Stage 19 TDF 2022: the Door Opens for Laporte
Enric Mas abandoned before the stage. I’ve barely mentioned him, but I think he was going quite well.
There was another climate protest, or disruption to the race as Gary Imlach called it on ITV. It’s nothing by comparison with the disruption to the race and the rest of our lives from runaway global heating. It is time to stop the moralistic condemnation of people who are brave enough to get out there and protest.
Would Stage 19 be a breakaway day or a bunch sprint? It turned out to be a hybrid – a Toyota Prius stage.
There was a four man break:
- Taco van der Hoorn
- Quinn Simmons
- Mikkel Honoré
- Matej Mohoric
Simmons was last man standing, but was caught with 35km left.
Next, Alexis Gougeard attacked. Pogacar took the opportunity to make an attack of his own, but Wout van Aert chased him down.
Then Jasper Stuyven and Fred Wright joined Gougeard, and the trio had 12s with 10km left.
There weren’t too many riders working on the front of the bunch to catch them. Mattia Cattaneo was one, then Michael Matthews, then Lotto Soudal.
Wout van Aert was on the front for a time, with Vingegaard in second wheel and Christophe Laporte third.
Laporte went ahead and caught the breakaway, effectively becoming an extra member of the break for a few moments. Then he stretched away, got a gap, and won the stage.
Jasper Phlipsen was second.