Stage 19 saw Christophe Laporte claim his first plushie on a Tour de France podium to give Jumbo-Visma their fifth victory and the French their first. Can you hear La Marseillaise? The flying French Jumbo Bee jumped to the three man leading group in the last kilometre, then surged in the finale to come over the line with sheer disbelief and joy written large on his face. In a missed opportunity for the fast men, Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) pipped Team DSM’s Alberto Dainese for second place in the bunch sprint. Despite some nervous moments for due echelon action, ill timed mechanicals and yet another protest, the GC remains unchanged. Not that it stopped Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team-Emirates) from trying his luck to grab a few seconds back on the yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard along the way.
