Dutchman Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) won the 19th stage of the 2025 Tour de France, contested between Albertville and La Plagne, this Friday after a solo effort on the final climb. This is his second stage victory of this edition after the one he won in Superbagnères during the 14th stage. In a day shortened to 93,1 kilometers due to an outbreak of bovine disease on the Col des Saisies, the stage retained a demanding profile with the Col du Pré, Cormet de Roselend, and the final climb to La Plagne.
Arensman, well-positioned within the group of favorites in the final approach, launched his decisive attack 13 kilometers from the finish, just after the foot of La Plagne. His rivals, including Tadej pogacar Jonas Vingegaard and the others did not immediately react, preferring to maintain a steady pace rather than launch a chase. The Ineos Grenadiers rider did see his lead shrink in the final two kilometers, but he managed to hold onto a slim two-second advantage over his closest rivals.
Pogacar in control
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), still in the Yellow Jersey, finished third on the stage, right behind his main rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who was second. Pogacar controlled the climb without ever really trying to distance Vingegaard, appearing content to defend his overall lead. He thus retained his jersey by a margin of 4 minutes and 24 seconds with two days to go in Paris.
Behind this trio, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) put in another solid performance, finishing fourth, six seconds behind Arensman. He thus consolidated his third place in the general classification and seems almost certain to win the white jersey for best young rider, relegating Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL), fifth on the stage at 47 seconds, to more than a minute in the overall standings.
A difficult day for Kevin Vauquelin. The Normandy climber from Arkéa-B&B Hôtels was left behind on the descent of the Col du Pré, after only 30 kilometers of racing. Despite temporary assistance from several teammates, he found himself isolated on the climb of La Plagne. He finished the stage in 17th position, more than six minutes behind Arensman, but retained seventh place in the general classification. At the finish, he acknowledged having "limited the damage."
Primoz Roglic, who had once led the race in a morning breakaway with around ten men, also had a frustrating day. His group never had a lead of more than two minutes, and he was caught well before the summit. Dropped on the final climb, he finished 27th in the stage, 12 minutes and 39 seconds behind the winner, and dropped from fifth to eighth place overall.
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) tried his luck on the first two climbs, taking the lead at the top of the Col du Pré and Cormet de Roselend. But his efforts were not rewarded. Caught on the climb to La Plagne, he lost any mathematical chance of winning the polka dot jersey, which now belongs to Tadej Pogacar, who has been accumulating points in the mountains for several days. "I tried to attack, 14 and then 7 kilometers from the finish, but no one cooperated. After that, I set my own pace. Now I'm counting the kilometers until Paris."he said.
There are now 316,5 kilometers to go until the Champs-Élysées, where Tadej Pogacar could claim his fourth final victory on the Grande Boucle, confirming his status as the absolute (but suspect) master of the peloton.
