We’re only in the early stages of the Tour de France, with the opening routes mostly tailored for the sprinters ahead of Friday’s first mountain stage. And the honors are being spread around, with four different winners in the four individual stages: Mike Teunissen (NED), France’s Julien Alaphilippe, Italian Elia Viviani and Slovakia’s Peter Sagan.
The overall leader is Alaphilippe, who took the lead with a breakaway win in the third stage, winning by 26 seconds over Michael Matthews (AUS) and the rest of the chase pack. He’s the first Frenchman to lead Le Tour since Tony Gallopin in 2014. After Wednesday’s stage, he now leads by 14 seconds:
1. 18:44:12 Julien Alaphilippe (FRA)
2. +0:14 Wout van Aert (BEL)
3. +0:25 Stephen Kruijswijk (NED)
4. +0:25 George Bennett (NZL)
5. +0:40 Michael Matthews (AUS)
Two of the top contenders, defending champ Geraint Thomas (GBR) and Colombia’s Egan Bernal, are both 40 seconds back. Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali is 1:01 behind already.
Thursday’s sixth stage is a misery-inducing 160.5 km race starting at 251 m in Mulhouse with six significant climbs that top out at 1,327 m, 1,171 m, 917 m and run up to a mountain finish at 1,139 m at La Planche des Belles Filles. This will be the first real look at who the climbers are and what they are prepared to do in 2019.
¶
In the women’s Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile, Dutch star Annemiek van Vleuten has blown up the race with two brilliant stage wins, especially in the final climb in stage five to Lago di Cancano.
With Poland’s Kasia Niewiadoma leading the race through four stages, van Vleuten had a plan and attacked at the start of the final climb, about 10 km from the finish. This is the stage that was re-routed because the Passo Gavia – an even higher finish – was snowed in and impassable. But van Vleuten stormed last Canada’s Leah Kirchmann and rode away with no one able to stay close.
“I know the roads here very well,” said Van Vleuten. “I knew I had to attack from the bottom to gain as much time as possible, but it was 10 km of epic suffering.
“The Giro is a very big goal for me this year. It was a bit of a waiting game until now and I’m very happy that I could finally use my legs and attack.”
Trailing by 47 seconds going into the stage, van Vleuten won it by a staggering 2:57 and had a lead of 2:16 over Niewiadoma heading into Wednesday’s time trial … in which she is the reigning World Champion.
She won the stage, of course, by a healthy 52 seconds over fellow Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen and now has a commanding 4:17 over Niewiadoma and van der Breggen with four stages left.
Van Vleuten would have to fall off her bike to lose, but it’s happened before. Summaries so far:
UCI World Tour/Tour de France
France ~ 6-28 July 2019
(Full results here)
Stage 1 (194.5 km): 1. Mike Teunissen (NED), 4:22:47; 2. Peter Sagan (SVK), 4:22:47; 3. Caleb Ewan (AUS), 4:22:47; 4. Giacomo Nizzolo (ITA), 4:22:47; 5. Sonny Colbrelli (ITA), 4:22:47.
Stage 2 (27.6 km Team Time Trial): 1. Jumbo-Visma (NED), 28:57; 2. Team Ineos (GBR), 29:17; 3. Deceuninck-Quick Step (GER), 29:18; 4. Team Sunweb (GER), 29:23; 5. Team Katusha Alpecin (SUI), 29:23.
Stage 3 (215.0 km): 1. Julien Alaphilippe (FRA), 4:40:29; 2. Michael Matthews (AUS), 4:40:55; 3. Jasper Stuyven (BEL), 4:40:55; 4. Greg van Avermaet (BEL), 4:40:55; 5. Sagan (SVK), 4:40:55.
Stage 4 (213.5 km): 1. Elia Viviani (ITA), 5:09:20; 2. Alexander Kristoff (NOR), 5:09:20; 3. Ewan (AUS), 5:09:20; 4. Sagan (SVk), 5:09:20; 5. Dylan Groenewegen (NED), 5:09:20.
Stage 5 (175.5 km): 1. Sagan (SVK), 4:02:33; 2. Wout van Aert (BEL), 4:02:33; 3. Matteo Trentin (ITA), 4:02:33; 4. Colbrelli (ITA), 4:02:33; 5. van Avermaet (BEL), 4:02:33.
