2019 Tour de France, Daily News Digest, Egan Bernal, Features, Julian Alaphilippe, News - July 27, 2019

Bernal leads the Tour de France after stage 19 cut short: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Stage 19 of the Tour de France is cut short due to extreme weather, Egan Bernal is the new race leader, Thibaut Pinot abandons the Tour. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Bernal in yellow after stage 19 cut short

Egan Bernal (Ineos) is the new race leader of the Tour de France after a wild stage 19 that was shortened due to extreme weather conditions.

Hail, snow, and ice on the roads in between the Col de l’Iseran and the final climb to Tignes led to a mid-race neutralization of the stage. Organizers made the call to register the time gaps going over the Iseran as the final results of the day.

After attacking out of the yellow jersey group on the climb, Bernal bridged up to the last survivors of the early breakaway, and led over the summit of the Iseran with Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) just behind.

Having built a big gap over Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), Bernal was the provisional race leader as he hit the descent. He became the official race leader minutes later as organizers cut the stage short, with heavy precipitation and even a landslide making the roads impassable. No one was awarded the stage victory.

Bernal now leads the Tour de France with Alaphilippe in second and defending overall champion Geraint Thomas (Ineos) in third.

More drama.. reporter is Dag Otto Lauritzen pic.twitter.com/IoOC4rpwIL

— Trond Iversen (@trondiversen) July 26, 2019

#TDF2019 ???????? A look at the road conditions ?????

Confimation of race results and time gaps to follow. pic.twitter.com/n2AJdiWV8z

— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) July 26, 2019

Groupama-FDJ’s Thibaut Pinot, who started the day in fifth overall, left the race prior to the neutralization due to an injury to his right thigh.

More to come….

Moving Pictures

Julian Alaphilippe may have lost the yellow jersey on stage 19, but he certainly made the most of his time in it.

This was so beautiful to see. Ala Philippe was joking asking our cameraman to give his raincoat to the kid and right after he decided to take off his yellow jersey and give it to the little boy to keep him warm ???? https://t.co/rcWcq8Ig97

— Laura Meseguer (@Laura_Meseguer) July 25, 2019

Speaking of making the most of your time at the Tour de France, these fans seem to know how it’s done.

The only Links Rechts video you’ll ever need. Beefeaters, Bananaman, kids forced to where our hats whether they like it or not……oh and a T’Rex on his way to the shops ????. Peak Beefeater Bend! #TDF #TDF2019 pic.twitter.com/iTlvZUnVWH

— Beefeater Bend???????? (@tdfbeefeaters) July 25, 2019

Race Radio

Pinot abandons the Tour

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) abandoned the Tour de France some 40 kilometers into stage 19, with his team saying after the stage that the Frenchman was suffering “a muscular lesion on his left thigh.”

Pinot was sitting fifth overall and was one of the top favorites to win the overall race at the start of the stage, but half an hour into the day he dropped off the back of the peloton and consulted with the medical car. The race doctor worked to replace a wrap on his thigh, but the pain continued.

Multiple Groupama-FDJ teammates rode past their team leader, patting him on the back but not stopping, apparently already aware of the issue. Pinot spent a few moments with his team car, tried to push on, and then climbed off his bike in tears.

The abandonment marks the second straight year Pinot has pulled out of the biggest target of his season after looking strong for nearly the full three weeks. He abandoned last year’s Giro d’Italia after finishing the penultimate stage, having started the day in third overall.

Australian road nationals return to Wednesday-Sunday format

The Australian road championships will run on a Wednesday-to-Sunday schedule again in 2020 after one year trying a Friday-to-Tuesday format.

Cycling Australia has announced the schedule for the five-day Federation University Road National Championships, which will start on Wednesday, January 8 with time trials.

Coming Up at the Tour

The Tour de France takes on its final day in the mountains on Saturday’s stage 20.

Assuming Mother Nature doesn’t have alternative plans, stage 20 will take the peloton 130 kilometers from Albertville to Val Thorens. Along the way, riders will tackle three categorized ascents, finishing on the extremely lengthy Val Thorens climb.