French climber Romain Bardet won stage 19 of the Tour de France as overall leader Chris Froome was forced to fight back after crashing on a wet descent today.
Bardet (AG2R) dropped Portugal’s Rui Costa (Lampre) on the final climb to cross the line in 4:14:08 after 146km of racing between Albertville and Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to move into second in the overall standings.
Spain’s Joaquim Rodriquez (Katusha) finished second on the stage, 23 behind the winner, with his compatriot Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) third in the same time.
Froome (Sky) now leads Bardet by 4:11 in the general classification with Colombia’s Nairo Quintana moving onto the podium, 4:27 in arrears.
Dutchman Bauke Mollema was the big loser of the day when he dropped from second overall to 10th after going down.
South Africa’s Louis Meintjes (Lampre) finished fourth on the day to move into eighth overall, 7:02 behind.
“I’m on the clouds here really,” said Bardet. “It is beautiful, it is a bicycle ridden with instinct. Oh it is crazy.
“All the team did a really great job today. They were the ones who forced me into the climb and I did the climb as quickly as possible.
“I was thinking about the victory of the stage. Initially I was thinking about the overall, but it was so important to try and win a stage,” said Bardet. “I think I’m second in the standings.”
Stage 19 results
1. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) 4:14:08
2. Joaquin Rodriguez (Team Katusha) 23″
3. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team)
4. Louis Meintjes (Lampre – Merida)
5. Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) 26″
6. Fabio Aru (Astana Pro Team) 28″
7. Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step)
8. Wouter Poels (Team Sky) 36″
9. Christopher Froome (Team Sky)
10. Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) 53″
Selected
35. Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange) 9’03”
156. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data)
General classification
1. Christopher Froome (Team Sky) 82:10:37
2. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) 4’11”
3. Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) 4’27”
4. Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) 4’36”
5. Richie Porte (BMC Racing Team) 5’17”
6. Fabio Aru (Astana Pro Team) 6’00”
7. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team) 6’20”
8. Louis Meintjes (Lampre – Merida) 7’02”
9. Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step) 7’10”
10. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) 7’42”
Selected
39. Daryl Impey (Orica-BikeExchange) 1:40:36
112. Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (Dimension Data) 3:26:40
Points classification
1. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff Team) 425 points
2. Marcel Kittel (Etixx – Quick-Step) 228
3. Michael Matthews (Orica-BikeExchange) 163
King of the Mountains
1. Rafal Majka (Tinkoff Team) 209 points
2. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) 105
3. Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling) 81
See Tour de France for more news, results and photos.