11 July: Stage 6 (160.5 km): Mulhouse to La Planche des Belles Filles (mountains)
12 July: Stage 7 (230.0 km): Belfort to Chalon-sur-Saône (flat)
13 July: Stage 8 (200.0 km): Macon to Saint-Etienne (hilly)
14 July: Stage 9 (170.5 km): Saint-Etienne to Brioude (hilly)
15 July: Stage 10 (217.5 km): Saint-Flour to Albi (hilly)
16 July: Rest day
17 July: Stage 11 (167.0 km): Albi to Toulouse (flat)
18 July: Stage 12 (209.5 km): Toulouse to Bagneres-de-Bigorre (high mountains)
19 July: Stage 13 (27.2 km Time Trial): Pau to Pau (flat)
20 July: Stage 14 (117.5 km): Tarbes to Tourmalet (high mountains)
21 July: Stage 15 (185.0 km): Limoux to Foix (mountains)
22 July: Rest day
23 July: Stage 16 (177.0 km): Nîmes to Nîmes (hilly)
24 July: Stage 17 (200.0 km): Pont du Gard to Gap (hilly)
25 July: Stage 18 (208.0 km): Embrun to Valloire (high mountains)
26 July: Stage 19 (126.5 km): Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Tignes (high mountains)
27 July: Stage 20 (130.0 km): Albertville to Val Thorens (high mountains)
28 July: Stage 21 (128.0 km): Rambouillet to Paris (flat)
UCI Women’s World Tour/Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile
Italy ~ 5-14 July 2019
(Full results here)
Stage 1 (18.0 km: Team Time Trial): 1. Canyon-SRAM Racing (GER: Niewiadoma, Barnes, Ryan, Shapira, Cromwell, Amialiusik), 31:41; 2. Bigla Pro Cycling (DEN), 32:05; 3. CCC-Liv (NED), 32:26; 4. Mitchelton-Scott (AUS), 32:34; 5. Boels-Dolmans (NED), 32:45.
Stage 2 (78.3 km): 1. Marianne Vos (NED), 2:15:56; 2. Annemiek van Vleuten (NED), 2:15:56; 3. Lucinda Brand (NED), 2:15:16; 4. Anna van der Breggen (NED), 2:15:56; 5. Soraya Paladin (ITA), 2:15:56. Also in the top 25: 14. Ruth Winder (USA), 2:15:56; … 20. Katie Hall (USA), 2:16:08; 21. Tayler Wiles (USA), 2:16:08.
Stage 3 (104.1 km): Vos (NED), 2:49:11; 2. Lucy Kennedy (AUS), 2:49:11; 3. Cecile Upprup Ludwig (DEN), 2:49:11; 4. Van Vleuten (NED), 2:49:11; 5. Ashleigh Moolman (RSA), 2:49:11. Also in the top 25: 13. Hall (USA), 2:49:11; … 21. Winder (USA), 2:49:20; … 25. Leah Thomas (USA), 2:49:40.
Stage 4 (100.1 km): 1. Letrizia Borghesi (ITA), 2:29:50; 2. Nadia Quagliotto (ITA), 2:29:50; 3. Chiara Perini (ITA), 2:29:50; 4. Vos (NED), 2:30:32; 5. Leah Kirchmann (CAN), 2:30:32. Also in the top 25: 20. Alexis Ryan (USA), 2:30:42; 21. Winder (USA), 2:30:42; … 24. Thomas (USA), 2:30:42.
Stage 5 (87.5 km): 1. Van Vleuten (NED), 3:09:47; 2. Brand (NED), 3:12:44; 3. Kasia Niewiadoma (POL), 3:12:44; 4. Paladin (ITA), 3:12:44; 5. Amanda Spratt (AUS), 3:12:44.
Stage 6 (12.1 km Time Trial): 1. Van Vleuten (NED), 24:32; 2. Van der Breggen (NED), 25:24; 3. Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA), 26:20; 4. Brand (NED), 26:21; 5. Juliette Labous (FRA), 26:26. Also in the top 25: 7. Hall (USA), 26:35; … 9. Wiles (USA), 26:53; … 11. Winder (USA), 27:01; … 15. Thomas (USA), 27:14.
11 July: Stage 7 (12.3 km): Cornedo Vicentino to San Giorgio di Perlena (hilly)
12 July: Stage 8 (133.3 km): Vittorio Veneto to Maniago (hilly)
13 July: Stage 9 (125.5 km): Gemona to Chiusaforte/Malga Montasio (mountains)
14 July: Stage 10 (120.0 km): San Vito al Tagliamento to Udine (flat)
