Castelnau-Magnoac will welcome the Tour peloton for the first time in its history, and on a course with a finish in a city famous for its excellent painting, the competitors will only have slightly undulating passages between the 67th and 100th kilometers and two premiums of the fourth category in the last sixty kilometers. The first in the narrow streets of the magical medieval village of Lauzerte, nor the second on the Cóte de Daint-Daunés, should not pose more difficulties even for riders grinding their teeth for a triumph in a mass sprint.
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However, it is difficult to predict in advance whether it will happen. The sprinters, perhaps with the exception of Wout Van Aert, suffered in the mountains and the question is whether they will eliminate any leaks with the help of their teams. It is the Belgian phenomenon, who already has a certain victory in the points competition for the green jersey, while last year he won the last two stages – the time trial and the final finish on the Champs-Élysées – and this year he would certainly not resist the final hat-trick.
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Profile 19. etapy Tour de France.Photo: letour.com
There shouldn’t be a dramatic earthquake in the overall standings of the Tour, and Van Aert’s partner from the Jumbo-Visma team, Jonas Vingegaard, is expected to take the yellow jersey all the way to Paris. The Danish rider secured a decisive lead over the winner of the two previous years of the Old Lady Tadej Pogačar on Thursday at Hautacam, where he gave his Slovenian rival a minute and leads by almost three and a half minutes overall. He should thus maintain the lead without much difficulty even during Saturday’s time trial.
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