high pace to keep their sprinter at the front of the race, discourage late attacks, and allow the sprinter to launch his or her sprint as late as ...
who were leading out their designated sprinter Dylan Groenewegen, but following Groenewegen's crash in the closing , Teunissen was free to race in the sprint. He took the first yellow and green jerseys as the leader of the general and points classifications respectively. Early in the stage,
Greg Van Avermaet Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet is a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also ...
() led the breakaway group over the highest categorised climb of the stage, the third-category Muur van Geraardsbergen, claiming the lead in the
mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...
and the first
polka dot Red polka dots on a yellow background Girl wearing polka dot dress Polish ceramics German ceramics Polka dot is a pattern consisting of an array of large filled circles of the same size. Polka dots are commonly seen on children's clothing, ...
jersey as the leader of the classification. Teunissen increased his overall lead in the race following his team's victory in stage 2's team time trial, finishing twenty seconds ahead of second-placed . However, his hold on the yellow jersey was short lived after the following day's hilly stage when he lost the race lead to Julian Alaphilippe, who launched a solo attack with to go over the final climb, the third-category Côte de Mutigny, catching and passing the remainder of the breakaway to win the stage. Peter Sagan and
Tim Wellens Tim Wellens (born 10 May 1991) is a Belgian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the son of former racing cyclist Leo Wellens and the nephew of cyclists Paul and Johan Wellens. Career Born in Sint-Truiden, Wel ...
() took the green and polka dot jerseys respectively. The following day's flat stage ended in a bunch sprint won by Elia Viviani. The climbs of stage 5 did not cause trouble to the race, as most of the stage contenders retained their energy for the following stage's steep finish of the first-category Planche des Belles Filles climb. An early four-man breakaway, which included mountains classification leader Wellens, was caught well before the sprint bunch finish, won by Sagan. The mountainous stage 6 saw a 14-strong breakaway gain a lead of more than 8 minutes. By the second-category Col des Chevrères, only four riders remained. Wellens and
Xandro Meurisse Xandro Meurisse (born 31 January 1992) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . In July 2019, he was named in the startlist for the 2019 Tour de France. Major results ;2010 : 5th Ronde van Vlaanderen Juniors ;2013 : 8th Overal ...
(), the former having secured his polka dot jersey for another day, were distanced on the final climb by
Dylan Teuns Dylan Teuns (born 1 March 1992) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Diest in Flemish Brabant, Teuns is based in Halen in Limburg. BMC Racing Team (2015–18) He originally joined ...
() and
Giulio Ciccone Giulio Ciccone (born 20 December 1994) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Bardiani–CSF (2016–18) Ciccone was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia, where he won stage 10. At the 2018 Giro d'Ita ...
(). Teuns went on to win the stage, and despite Ciccone fading before Teuns in the final metres of the climb he managed to take over the yellow jersey, as the strongest of the
peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reductio ...
(main group) came in over one and a half minutes behind, with former leader Alaphilippe standing six seconds down in second place. The final also proved to be a difficulty for general classification contenders Vincenzo Nibali, Richie Porte and Romain Bardet, who lost time on the climb. Stage 7, returning to the flat after the Vosges Mountains, was uneventful, with the breakaway being held by the peloton to only a few minutes, and despite early crashes by Tejay van Garderen and Teunissen, ended in a technical bunch sprint won by Groenewegen. The Tour began its traverse of the Massif Central with stage 8; with close to of elevation gain, it was seen before the race as a potential win from a breakaway, which on the day had four riders. As the successive climbs were passed, this number was gradually reduced, with only
Thomas De Gendt Thomas De Gendt (born 6 November 1986) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He previously rode for rivals , , and . Career Born in Sint-Niklaas, De Gendt won the opening stage of the 2011 Paris–Nice ...
() and Alessandro De Marchi () surviving until the final climb, on which De Gendt successfully distanced him. With the breakaway duo's advantage down to under a minute in the final kilometres, Alaphilippe and Thibault Pinot attacked and gained twenty seconds on the much reduced peloton, as De Gendt managed to hold on for the stage victory, with Alaphilippe regaining his yellow jersey. Defending champion Geraint Thomas survived his second crash in this edition of the Tour. Stage 9 saw an early 15-strong breakaway form, which the peloton let go. At the to go mark,
Lukas Pöstlberger Lukas Pöstlberger (born 10 January 1992) is an Austrian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He won the Austrian National Road Race Championships in 2012. Born in Vöcklabruck, Pöstlberger was named in the start list for the 2017 ...
of escaped the breakaway until from the finish on the final climb of the third-category Côte de Saint-Just. Following this, a leading trio emerged, consisting of
Nicolas Roche Nicolas Roche (; born 3 July 1984) is an Ireland, Irish former professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has twice been national champion and has twice finished in the top ten of the Vuelta a Espa ...
(),
Tiesj Benoot Tiesj Benoot (born 11 March 1994) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Lotto–Soudal (2015–19) Benoot turned professional with the Belgian UCI World Tour team in 2015, after riding for the outfit in 2013 and ...
() and
Daryl Impey Daryl Impey (born 6 December 1984) is a South African professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Impey is an all-rounder; he generally comes to the fore on tough uphill sprints. Impey is a two-time winner of the Tour Dow ...
(). Roche was dropped before the finish, leaving the victory to Impey who overcame Benoot in the final sprint, in a day which otherwise saw no significant changes in the overall standings. The tenth stage was on relatively flat terrain. With remaining, splits occurred in the peloton as and others took to the front and broke the field apart in strong
crosswind A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and th ...
s. This effort proved decisive, as several overall contenders who were caught behind, including Pinot, Richie Porte, Rigoberto Urán, Jakob Fuglsang and Mikel Landa, lost time on the front group. Thomas, Egan Bernal, Alaphilippe and Bardet maintained their position at the front of the race, amongst a reduced bunch. The victory went to Wout van Aert, as several of the main sprinters were caught behind, including his teammate Groenewegen. By the first rest day, which was a day later than usual, the general classification was led by Alaphilippe, who had a lead of 1' 12" on Thomas, behind whom was Bernal in third place, just 4" from Thomas. Home favourite Pinot, despite being 1' 21" back from Thomas in eleventh place, was considered by his directeur sportif
Marc Madiot Marc Madiot (born 16 April 1959) is a French former professional road racing cyclist and double winner of Paris–Roubaix. He also competed in the individual road race event at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Retired from racing in 1994, he is now be ...
to still be in contention. In the points classification, pre-race favourite Sagan was in first position, already 62 points ahead of second-placed Michael Matthews. The mountains classification was more closely contested, with breakaway riders and teammates Wellens and De Gendt respectively first and second, with a gap of six points.


