Tour de France 2019

Egan Bernal wins the 2019 Tour de France

Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) won the 2019 Tour de France in Paris – his and Colombia's first – while Lotto Soudal's Caleb Ewan won the final stage, making it the Australian's third triumph at this year's race.

Bernal crossed the finish line on the Champs-Elysées in 29th place on the stage, again hand-in-hand with teammate and 2018 Tour champion Geraint Thomas, just like the pair had on the previous day into Val Thorens.

What could have become a problematic situation for Team Ineos was anything but in the last few days of the Tour, as Thomas conceded that Bernal was the better rider at this year's race, while Bernal had a special thank you for his teammate on the final podium. the Tour, as Thomas conceded that Bernal was the better rider at this year's race, while Bernal had a special thank you for Thomason the final podium.

"Thank you to G [Geraint] for the opportunity, and to all the team for believing in me," Bernal said in his victory speech. "I think that today I am the happiest guy in the world. I just won the Tour de France, and I can't believe it."

Bernal beat Thomas by 1:11, while the podium was completed by Jumbo-Visma's Steven Kruijswijk, a further 20 seconds down, capping off an extremely successful Tour for the Dutch WorldTour team.

Ewan's third stage win came courtesy of a last-minute dash up the right side of the road next to the barriers, with Jumbo-Visma's Dylan Groenewegen making the same move on the other side of the road, but falling short of taking his second stage win. Total Direct Energie's Niccolò Bonifazio was third, while Max Richeze was fourth, having been forced into taking up the reins for Deceuninck-QuickStep, who appeared to be in disarray in the closing kilometres, unable to find their main sprinter, Elia Viviani.

"I can't believe I just won on the Champs-Elysées," Ewan told reporters after just completing what was his first Tour de France. "When we rolled onto the Champs-Elysées, I almost had tears in my eyes; it was such a surreal feeling. I can't believe I just won the stage."

Stage 21 results

Tour de France Overview

Tour de France 2019 Start List

With four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Ineos) out through injury, this year's Tour de France is a wide open affair. Defending champion Geraint Thomas returns and the Welsh rider will be joined by his talented young Ineos teammate Egan Bernal, with the Colombian also a contender for the yellow jersey.

The home nation will depend on Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) - both former podium finishers - while the other contenders include Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Mikel Landa (Movistar), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Rigoberto Urán, and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma).

In terms of the sprinters, Peter Sagan leads the way and, although he may not be the fastest rider in the flat bunch finishes, he will start the Tour de France as the favourite for the points classification, having won the green jersey in six of the past seven Tours. Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Vimsa) is arguably the strongest sprinter in the world at the moment, and he'll also face competition from debutant Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal), Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates), and André Greipel (Arkéa-Samsic). There'll be no Mark Cavendish, who wasn't selected by Dimension Data, or Fernando Gaviria (UAE), who has a knee injury. 

The race route

The 2019 Tour de France will celebrate the legendary career of Belgian Eddy Merckx 50 years after his first Tour victory, with the Grand Départ to be held in Brussels on July 6. The race also celebrates the 100th year of the iconic maillot jaune (yellow jersey), which Merckx wore for a total of 96 days, more than any other rider in history.

The 2019 route, unveiled in Paris in October, covers 3,640 kilometres over 21 stages, with three stages apiece in the Pyrenees and Alps, five summit finishes, and seven peaks above the 2000-metre altitude mark. There are seven largely flat stages, a few medium mountain days, and only 54 kilometres of time trialling, split between one team time trial and one individual time trial.

• Tour de France 2019: The Essential Guide

The race will begin with a 192km stage taking in many of cycling's historic challenges across the Flemish and Walloon regions, including the Muur van Geraardsbergen. Stage 2 will be a 28km team time trial starting at the Palais Royal and finishing by the Brussels Atomium. Merckx claimed his first yellow jersey after his Faema team won a similar test in his home town of Sint-Pieters-Woluwe.

The race will then leave Belgium and head into France on stage 3's 214km race from Binche to Epernay, before heading south through the Vosges mountains and into the Massif Central. It's then down to the Pyrenees, with a 27.2km individual time trial in Pau preceding summit finishes on the mighty Col du Tourmalet and Prat d'Albis.

After the second rest day, the route heads to the Alps for three stages that include the Col d'Izoard, the Col du Galibier, and the Col d'Iseran – the highest paved road in Europe. The winner of the 2019 Tour de France will effectively be determined after one mammoth final climb to the finish line at Val Thorens on stage 20, before the race heads into Paris for the finale along the Champs-Elysées.

Tour de France biggest stories

• Peter Sagan vents frustration after second place in Tour de France opening sprint
• Mark Cavendish not selected for Tour de France
• Greg LeMond: If he's really lost 5kg Valverde should win the Tour de France
• Momentum still with Bernal as Thomas loses five seconds in fraught stage 3 finale
• Team Ineos to use Muc-Off's '£6,000 chain' at Tour de France
• Aldag and Ryder clash over Mark Cavendish's Tour de France non-selection
• Team Ineos silenced by Jumbo-Visma's dominant Tour de France TTT
• Richie Porte: Geraint Thomas is the clear Tour de France favourite
• Peter Sagan: The Tour de France sprints are always a big mess
• Thomas and Bernal named as joint leaders for Team Ineos Tour de France squad
• Nibali coy on Tour de France ambitions despite being named as Bahrain-Merida leader
• No room for Gilbert as Viviani and Alaphilippe lead Deceuninck-QuickStep at Tour de France
• Tom Dumoulin ruled out of Tour de France
• Thomas: Chris Froome Tour de France absence is a setback for Ineos

Tour de France tech

• Julian Alaphilippe's Specialized S-Works Tarmac Disc
  
• Peter Sagan's S-Works Venge
• Tour de France mega tech gallery: 99 images from stage 2 TTT
• Geraint Thomas' Pinarello Dogma F12
• Specialized announce new Shiv TT bike for Tour de France

Tour de France countdown features

• Tour de France 2019: The Essential Guide
• 1999 Tour de France: The farce of renewal
• A complex character: Thibaut Pinot returns to the Tour de France
• All the gear: Tour de France 2019 tech preview
• The high life: The evolution of the pre-Tour de France altitude camp
• Tour de France 2019: The ambush stages
• Merckx, Hinault, Froome: What happens when the Tour de France favourite doesn't start?
• How EF Education First selected their Tour de France team - Podcast
• Philippa York: The fun and panache seem to be missing from Nairo Quintana
• 10 riders to watch at the 2019 Tour de France

More features

• Philippa York analysis: The unique Alaphilippe
• Form ranking: Tour de France 2019 favourites - pre-race
• Philippa York: Losing Chris Froome changes the Tour de France for every team
  
• Form ranking: Tour de France 2019 favourites - June
• Philippa York analysis: Double trouble for Giro-Tour challengers
• Tour de France 2019: 5 key stages
• Form ranking: Tour de France 2019 favourites - March

How to watch the Tour de France

• How to watch the Tour de France - free live streams from anywhere
• Chris Horner joins NBC's Tour de France broadcast team

Tour de France podcasts

• Tour de France stage 1 preview: Bernal, Moscon, Viviani
• Tour de France countdown podcast: Thomas, Porte, Cummings and Bennett
  
• Tour de France podcast: Cavendish controversy, Pinot, Woods and Sunweb’s Dumoulin dilemma
• How EF Education First selected their Tour de France team
• Podcast: Has Bernal done enough to lead at the Tour de France?

Tour de France race map