Arensman dominates GC group as Visma throw in the towel – Key Takeaways from stage 19

Though a combination of the rerouting of the stage, UAE Team Emirates - XRG controlling all day and Visma | Lease a Bike giving up on GC victory, what could’ve been an exciting queen stage which turned the GC around ultimately failed to live up to the hype. It was never in doubt that the peloton would win the stage and the only questioned that remained was over the podium battle, which was decided in one simple attack.

Although the hammer blow was dealt yesterday, Lenny Martinez was still mathematically in the fight for the Polka Dot jersey. Winning 25 points from the first two climbs of the day, he needed to win on the final climb and hope for Pogačar and Vingegaard to be as far down as possible. This of course didn’t happen, and he is now officially out of the running for the classification. 

Beginning the day fifth but within reach of his teammate Lipowitz in third, Primož Roglič had an elaborate plan to attack and hope the GC group would the breakaway go. While he successfully made the breakaway and was the last to be caught, UAE controlled it all day and he was never more than a minute clear of the peloton. Eventually Roglič came in 12 minutes down and finished 8th in GC. 

After a difficult day yesterday, Florian Lipowitz found himself a mere 22 seconds ahead of podium and white jersey contender Oscar Onley heading into the stage. Riding defensively against the Scot all day, eventually he clung onto an attack by Pogačar, distancing Onley by 41 seconds and all but confirming his GC position with a hilly breakaway stage tomorrow.

The Dutch engine has had some very impressive results in the past, with sixth place in three Grand Tours and a stage win in the Vuelta before, as well as his victory earlier on this Tour; but this win will likely be one of the best performances in his career when he looks back on it. Winning a mountain stage from the group containing Pogačar and Vingegaard is not something many riders can say they have achieved. It was not like they weren’t going full gas either. There was definitely an intention from both riders to win that stage, and ultimately, they could not bring back the Ineos Grenadiers rider in time, who has saved his team from further embarrassment at this Tour De France. 

Despite the gaps being relatively big, the fight for lower positions in the GC was stronger than ever on this stage. With Kévin Vauquelin dropping on the first climb, and Primož Roglič dropping badly on the last climb, it was the consistent Felix Gall and Tobias Halland Johannessen who gained in the GC, with Gall moving into the top 5 and the Uno-X climber gaining 2 positions to finish sixth. Roglič cracked so badly that Vauquelin retained his seventh place ahead of the Slovenian despite starting minutes down on him. Healy and O’Connor completed the top 10.

After defiant talk all week and attacks to follow the noise, Vingegaard finally accepted that with the stage being shortened, it would be impossible to gain four minutes on Pogačar today. Instead, the focus switched to simply winning the stage. While this did not happen, the Dane can take heart from the fact that he managed to outsprint Pogačar to the line, albeit only for second place.

Having been criticised and called out throughout the race for their tactics, Visma decided to switch it up after they concluded Pogačar was uncatchable in the GC, and that a stage win would be sufficient alongside an overall podium. 

Knowing that the Slovenian was after a stage win, they sat back and let UAE tightly control the break. After a high pace set by Decathlon isolated the leaders, Vingegaard was to sit on Pogačar’s wheel, follow any attacks and try to tire him out. The goal was for Vingegaard to sprint past him and claim victory. While he followed this plan to the letter, he also let Arensman get up the road. Offering one or two turns to Pogačar could have closed the gap and, judging by the sprint at the end, Vingegaard had plenty more in the legs. This feels like a stage win left on the road for Visma.