PREVIEW | Tour de France 2023 stage 19 - Breakaway to defy once again peloton's authority in tricky sprint stage

Preview. Stage 19 is set to be another day for the sprinters in the Tour de France however as today showed, breakaways stand a chance. On a day that features a few hilly sections it will be an interesting one.

Stage 19 of the Tour de France will be a rolling and tricky day. On paper one for the sprinters, however there is space to surprise on what is one of the final days of racing, specially as the start is hilly, there are a few hilltops and at this point in the race many riders may want to attack.

Estimated start and finish times for Tour de France stage 19: 13:15-17:10CET

The riders will face the Côte d'Ivory (2.3 kilometers; 6.2%) less than 30 kilometers of the finish line where some sprinters may find difficulties. It isn't a tough climb but there sure is the space to make some damage, the climbs is then followed by a fast descent and the run-up to the line.

This will be the most simple one of the entire race. No technical features whatsoever, the final few kilometers are completely straightforward and will provide no challenge to the riders, it will all be up to positioning and timing. The final kilometers will have a slight uphill tilt into Poligny.

A southwestern breeze. On paper not favourable to the breakaways, however that was the case today and that has not prevented success.

The questions lies on whether the breakaway will or not succeed. Today's worked on the basis of inteligence. However a lightning doesn't always strike twice in the same place, sprinter teams will be more prepared, but with Jasper Philipsen taking another sprint I find it unlikely that they will do anything more to commit. It's Alpecin-Deceuninck against the rest perhaps, and if so maybe Jasper Philipsen's chances of winning may not be so good. The team may give freedom to Mathieu van der Poel and Soren Kragh Andersen to try and join a breakaway to shed responsibility, and also give an opportunity in a suited day to two of their talented riders.

If a sprint, the expected outcome won't be too different than what we have seen today or well, in most days. The Belgian is the favourites, the likes of Dylan Groenewegen and Mads Pedersen are likely the only other ones who can contest. Outsiders would be the likes of Bryan Coquard, Biniam Girmay, Christophe Laporte, Alexander Kristoff, Luca Mozzato, Jordi Meeus, Sam Welsford, Peter Sagan, Corbin Strong, Cees Bol and Alex Aranburu. Some of these may also try and join a breakaway, it's not like there is anything to lose at this point in the race.

However the interesting part of the race will indeed be the breakaway. There will be enough hills early on to try and form the group. Today's victory shines a light that many riders and teams who haven't succeeded in the race and can't climb all that well have here their final opportunity. It's a day to go mad, teams are depleted and fatigued at the end of three weeks, and with Philipsen's dominating stance it won't be easy for there to be an organized chase.

Matteo Trentin, Stefan Küng, Quentin Pacher, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Julian Alaphilippe, Rémi Cavagna, Yves Lampaert, Matej Mohoric, Fred Wright, Nils Politt, Jasper Stuyven, Mike Teunissen, Krists Neilands, Victor Campenaerts, Florian Vermeersch, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Anthony Turgis and Rasmus Tiller are all riders to consider.

Which of those will be true favourites depends on who managed to make it into the break. i believe there will be many riders trying to make it, I fear road blocking may spoil the show a bit but a small group nevertheless can succeed. It can be a day for the rouleurs who want to show what they're made of, it's the Tour de France the quality is very high and they are hungry for success.

*** Jasper Philipsen
** Rémi Cavagna, Matej Mohoric, Krists Neilands
* Mads Pedersen, Dylan Groenewegen, Matteo Trentin, Stefan Küng, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Julian Alaphilippe, Nils Politt, Jasper Stuyven

Pick: Matej Mohoric