Cycling: Emanuel Buchmann (Bora – hansgrohe) will finish the 2019 Tour de France fourth overall. The German managed to overtake Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) today. On the other hand, he was not granted the podium because of a few seconds. The stage win went to Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain – Merida).
Many outliers, few kilometers
The weather is not kind to the Tour de France this year. After the stage had to be canceled yesterday, the 20th section had to suffer a reduction. Instead of the 130,0 kilometers from Albertville to Val Thorens, there was now only 59,5 kilometers to cover. After all, the final ascent remained in the program, which alone made up 33,4 kilometers. But that wasn't absolutely certain even after the start. Rumors circulated that the target would be moved down. Luckily, that wasn't the case. As expected, the drivers started the short stage at full speed. A leading group of 29 quickly formed, including with Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain – Merida), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha – Alpecin), the Swiss champion Sebastien Reichenbach (Groupama – FDJ) and the German Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin).
Jumbo - Visma calls for a full attack
The final ascent to Val Thorens began 33,4 kilometers from the finish. The yellow train from Jumbo – Visma immediately took the lead in the peloton. The main goal was that Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo – Visma) its competitors Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) can still knock off the podium. The gap at the start was only 38 seconds. The pace had to be high right from the start. Because with a short climb, the Frenchman can hardly be conquered. As a result, the breakaways were no longer able to increase their lead of 2:30 minutes. And the Dutch team came much closer to their goal. With about 10,0 kilometers to go, Julian Alaphilipe was no longer able to keep up. The Frenchman collapsed completely and lost his place on the podium. This left the fight for third place between Steven Kruijswijk and Emmanuel Buchman (Bora – hansgrohe) decided – with a difference of only 27 seconds.
Nibali wins – Buchmann finishes strong overall fourth
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain – Merida) was no longer able to catch up. The Tour de France 2019 ends in a positive way for the Italian. After that it was all about the overall standings. But Emmanuel Buchman just couldn't attack anymore. His Austrian noble helper Gregor Muehlberger prepared his attack perfectly, but the German probably just didn't have enough power left in his quiver. The Tour de France ends with the overall victory of Egan Bernal (Ineos) ahead of teammate Geraint Thomas (Ineos) and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo - Visma). Emmanuel Buchman can look forward to a great fourth place. Since Andreas Klöden and Jan Ullrich, no German professional has ever been as strong in a Tour de France as Emanuel Buchmann.