The Tour is heading towards its final showdown. The third-to-last stage takes the riders over three towering mountains at altitudes exceeding 2000 meters, with the peloton needing to conquer 4400 meters of elevation gain.
Stage 19, from Embrun to Isola in the French Alps, is relatively short at 144.6 kilometers, but the terrain is extremely challenging. By the end, riders will have climbed 4400 meters – after nearly three weeks of racing, today will feel more like a torture for many, with the time limit potentially playing a significant role.
Right after the start in Embrun, there is an intermediate sprint where Biniam Girmay will aim to secure his Green Jersey. Afterward, he will conserve his energy and focus on beating the time limit, as the route climbs the Col de Vars (2109 meters). This climb is 18.8 kilometers long, has an average gradient of 5.7 percent, and is classified as “hors catégorie.”
Riders like Pogacar can only recover during the descent, because upon reaching the valley, they must tackle the Cime de la Bonette. At 2802 meters, it is the highest paved road in the Alps, surpassing even the Passo Stelvio in Italy, which stands at 2757 meters. This climb is 22.9 kilometers long with an average gradient of 6.9 percent, and the last kilometer averages over ten percent. The Bonette has only featured in the Tour five times, and not since 2008, when Cyril Dessel won.
Pogacar: “I Will Start Defensively”
The spectacle doesn’t end there. The final climb to Isola 2000 (2024 meters) awaits, which is long (16.1 kilometers) and challenging (average gradient of 7.1 percent), even though it is “only” categorized as a Category 1 climb.
What does the main man in the Yellow Jersey have to say? “La Bonette is a long, beautiful climb,” Tadej Pogacar commented on tour.fr about the stage. “As for Isola 2000, I trained there before the Tour and know the ascent well. Do I have a home advantage this weekend? Not really. My only advantage is the 3:11 minutes I have over Jonas (Vingegaard). My strategy will be to start defensively and see if I can go on the offensive later because it can also be a good stage for Jonas.” The weather will also play a role today. With midsummer temperatures, it won’t be too cold even at nearly 3000 meters. The neutral start is at 12:20 PM, with the race beginning shortly after. The best riders could reach the finish around 4:30 PM if they average 36 km/h.
It’s clear that anyone without good legs today will lose a lot of time and could ruin nearly three weeks of hard work