Second week: Southern France and Pyrenees

Stage 11's small breakaway was caught with remaining, before Caleb Ewan won the bunch sprint finish. The first Pyrenean stage, the twelfth, saw a 42-rider breakaway reduce to a group of Simon Yates (),
Pello Bilbao Pello Bilbao López de Armentia (born 25 February 1990) is a Spanish cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Caja Rural–Seguros RGA (2014–16) Bilbao joined for the 2014 season, after his previous team –  – fo ...
() and
Gregor Mühlberger Gregor Mühlberger (born 4 April 1994) is an Austrian cyclist, who currently rides for the UCI WorldTeam . Career He was named in the start list for the 2016 Vuelta a España and the start list for the 2017 Giro d'Italia. In July 2018, he was na ...
() on the final climb of
La Hourquette d'Ancizan La Hourquette d'Ancizan (elevation ) is a mountain pass in the French Pyrenees in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées, between the communities of Ancizan (east) and Campan (west). Toponymy The origin of the word hourquette is unclear. French ...
, the second of the stage's two first-category climbs. The trio descended to the finish at
Bagnères-de-Bigorre Bagnères-de-Bigorre (, literally ''Bagnères of Bigorre''; oc, label= Gascon, Banhèras de Bigòrra ) is a commune and subprefecture of the Hautes-Pyrénées Department in the Occitanie region of southwestern France. Name The town was known ...
, where Yates won the sprint. The majority of the peloton came in close to ten minutes after. A notable abandonment of the stage, for personal reasons, was the reigning world time trial champion
Rohan Dennis Rohan Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Dennis was born, raised, and resides in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He won back to back UCI men's individual ti ...
(), a favourite for the following day's time trial. In the aforementioned stage, Alaphilippe took the victory, with a time of 35' 00" across the course, achieving a victory on a day where he was expected to lose time to riders such as Thomas, who ended up in second place, fourteen seconds down. Wout van Aert, one of the favourites for the stage, had to abandon the race during the time trial after he crashed, having clipped a barrier on the side of the road. On stage 14, the last of the breakaway riders were caught by the leading group of general classification contenders at before the finish atop the ''hors catégorie'' Col du Tourmalet. With remaining, Thomas got detached from the lead group containing Alaphilippe, Emanuel Buchmann, Pinot, Bernal, Landa and Steven Kruijswijk. Pinot attacked in the final and held his lead to the finish line at the summit. On the final stage in the Pyrenees, Simon Yates took his second stage win of the race from a reduced breakaway of six at the summit of the first-category climb to Prat d'Albis. Pinot attacked the group of general classification contenders with remaining to finish in second place with Landa, 33 seconds behind, progressing to fourth overall. The duo of Bernal and Buchmann came in 33' down, followed by the last few breakaway riders, and then the group of favourites, led by Thomas, who finished 1' 22" behind Yates. The following day was the Tour's second rest day. By this point, overall race leader Alaphilippe was exceeding expectations, with a 1' 35" lead over Thomas. Kruijswijk was third at 1' 47", followed by Pinot, Bernal and Buchmann respectively. The green jersey was still held by Sagan, who now had a lead of 85 points over second-placed Viviani, while the mountains classification was still led by Wellens.


