Tadej Pogacar leads the king of the mountains competition from Jonas Vingegaard.

With the general classification all but over, could Vingegaard might now be tempted to target the polka-dot jersey - which he is wearing today with Pogacar in yellow.

He's 16 points behind his rival in that competition, with a maximum 45 points on offer across today's three categorised climbs - 20 on both the Col du Pre and La Plagne, and five on Cormet de Roselend.

Lenny Martinez is in third, 17 points further behind Vingegaard after being docked eight points for his extremely sticky bottle on stage 18 as he received assistance up a climb from his team car.

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Team Lidl-Trek have taken charge at the front of the race as they look to take the green jersey of Jonathan Milan to victory on the intermediate sprint in around five kilometres.

That jersey will almost certainly by Milan's this year, if he can survive until the finish line in Paris.

In case you missed it, here is the statement put out by the race organisers last night detailing why the changes to today's stage were made:

"The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals.

"In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 and to avoid the ascent to the col des Saisies."

The flag is dropped and we're straight into business - and a hors categorie climb.

Just 93km, is it going to be fast and furious from the off?

However, there is still plenty to look forward to today - not least two more hors categorie climbs, after the riders were made to summit three yesterday.

The Col du Pre, at 1,748m, will be climbed within the first 30km in a brutal start to the day, followed by the category two Cormet de Roselend before the riders descend to the foot of La Plagne and finish the day back above 2,000m.

Yes, race organisers have been forced to change the route of stage 19 because of a herd of diseased cattle on the Col des Saisies.

It means the stage distance has been cut from 130km to 95km, with two of the five planned categorised climbs dropped, and the racing has only just got under way in Albertville.

Skipping the first two climbs of Cote d'Hery-sur-Ugine and Col des Saisies in the Alps, the riders will re-join the original route near Beaufort.

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Tadej Pogacar, barring a catastrophic incident, looks set to ride into Paris in the yellow jersey on Sunday after withstanding Jonas Vingegaard's best attempts to put him under pressure on yesterday's queen stage.

Today represents the final stage in the high mountains, and the last major opportunity for big swings in the general classification standings.

But those opportunities may have been limited somewhat by a late change to the route...

Never a dull moment during the Tour, is there.

Image source, Getty Images