Cycling: Every Tour de France has winners and losers. It should be clear that Egan Bernal is an absolute winner of this Tour of France. We look at the other starters and have discovered at least three winners and three losers. What's next for her now?
Emanuel Buchmann: Easily reached the top 10
Before the start of the Tour de France, Emanuel Buchmann indicated the TOP 10 goal. The Ravensburger has more than achieved this goal. At the end of the Tour of France he is fourth – just 25 seconds behind the podium. A fourth-place finisher in a Tour de France has never been just 1:56 minutes behind the winner. The German fans can be proud of Emanuel Buchmann. At the same time, a warning should be given against expectations that are too high. Because this year Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome could not take part in the Tour de France. Thibaut Pinot and Jakob Fuglsang did not finish them. Team Movistar failed to agree on a captain. And drivers like Richard Carapaz and Primoz Roglic decided not to start. Not to mention Romain Bardet, Vincenzo Nibali, Richie Prote, Adam Yates and Daniel Martin who were completely out of shape. It will therefore not be easy for Emanuel Buchmann to repeat this result in the future. And the media shouldn't make him the "new Jan Ullrich". That would certainly not do the 26-year-old any good.
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Julian Alaphilippe: 5th place as a non-ranking driver
Although Julian Alaphilippe is a bit disappointed and sad at the end of the Tour de France, in a few weeks he will be proud of what he has achieved. The Frenchman started the three weeks to win a stage if possible and maybe conquer the mountain jersey. Instead, he won two stages, wore the yellow jersey and rose to become an increasingly serious opponent with each passing day. He can be extremely satisfied with fifth place in the overall standings. Once he has tasted blood, he will change his training and in future he will actually compete for overall victory.
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Thibaut Pinot: He is the winner of hearts
Even those who do not finish the Tour de France can be among the winners of the same. This is definitely the case for Thibaut Pinot in 2019. The Frenchman impressed in the team time trial, in the individual time trial and in the Pyrenees. With his stage victory on the Tourmalet, he made all of France cheer. From then on he was the number one contender for overall victory, although he lost 1:40 minutes on a flat stage. But then an injury stopped him. Before the 18th stage, he avoided a fall and hit a handlebar with his knee. Not suspecting anything bad, the pain suddenly came on the next stage. The end came on the 19th stage: Thibaut Pinot had to give up. He got into the escort vehicle in tears – and all of France cried with him.
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André Greipel: Only once in the top 10
André Greipel has won four stages in the Vuelta, seven in the Giro and eleven in the Tour de France. He is currently the active professional cyclist who has had the most victories in his career. Without a doubt, the now 37-year-old is one of the most successful professionals of all time. But 2019 was not an easy year for André Greipel. After his team change from Lotto - Soudal to Arkéa - Samsic, things are not going well. So far he has only won one stage at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo. Even at the Tour de France, there were no successes. After falling ill shortly before the start, he only finished twelfth twice. In Paris, after all, he was able to draw attention to himself again with sixth place. However, it is quite possible that André Greipel will no longer take part in the Tour de France. The younger generation is now simply on the trigger. Caleb Ewan, in particular, shows that. The 25-year-old replaced André Greipel in the Lotto – Soudal team and immediately won three stages.
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Daniel Martin: That was his chance for the podium
The 2019 Tour de France was a disappointment for Daniel Martin. This year's event should have been HIS tour. The Irishman - known as a weak time trialist - should benefit from the few time trial kilometers and the many tough mountain stages. Instead, after three weeks, he is only 18th in the overall standings. That's not the biggest disappointment though, as the 32-year-old wanted to win a stage after realizing he couldn't finish on the podium. But even as a breakaway in the high mountains, Daniel Martin didn't get a good result. It should never be more than 14th, 16th and 19th place.
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Richie Porte: The Australian didn't even take place
The same applies to Richie Porte. The Australian has been considered a strong tour driver for years, but has never been able to prove this over three weeks. While he used to dominate one-week tours, he always gets nothing over three weeks. Now, with eleventh place, he even missed out on the top ten. Without Tom Dumoulin and without Chris Froome, some experts thought that the Australian could finally strike. But far from it. He was always one of the first favorites who could no longer keep up with the pace of the noble helpers in the mountains. Now, at 34, belief that he'll ever win a Grand Tour is fading. Rumor has it that he will even be replaced by Vincenzo Nibali at Trek – Segafredo. After all, he was able to finish the Tour de France 2019. The unlucky fellow fell far too often in the past and was unable to complete tours. But even that will be cold consolation for the Australian.
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