Third week: Southern France, Alps and finale in Paris

As the Tour came down from the Pyrenees for transitional stages towards the Alps, it experienced the beginning of the
July 2019 European heat wave In late June and late July 2019 there were two temporally distinct European heat waves, which set all-time high temperature records in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. The first heat wave, in late ...
, which saw temperatures reach a high of during stage 16. Ewan won the stage from a bunch sprint in Nîmes, his second of the Tour. Crashes during the stage included overall favourites Thomas and Fuglsang, with the latter forced to abandon. In the following stage, the 33-rider breakaway's advantage grew to 15 minutes at one point.
Matteo Trentin Matteo Trentin (born 2 August 1989) is an Italian professional road cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Professional career In 2014, Trentin took a prestigious victory on Stage 7 of the Tour de France, where he won the sprin ...
of attacked a reduced breakaway with from the finish on the final climb, the third-category Côte de la Sentinelle, and soloed to victory with lead of 37 seconds, with peloton over 20 minutes behind.
Luke Rowe Luke Rowe (born 10 March 1990) is a Welsh racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Biography Born in Cardiff, Rowe began racing at a young age, initially riding with his parents on a tandem. He began to enjoy cycling and became a member of ...
() and Tony Martin () were both disqualified from the Tour following an altercation near the front of the peloton in the latter part of the stage. Stage 18, the first in the Alps, was led by breakaway riders throughout the stage's climbs, which included the first-category Col de Vars and the ''hors catégorie''
Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the sou ...
and
Col du Galibier The Col du Galibier (el. ) is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France. It connects Saint-M ...
. The 34-strong breakaway had been reduced to a group of elite riders by the foot of the Galibier, the final climb. Nairo Quintana attacked with still to climb, and by the summit had built a lead of over a minute and a half, which he held on the descent to the finish. Meanwhile, with remaining of the Galibier, Bernal attacked from within the group of general classification contenders containing Alaphilippe and Thomas, allowing Bernal to recover half a minute on his rivals by the finish and move up to second overall. The lead of the mountains classification went to Romain Bardet, who was a pre-race favourite for the yellow jersey but moved out of contention after losing 20 minutes on stage 14's Col du Tourmalet, thereafter switching focus to breakaway rides. Around into stage 19, Pinot, who had been placed fifth in the general classification, abandoned the race with a leg muscle injury. At the head of the race in the closing kilometres of the planned second to last climb, the ''hors catégorie'' Col de l'Iseran, Bernal attacked from the group of overall contenders, catching and passing final breakaway riders by the summit. Next over the top were breakers Simon Yates and
Warren Barguil Warren Barguil (; born 28 October 1991) is a French cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . He is best known for winning two mountain stages and the mountains classification of the 2017 Tour de France. Career Early career Born in Hennebont, Britta ...
(), one minute behind Bernal, with the yellow jersey contenders following. Alaphilippe was dropped following Bernal's attack, and was two minutes behind at the summit. During the descent, the race was neutralised when a hailstorm caused ice and landslides to block the route to the final climb to
Tignes Tignes () is a commune in the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France, known for the highest skiable area and the longest ski season in Europe. It is located in the Savoie region with good tr ...
, particularly a mudslide at the foot of the descent before
Val-d'Isère Val-d'Isère (, literally ''Valley of Isère'') is a commune of the Tarentaise Valley, in the Savoie department (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region) in southeastern France. It lies from the border with Italy. It is on the border of the Vanoise Nationa ...
. Times for the general classification were taken at the summit of the Iseran, with the stage victory and most
combative Combatives is the term for hand-to-hand combat training and techniques within the Army branch of the United States military. History Sometimes called Close-Quarters Combat (CQC or close combat), World War II-era American combatives were large ...
rider of the day not awarded. As a result, Bernal, who had been in second place overall, moved ahead of Alaphilippe and took the yellow jersey. The stage was shortened from to . The inclement weather also caused the penultimate stage to be reduced in length beforehand, from to , bypassing the first-category Cormet de Roselend and the second-category Côte de Longefoy, with the only climb being the ''hors catégorie''-rated one to Val Thorens at the finish. A group of 29 riders established a two-and-a-half minute lead over the peloton, before being vastly reduced to six on the early slopes of the Val Thorens climb. With remaining, Nibali attacked from this group and soloed to victory, ten seconds ahead of chasers Landa and Alejandro Valverde. Close behind, Bernal and Thomas led the other general classification contenders Urán, Buchmann and Kruijswijk. Alaphilippe was dropped again, losing three minutes to Bernal and dropping from second overall to fifth. The final stage in Paris was won by Ewan in a bunch sprint on the Champs-Élysées, his third win and the most of any rider in this edition of the race. Bernal won the race with no changes in the final stage. The 22-year-old Colombian became the youngest since
François Faber François Faber (; 26 January 1887 – 9 May 1915) was a Luxembourgian racing cyclist. He was born in France. He was the first foreigner to win the Tour de France in 1909, and his record of winning 5 consecutive stages still stands. He died in ...
in
1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...
and first Latin American Tour winner. Thomas came second overall, 1' 11" down on Bernal, with Kruijswijk a further 20 seconds behind in third. Sagan won a record seventh points classification with a total of 316, 68 ahead of Ewan in second. Bardet won the mountains classification with 86 points, 8 ahead of Bernal in second. The
young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for ride ...
was won by Bernal, with thirteenth-placed overall Gaudu second. Bernal became the fifth rider to win both the general and young rider classification in the same year, following
Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured t ...
(
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
),
Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crow ...
(
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
),
Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the Vue ...
(
2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
), and
Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration f ...
(
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
). The squad finished as the winners of the
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
, 47' 54" ahead of second-placed . Of the 176 starters, 155 reached the finish of the last stage in Paris.


