Bourg-en-Bresse (AFP)
Last call before closing: the Tour de France riders returned to the plain on Friday in Bourg-en-Bresse at the start of the 19th stage towards Champagnole, undoubtedly the ultimate chance of victory for one of the twelve teams still unsuccessful.
Two days before the arrival in Paris and the coronation promised to Primoz Roglic, a platoon of 147 elements, after the abandonment of the Austrian Michael Gogl (NTT) and the Spaniard Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos), took the departure at 13:43 of the ante-last stage, in Bourg-en-Bresse, the city of the glory of the Daniel Morelon track sprint (triple Olympic champion).
No clouds on the horizon for the peloton and temperatures still very high of 29 to 31 degrees in the plains up to Champagnole where a sprinter as a broken runner can win after 166.5 km of racing.
All the jerseys appear to have already been awarded.
And even Peter Sagan admits defeat in the hunt for an eighth green jersey: "It's almost over because I lost a lot of points", admitted the three-time world champion, 52 units behind the Irish Sam Bennett.
The only stake remains the stage victory.
The last twelve empty-handed teams had to refine their strategy on this course which crosses the production region of the county since the time trial on Saturday seems promised to one of the favorites in the general classification and the Champs-Elysées to one of the best sprinters, Caleb Ewan, Sam Bennett or Wout van Aert, already victorious.
Halfway through the stage, the Château-Chalon hill (4.3 km at 4.7%) can allow backpackers to run away for good if they have already taken the right break.
Arrival in Champagnole expected around 17:37 (average calculated at 43 km / h).
© 2020 AFP