Stage 19, Friday 24 July: Gap to l’Alpe d’Huez, 127.9km

This Tour’s most prestigious mountain stage finish; with a stage this short, it will be touch and go for the day’s escape to make it to the finish. That said, the opening 25km over the Cols Bayard and du Noyer are tough enough to allow a decent move to get established and then there are 60km until the Col d’Ornon, where Pogacar and Vingegaard will probably get their teams moving. If the big two give a move some leeway, the 21 hairpins to the finish will suit a pure climber such as Netcompany’s Thymen Arensman, a double stage winner last year.

Check out William Fotheringham’s full stage-by-stage guide:

With the real quiz of Alpe d’Huez to come on Friday there will be a number of riders not named Tadej Pogacar who will fancy taking a prized stage win at Orcières today. Five climbs, but none in the hors category, means that this 185km stage will be brutal, but not quite as masochistic as others in the road book.

With the uphill road starting after just 20km, we will see splits early and opportunities for climbers such as Richard Carapaz and Valentin Paret-Peintre to get away. There are a maximum of 29 polkadot points on offer today, which could see those aforementioned riders move within range of Pogacar in the mountains classification standings should either secure a full house. Food for thought, at least until the race leader inevitably sets off for a solo victory up Alpe d’Huez tomorrow.

The battle for third on the podium is also a live concern. The French public will be roaring on Paul Seixas to beat Pogacar’s teammate Isaac del Toro over the last few days of the Tour. That contest has been given extra bite amid noise that the home hero is getting preferential treatment from doping control (a claim rejected by the authorities) by so far avoiding being woken in the middle of the night to provide a sample. A very Tour story, this one.