Classification leadership and minor prizes

Four main individual classifications and a team competition were contested in the race. The most important was the general classification, calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Time bonuses (time subtracted) were awarded at the end of every stage apart from the time trial stages. The first three riders received 10, 6, and 4 seconds, respectively. In an effort to animate racing in the general classification, time bonuses of 8, 5, and 2 seconds respectively were also awarded for the first three riders across a mountain summit, given out on eight climbs. These occurred on stages 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 19. These bonuses replaced the special time "bonus point" sprints that were a feature in the 2018 edition. For crashes within the final of a stage, not including time trials and summit finishes, any rider involved would have received the same time as the group he was in when the crash occurred. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered to be the overall winner of the Tour. The rider leading the classification wore a yellow
jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
. In celebration of 100th anniversary of the yellow jersey, individual jersey designs were worn on each stage, apart from the first. Additionally, there was a points classification. Riders received points for finishing among the highest placed in a stage finish, or in
intermediate sprint This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport. For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts. 0–9 ; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and a ...
s during the stage. The points available for each stage finish were determined by the stage's type, and sprints, with the first fifteen places in all receiving points. In flat stages, 50 points were given to the stage winner, down to 2 points for 15th place. In hilly stages, the winner gained 30 points, also down to 2 points. In mountain stages, individual time trials and intermediate sprints, 20 points were given to the winners, down to 1 point. The cyclist with the most points led the classification, and was identified with a green jersey. There was also a mountains classification. Most stages of the race included one or more categorised climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The climbs were categorised as fourth-, third-, second-, and first-category and ''hors catégorie'', with the more difficult climbs rated lower. Mountains ranked ''hors catégorie'' gave 20 points to the first rider to cross the summit, down to 2 points to the 8th cyclist. For first-category climbs, 6 riders received points, with 10 for the first rider to reach the summit. Second-, third- and fourth-category climbs gave 5, 2 and 1 points to the first rider respectively. Double points were awarded at the top of the five planned ''hors catégorie'' climbs higher than . The cyclist with the most points led the classification, wearing a white jersey with red polka dots. The final individual classification was the young rider classification. This was calculated the same way as the general classification, but only riders under 26 years were eligible. This meant that in order to compete in the classification, a rider had to be born after 1 January 1994. Of the 176 starters, 48 were eligible. The leader wore a white jersey. The classification for the teams was calculated by adding together the times of the first three cyclists of a team on each stage; the leading team was the one with the lowest cumulative time. The number of stage victories and placings per team would have determined the outcome of a tie. The riders on the team that led this classification were identified with yellow number bibs on the back of their jerseys and yellow
helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
. In addition, there was a combativity award given after each stage to the rider considered, by a jury, to have "made the greatest effort and who demonstrated the best qualities of sportsmanship". No combativity awards were given for the time trials and the final stage. The winner wore a red number bib for the following stage. At the conclusion of the Tour, Julian Alaphilippe won the overall super-combativity award, again awarded by a jury. A total of €2,291,700 was awarded in cash prizes in the race. The overall winner of the general classification received €500,000, with the second and third placed riders getting €200,000 and €100,000 respectively. All finishers in the top 160 were awarded money. The holders of the classifications benefited on each stage they led; the final winners of the points and mountains were given €25,000, while the best young rider and most combative rider got €20,000. The team classification winners earned €50,000. €11,000 was given to the winners of each stage of the race, with smaller amounts given to places 2–20. There were also two special awards each with a prize of €5000. The
