2020 Tour de France stage 19 preview
September 18, 2020: Bourg-en-Bresse > Champagnole, 166.5km
Stage 19: Bourg-en-Bresse - Champagnole
Date: September 18, 2020
Distance: 166.5km
Stage start: 1:30 p.m. CEST
Stage type: Hilly
A rolling and transitional stage to Champagnole brings the race north with a chance to take stock after the Alps and prepare for one last hard day. It has been one of the most complicated routes in the last 117 years of the Tour de France.
The peloton will enjoy a rare moment of respite, even if it does come with two days to go until Paris. Bourg-en-Bresse has hosted several Tour de France stage starts in recent years. In 2016, the race went to Culoz, where breakaway riders Jarlinson Pantano and Rafal Majka battled it out for the stage win. In 2014, the riders left Bourg-en-Bresse for Saint-Étienne and Alexander Kristoff outsprinted Peter Sagan and Arnaud Démare. This year the race heads north for the small town of Champagnole on the River Ain. Champagnole makes its second appearance as a stage finish, the first was in 1937 when Belgian Sylvère Maes won the stage.
Going from Bourg-en-Bresse to Champagnole, the 19th stage of the 2020 Tour skirts the foothills of the Jura mountains without ever quite hitting the real climbs.Though there is only one classified ascent, the profile undulates between 250 and 800m altitude and it’s another very hard easy day for the peloton.
To most GC riders, this is a chance to absorb the hard lessons of the previous two and a half weeks, and gather themselves for one last crucial stage on the Saturday, while the break, and possibly the sprinters, focus on their own last chances. Give the sprinters their due, if they can get through the very rolling terrain of this stage, they will deserve their opportunity to win. But it’s likely that a big break will go while the GC riders try and rest their legs for the time trial and the sprinters look further ahead to the Champs-Élysées.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Cyclingnews is the world's leader in English-language coverage of professional cycling. Started in 1995 by University of Newcastle professor Bill Mitchell, the site was one of the first to provide breaking news and results over the internet in English. The site was purchased by Knapp Communications in 1999, and owner Gerard Knapp built it into the definitive voice of pro cycling. Since then, major publishing house Future PLC has owned the site and expanded it to include top features, news, results, photos and tech reporting. The site continues to be the most comprehensive and authoritative English voice in professional cycling.
Most Popular
Latest on Cyclingnews
-
Tour of the Gila: Scott McGill wins men's stage 2 Inner Loop Road Race
Stites moves into race lead with third at Fort Bayard -
Lizzie Deignan gets green light to race La Vuelta Femenina
'My recovery has maybe been better than we even expected' says Deignan after suffering a broken arm in Tour of Flanders crash -
Gravel's newest star Torbjørn Røed leaves road behind with Unbound in mind
Conclusion of Tripel Crown of Gravel takes place this Sunday then Norwegian resets for Unbound Gravel -
POC Aspire cycling glasses review: A sturdy and stylish modern classic
Wide lens but modest height make these ideal for smaller heads