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Joined February 2018
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Third year Journalism Student at the University of Queensland. Follow just about every Queensland-based team, regardless of code. Lover of all sports.
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After a courageous ride over some of the toughest climbs in the Pyrenees, Peter Sagan finishes in the gruppetto, approximately 38 minutes and 20 seconds back on Roglic. He will make it to Paris, albeit in a fair bit of pain and discomfort.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Oh boy, here we go. Here are Tom Dumoulin’s thoughts on today’s stage:
“Roglic was the strongest today, and a lot of respect for his victory. But he was flying downhill, and eventually I got dropped on a straight part just because he was on his tube and full in the slipstream of the motorbike,” he said.
“I was sprinting to his wheel and I couldn’t get any closer. I just got dropped on the only straight part of the downhill. It’s ridiculous really.”
On whether or not he will protest, Dumoulin said:
“It makes no sense anyway….”
When asked whether he was content with Roglic’s actions:
“No, of course not. I’m f****ing p***ed.”
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
What were your thoughts on today’s events, Roarers?
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Mike Tomalaris on SBS is reporting that Tom Dumoulin has levelled accusations of drafing at Primoz Roglic, allegedly on the final descent. Dumoulin is reportedly “furious” with Roglic for using the television motorbike to escape from the main group. This information is, as yet, unconfirmed.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Here’s how the General Classification looks after today’s stage. Major changes are Roglic moving up into third position, Quintana dropping down to ninth and Zakarin into the Top 10.
1. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky – 79:49:31
2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb +2:05
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo +2:24
4. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky +2:37
5. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo +4:37
6. Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team +4:40
7. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +5:15
8. Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates +6:39
9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team +10:26
10. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin +11:49
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
STAGE 19 RESULT:
1. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo – 5:28:17
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky + 0:19
3. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale +0:19
4. Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates +0:19
5. Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe +0:19
6. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb +0:19
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team +0:19
8. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky +0:19
9. Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo +0:31
10. Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin +0:31
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
SAGAN WATCH:
Last update on the three-time World Champion had him 32 minutes behind Roglic. It looks like he will just make today’s time-cut.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Nairo Quintana sprints in seven minutes and eight seconds behind Roglic. Quintana keeps his spot in the Top 10, but drops to ninth overall, 10:26 behind Geraint Thomas.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Provisional GC Standings:
1. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky – 79:49:31
2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb + 2:05
3. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo + 2:19
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Provisional Stage Result:
1. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo – 5″28’17
2. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Team Sky + 0:19
3. Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale + 0:19
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Behind him in the sprint finish, Romain Bardet takes third place and four bonus seconds.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Masterful race by Geraint Thomas who takes second place and extends his overall lead out to more than two minutes over Tom Dumoulin.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
1km to go
No time to celebrate as every second counts…
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
2km to go
Primoz Roglic now has an advantage of 17 seconds and will win this stage (barring disaster)!
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
2.5km to go
Straighter section of road and they still can’t see him! Neutral service going ahead now…
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
4km to go
Roglic now with a 100m gap. Worth noting that he’ll also get a ten second time bonus for the stage win if he makes it.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
5km to go
Froome to the front in an attempt to defend his podium position. Roglic now looking likely for the stage win with a gap of eight seconds.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Good signs for Roglic, Tom Dumoulin is now looking behind for support.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
8km to go
Roglic extends the gap to five seconds and is now out of sight.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
Mikel Landa has been awarded the Most Combative Rider prize for today’s stage.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
10km to go
Roglic has a gap of two seconds over the yellow jersey group. Krujswijk and Zakarin are fifteen seconds back.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
12km to go
Zakarin and Krujswijk, both men who have had Grand Tour GC hopes dashed by descent crashes in the past, have fallen off the back of the group.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
14km to go
Quintana is still on the climb and is now 4’45 behind the leaders. His GC hopes are over.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog
STAGE 19 REPORT:
After a thrilling yet somewhat controversial descent to the line, it was Primoz Roglic who claimed victory on Stage 19 of the 2018 Tour France and, in doing so, moved himself momentarily into third place overall.
Amidst allegations of motorbike drafting, the Slovenian former ski-jumper stretched his descending skills to the limit and used every inch of the road in what was a perfect run-in to the finish line in Laruns where he won by nineteen seconds over his chasing rivals.
Earlier on in the day, the stage was lit up by long-range attacks on the Col du Tourmalet from Ilnur Zakarin, Mikel Landa and Romain Bardet. These three, along with Rafal Majka worked together to build up a healthy lead over the peloton.
When they eventually caught up with the day’s breakaway, the lead had grown to three and a half minutes and Landa had moved ahead of Tom Dumoulin into second place on the virtual classification. This prompted a response from LottoNL-Jumbo and it was the Dutchman Robert Gesink who rode himself to a virtual standstill while substantially reducing the margin to under a minute and a half in what was one of the outstanding rides of the day.
On the final triple-ascent of the Aubisque, hostilities resumed with attacks from multiple riders including Steven Krujswijk, Dan Martin, Tom Dumoulin and most notably, Roglic. With all this occuring, Chris Froome was dropped and then distanced by thirty seconds.
Although his podium chances seemed to be slipping away metre-by-metre, some brilliance from the youngest rider in the race, super-domestique Egan Bernal, meant that he was able to make his way back to the yellow jersey group before the final descent.
Froome may have survived the climb, but his old rival, Nairo Quintana did not. The 28-year-old Colombian was already hanging off the back of the peloton at the start of the Soulor and was unable to respond when Gesink put the hammer down. He eventually rolled in, over seven minutes behind, clinging to a spot inside the Top ten on the overall standings.
In the end, the performance of the day, not including the final descent, probably would have to go to race leader Geraint Thomas who, with his sprint for second, actually managed to extend his overall advantage out past two minutes over Tom Dumoulin.
It was an almost flawless ride from the Welshman, who had to fend for himself on the final climb when Bernal and Froome could not follow and, in the end, gained time on all of his rivals except Primoz Roglic. Barring an absolute catastrophe in tomorrow’s Individual Time-Trial, he will be odds-on favourite to be crowned as the first ever Welsh champion of the Tour and will make it six out of the last seven for Britain.
Peter Sagan too, will also pick-up his green jersey on Sunday as long as he can remain upright. The Slovak, was quite clearly a lot of pain after his heavy crash on Wednesday’s stage but managed to scrape in below the time cut with the gruppetto, over 38 minutes back.
In the end though, this stage, like tommorrow’s will have the most intrigue when Roglic’s overall result is at stake.
2018 Tour de France: Stage 19 live race updates, blog