Souvenir Jacques Goddet The Souvenir Jacques Goddet is an award and cash prize in the Tour de France bicycle race that began in 2001. The Souvenir is named in honour of the historically second Tour de France director and French sports journalist Jacques Goddet. It is aw ...
, given to the first rider to pass Goddet's memorial at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in stage 14, and the
Souvenir Henri Desgrange The Souvenir Henri Desgrange is an award and cash prize given in the yearly running of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. It is won by the rider that crosses a particular point in the race, mostly the summits of the highest a ...
, given to the first rider to pass the summit of the highest climb in the Tour, the Col de l'Iseran on stage 19. Thibaut Pinot won the Jacques Goddet and Egan Bernal claimed the Henri Desgrange. * On stages 2 and 3,
Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...
, who was second in the points classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed
Mike Teunissen Mike Teunissen (born 25 August 1992) is a Dutch racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career He rode at the 2013 UCI Road World Championships, and was the winner of the World Under-23 Cyclo-cross Championships in 2013. He was ...
wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. * On stages 7 and 8,
Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'It ...
, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because first placed
Giulio Ciccone Giulio Ciccone (born 20 December 1994) is an Italian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Bardiani–CSF (2016–18) Ciccone was named in the start list for the 2016 Giro d'Italia, where he won stage 10. At the 2018 Giro d'Ita ...
wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification. * On stages 20 and 21,
David Gaudu David Gaudu (born 10 October 1996) is a French professional cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career In 2016, Gaudu won the Tour de l'Avenir, the most prestigious U23 cycling race. In addition to this he won the Peace Race U23 and finished 5 ...
, who was second in the young rider classification, wore the white jersey, because first placed
Egan Bernal Egan Arley Bernal Gómez (born 13 January 1997) is a Colombian cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . In 2019 he won the Tour de France, becoming the first Latin American rider to do so, and the youngest winner since 1909. At the 2021 Giro d'It ...
wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification.


Final standings


General classification


Points classification


Mountains classification


Young rider classification


Team classification


UCI rankings

For the
UCI World Ranking The UCI men's road racing world rankings are a point system which is used to rank men's road cycling riders. Points are accrued over a rolling 52 weeks in three categories (Individual, Nations and Teams). Also Year-End rankings exist, based on ...
system, riders from both the WorldTeams and Professional Continental teams competed individually, for their teams, and for their nations, winning points that contributed towards separate rankings, which included all UCI road races. There was also an individual ranking introduced for the 2019 season that only took into account UCI stage races, the Stage Race World Ranking. Points were awarded to the top 60 in the general classification, each yellow jersey given at the end of a stage, the top 5 finishers in each stage and for the top 3 in the final points and mountains classifications. The points accrued by Egan Bernal moved him from 23rd to 6th in the individual World Ranking and from ninth to second in the Stage Race World Ranking. Julian Alaphilippe retained his position at the top of individual World Ranking, with and Belgium also holding the lead of the team and nation ranking respectively.


See also

*
2019 in sports 2019 in sports describes the year's events in world sports. The main events were the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the 2019 Rugby World Cup, and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Calendar by month Air sports Aerobatics * July 5 – 13: 2nd FAI ...
* 2019 La Course by Le Tour de France – a women's one-day race held during the Tour


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tour De France, 2019 2019 in Belgian sport 2019 in Brussels 2019 in French sport 2019 UCI World Tour July 2019 sports events in France
2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...