Once again on a mountain stage there is a sprint prime at an easy get to range of 21.5km for the sprinters, so no doubt this tussle will dominate from the very start on this early part of the stage.
<>
Also many KOM points available for the taking, and with Tadej and Jonas seemingly hogging 1st and 2nd places it may come down to who will be 3rd in this classification with Remco looking slightly vulnerable.
MOUNTAINS CLASSIFICATION BEFORE STAGE 19
Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, 77 points
Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a bike, 58 points
On ITV 4 highlights Jai Hindley was interviewed about feeling tired…
Pretty tired…Its like classic grand tour racing you know what I mean you wake up tired you go to bed tired you do interviews tired its all part of it
And for me that just nails it .
Just get on with the job no moaning …there the real athletes
So reading the Euros with the football a poster said the England team looked burnt out.
They had been playing football since last August
Yeah 2 matches of 90 mins a match a week 3 hours of training every morning
Top dieticians and physios and doctors …absolutely laughable
Tired …3rd week in a Grand Tour thats Tired
I can only reply superficially and briefly. I expect there are books on the subject. There are obvious differences between team and individual sports (consider the gladiatorial aspects of tennis); cycling has elements of both depending on the event. I was also thinking about the exposure to public opinion - extensive and often deeply hostile in English premier league football - and that’s just the club supporters. This can be expressed at the match in person and online. Would it be safe to expose English footballers to the fans in the same way that cyclists are on the mountains?
Thanks Clive you talk alot of sense and bring some good points
I haven’t considered the public pressure and expectation on a player from a psychology point of view like an England player in the Euros
Thanks its made me look at it in a different way
Victor Campenaerts, yesterday’s stage winner, takes this mornings selfie with the jersey wearers:
Tadej Pogačar UAE Team Emirates Biniam Girmay Intermarché-Wanty Jonas Vingegaard Visma-Lease a Bike ( 2nd place -Jersey loan from Tadej) Remco Evenepoel Soudal Quick-Step
<>
Abandonments:
DNS : Stefan Küng Groupama - FDJ
DNS : Jake Stewart Israel - Premier Tech
Pogačar looks to have the form to do the triple grand slam this year if he enters la Vuelta.
He is also young enough to accumulate a record total number of TdF stage wins if he continues over the years to come.
And talking of Cav, he’s still hanging on in there, last man to cross the line in Stage 19 but his grit and determination is admirable, finishing in 141st place at 43:46 down from Pog’s blistering winning time, and presently placed 140th on GC, with his Astana team mate Davide Ballerini holding the “Lanterne Rouge” in 141st.
Meanwhile Stage 19 saw a long awaited change of jersey with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) the first rider to peak both HC category climbs and then finish the stage in fourth place, incredible effort. He amassed enough KOM points to oust his way to 1st position and winning the Polka dot jersey which he will wear tomorrow.
In an interview Pogačar gestured that he would be happy to let the breakaway go today, however this plan may not appeal to his GC rivals. The sprint prime is harmlessly out too far to affect the Girmay vs Philipsen duo, just a case of them surviving the course.
Carapaz may go out to take some more KOM points to secure his classification award in Nice, but the guy in yellow is the only one who could possibly win it back and this looks unlikely.
Probably a stage set for another opportunist stage-hunters free-for-all.
A total of 104 points are to be divided in the best climbers classification today.
The maximum number of points a rider can score is 35 points.
Stage 20
Col de Braus at 24.7 km = 5,3,2,1
Col de Turini at 59.8 km = 10,8,6,4,2,1
Col de la Colmiane at 95.9 km = 10,8,6,4,2,1
Col de la Couillole at 132.7 km = 10,8,6,4,2,1
<>
MOUNTAINS CLASSIFICATION BEFORE STAGE 20
Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, 101 points
Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, 87 points
Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a bike, 59 points
Matteo Jorgenson (Usa) Visma-Lease a Bike, 53 points
Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal-Quick Step, 44 points
There was a point in today’s stage where I foolishly thought that Vingegaard could possibly win, but then a yellow light flashed in front of my eyes… amazing!
Once again on a mountain stage there is a sprint prime at an easy get to range of 21.5km for the sprinters, so no doubt this tussle will dominate from the very start on this early part of the stage.
MOUNTAINS CLASSIFICATION BEFORE STAGE 19
Tadej Pogačar 
UAE Team Emirates
Intermarché-Wanty
Visma-Lease a Bike ( 2nd place -Jersey loan from Tadej)
Remco Evenepoel 
Soudal Quick-Step
Groupama - FDJ
Israel - Premier Tech
23ºC at the start in Gap, expected to heat up…
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
EF Education-EasyPost, 101 points
TEAMS CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 19
