Summary

  • Stage 19: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne - La Toussuire 138km

  • Quintana gains 32secs on Froome

  • Froome still leads by 2mins 38secs

  • Nibali wins stage, Quintana second, Froome third

Live Reporting

Chris Osborne

  1. Stage 20: Modane - Alpe d'Huez 100km

    Stage 20Le Tour

    More of the same tomorrow please gents.

    Nairo Quintana has the faintest of hopes of causing some damage tomorrow. And the legendary climb up Alpe d'Huez is worth watching regardless of the action.

    In our stage-by-stage preview, Geraint Thomas warns: "On a solid day like this, somebody could have a bad day and end up losing the Tour, no matter what's happened over the past three weeks."

    You'd be mad not to join us tomorrow. Thanks for your company today. A bientot.

  2. A cheap nail

    I was empty today. lt was always going to happen. I was hoping it would come Monday. Sometimes you'ret the hammer and sometimes you're the nail. I was a cheap Ikea nail today. When you have nothing in the legs there's not a lot you can do.

    Geraint Thomas speaking to ITV4

    I feel I must say that Ikea's nails are no worse or better than other nails on the nail market.

  3. Tough day for Geraint

    Geraint Thomas came in 52nd, 22mins short on Nibali. That puts him down to 15th overall. Let's hear from him...

  4. Froome on his mechanical

    I felt as if my back wheel locked up - some tar or a stone was in between my brake calipers ad back wheel. Unfortunately that was the moment Nibali moved - he did see what he was doing. You don't do that to the race leader, it is not sportsmanlike. Tomorrow will be full on. I'm looking forward to Alpe d'Huez. It would be a dream to win there but I have to keep up with a little Colombian first.

    Chris Froome speaking to ITV4

  5. Froome on the yellow jersey

    It was a massive day. From the word go the racing was on. All in all it was a good day to be able to tick it off with one day of racing left. Quintana put in a big attack and I opted to limit my losses and keep a bit of energy.

    Chris Froome speaking to ITV4

  7. We're close to hearing from Chris Froome...

  8. Froome spat at?

    Chris Froome has a small grin as he is robed in the yellow.

    We may have an idea of why he was so miffed at the line. There are some pictures floating around that suggest he may have been spat at in those last few km. It's unclear at the moment - but I'm sure he will say something if it's true.

  9. Stage winner Nibali

    Astana's Vincenzo Nibali is on the stage and he looks to the heavens, mainly with relief. A top ride from the Italian, regardless of what you think of the tactics.

  10. I'm trying to get a steer on how Geraint Thomas did by the way. It doesn't look good though.

  11. It was really hard. With the start uphill it was always going to be hard. It was a big fight for everybody. I was glad I was feeling much better than yesterday. There are just two climbs tomorrow, so that is better

    Bauke Mollema of Trek Factory speaking to ITV4

  12. Yellow jersey

    In fact, Chris Froome had held that 3mins 10secs advantage over Nairo Quintana since stage 14. Today was the first chink in the armour we've seen for a while.

  13. Yellow jersey

    Here is how it looks then. This is the closest anyone has been to Chris Froome since Tejay van Garderen was 2mins 52secs behind after stage 10.

    Yellow jerseyLe Tour

  14. Froome frustrated

    Chris Froome does not look happy. In fact he looks slightly angry. That boy does not like losing time. Or maybe it's frustration at that tiny mechanical.

  15. Yellow jersey

    It was actually 30secs Chris Froome finished behind Quintana. That means his lead, after time bonuses, is cut to 2mins 38secs ahead of the Colombian.

  16. There's a mini sprint fro the bunch behind. Thibaut Pinot takes it, with Valverde and Contador in tow.

  18. Froome finishes third

    And here comes Chris Froome, the seconds ticking, 27, 28, 29. About 29 seconds lost by Froome.

  19. Quintana crosses the line...

  20. Now, Quintana. What can you eke out here?