Before this year's Tour started, Italian Vincenzo Nibali had been considered one of the favorites to win the Yellow jersey. But a tough first week had made that very unlikely, and he had to fight for many days just to get back into the top ten riders overall. But stage 19 turned out to be his day in the sun.
Nibble used the Col de la Croix de Fer, a climb so difficult it can't be rated, to attack. He then held off all the other riders for the last 59 kilometers to win the stage (and vault himself into fourth place overall). He finished 44 seconds ahead of Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas of Colombia, and a minute and a quarter ahead of race leader Christopher Froome of Great Britain (who retained the Yellow jersey).
The 110.5 kilometer stage 20 only has two climb, but both of them are extremely difficult unrated climbs. That will be the last chance for any rider to overtake Froome for the overall lead, before the traditional ride into Paris (and sprint finish) on Sunday.
Here are the standings after stage 19:
YELLOW JERSEY (Overall Leaders)
1. Christopher Froome, Great Britain (Team Sky)
2. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas, Colombia (Movistar)..........2' 38"
3. Alejandro Valverde Belmonte, Spain (Movistar)..........5' 25"
4. Vincenzo Nibali, Italy (Astana Pro Team)..........6' 44"
5. Alberto Contador, Spain (Tinkoff-Saxo)..........7' 56"
6. Robert Gesink, Netherlands (Lotto NL-Jumbo)..........8' 55"
7. Frank Mathias, Switzerland (IAM Cycling)..........12' 39"
8. Bauke Mollema, Netherlands (Trek Factory Racing)..........13' 22"
9. Romain Bardet, France (AG2R La Mondiale)..........14' 08"
10. Pierre Rolland, France (Team Europcar)..........17' 27"
GREEN JERSEY (Best Sprinter)
1. Peter Sagan, Slovakia (Tinkoff-Saxo)..........420 pts2. Andre Greipel, Germany (Lotto-Soudal)..........316 pts
3. John Degenkolb, Germany (Giant-Alpecin)..........281 pts
4. Mark Cavendish, Great Britain (ETIXX-Quick Step)..........192 pts
5. Christopher Froome, Great Britain (Team Sky)..........128 puts
6. Bryan Coquard, Francee (Europcar)..........122 pts
POLKA DOT JERSEY (Best Climber)
1. Romain Bardet, France (AG2R La Mondiale)..........90 pts2. Christopher Froome, Great Britain (Team Sky)..........87 pts
3. Joachim Rodriguez Oliver, Spain (Team Katusha)..........78 pts
4. Jakob Fuglsang, Denmark (Astana Pro Team)..........64 pts
5. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas, Colombia (Movistar)..........56 pts
WHITE JERSEY (Best Young Rider)
1. Nairo Alenander Quintano Rojas, Columbia (Movistar)
2. Romain Bardet, France (AG2R La Mondiale)..........11' 30"
3. Warren Barguil, France (Giant-Alpecin)..........24' 22"
TEAM LEADERS
1. Movistar (Spain)2. Tinkoff-Saxo (Russia).........51' 00"
3. Astana Pro Team (Kazakhstan)..........53' 36"
4. Team Sky (Great Britain)..........55' 12"
5. MTN-Qhubeka (South Africa)..........59' 05"
