Nat Bromhead
Wet and greasy roads caused chaos in a slippery stage 19 of the Tour de France with riders falling left, right and centre on the descent prior to the final climb of the day.
Although just 146km in length, the stage was filled with drama with many big-name riders crashing out. Yellow jersey wearer Chris Froome was among the many riders to hit the deck. Managing to get back on to a team mates bike, Froomey completed the stage with blood showing through various rips and tears in his precious maillot jaune.
Frenchman Romain Bardet won the stage much to the delight of the thunderous crowd at the finish at Saint Gervais (Mont Blanc). Bardet rose to 2nd place overall after his thrilling solo break on the final climb.
Aussie podium hopeful Richie Porte was another to crash on the stage. After his fall Porte was 40 seconds down on the main group but thanks to solid work by his committed BMC team mates, he was paced back to the main bunch. Porte put in a much-anticipated attack on the final climb but lost momentum with 1km to go. He rose to 5th position overall.
Orica-Bike Exchange rider Adam Yates slipped from overall 3rd position on GC after struggling toward the end of the race. Yates still holds the white ‘best young rider’ jersey.
The epic event continues tonight with the final stage, another 146km mountainous course, scheduled to start at 8:30pm AEST.
