The 'lanterne rouge' - the last-placed rider in the Tour - used to be a lucrative and sought-after prize. Although riders no longer seek to be the last man on GC, the 'red lantern' is still an important symbol in the Tour.
Egan Bernal looked down at the stuffed lion in his hand, the bouquet of yellow flowers cradled in his arm, and shook his head gently. In that moment, he realised – or began to realise, or maybe didn't quite realise yet at all – that he was about to win the Tour de France.
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In a Tour jam-packed with surprises, the penultimate stage features a team time trial of sorts as Jumbo-Visma then Bora chase Vincenzo Nibali up a mountain.
The final sprint battle in Paris is as much a test of positioning through the vital final chicane and a rider's ability to endure 20 grueling stages as it is of their top top-end speed.
Jumbo-Visma caps its best season ever by pushing Steven Kruijswijk onto the final podium, with Sunday's sprint yet to come.
Bernal puts a cap on a stellar season after winning Paris-Nice and Tour de Suisse, and at only 22 years old, has a long career ahead of him.
Julian Alaphilippe cracked and lost over 3:00, falling out of the podium spots, allowing Geraint Thomas to move up to second overall and Steven Kruijswijk to take third.
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Turns out predicting the Tour de France is like predicting the weather - who knows what will happen!
Weather turned the Tour de France upside Friday and not in ways that will please anyone. But, as Andrew Hood writes, that's simply part of the sport.
Tour organizers have eliminated most of Saturday's 20th stage of the Tour de France, and will instead stage a 59km route from Albertville to Val Thorens. Organizers cite landslides and more expected bad weather for shortening the stage.
The 22-year-old Colombian is poised to be the first from his nation to win the yellow jersey.
On one of the wildest day's of racing in recent Tour history, the race was upended, first by Pinot's abandonment, then by the weather-shortened stage.
Organizers neutralized stage 19 after a hail storm dumped ice on the descent from the Col de l'Izeran
The young Colombian climbing sensation rode his way into yellow in an abbreviated stage marred by extreme weather. Thibaut Pinot also abandoned early in the stage.
Pinot was in pain, physically and emotionally, and abandoned stage 19 in tears.
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You’re familiar with the all-important strength-to-weight ratio, expressed as w/kg. But what about strength-to-wait? Bobby and Gus explain.
The French success at this year's Tour de France has attracted throngs of local fans to the roadside in the Alps. Riders are seeing flags, homemade signs, and yes, even a few Borat costumes.
Cycling as a sport demands unnatural risks of its participants. On the descent of the Col de Vars, midway through the Tour de France’s punishing 18th stage, George Bennett showed just how.
Movistar played chess high in the Alps on Thursday and came up big with a stage victory for Quintana at the expense of Landa
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Egan Bernal's attack on the Col du Galibier was actually Geraint Thomas's decision, the Colombian told reporters after the stage
How does Egan Bernal's advantage change the dynamics heading into the final two stages? And what is the significance of Nairo Quintana's stage victory?
The Colombian climber won alone, out-climbing his breakaway companions. Alaphilippe cracked, but regained the GC group on the descent in dramatic fashion.
Trek introduces the third generation of its endurance bike, the Domane, and gets a lot of things right.
Thomas loses a key domestique leading into three decisive stages in the Alps.
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After 17 stages the Tour de France riders are nearing exhaustion. Teams have multiple ways to overcome fatigue.
Wives and girlfriends. Missing the break. Pushing and shoving. And is rubbing still racing? Bobby and Gus sound off.
The inconsistent Basque climber has nothing to lose and vows to try to blow up the race in a bid for the final podium in Paris.
Geraint Thomas expects teams to increase the pace in the Alps to try and shed overall leader Julian Alaphilippe.
Rowe and Martin were both expelled from the race after it appeared the two men and their teams had an on-road spat in the final kilometers of stage 17.
The horrifying crash that defined the 2003 Tour de France and forever changed Joseba Beloki's career was the result of bad management, says Beloki's former teammate Jorg Jaksche.
The Italian timed his attack from a group of breakaway riders to perfection, climbing away and winning alone in Gap after 200km of racing.
Soaring temperatures in the south of France are making even the transition stages at the Tour a challenge.
French hero Alaphilippe is becoming a bigger problem by the day for the top favorites as the Tour enters its final battleground. And Pinot packs the punch that should worry all the other would-be winners.
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Adversity. Injuries. Solo moves and last chances. It's a tough one today on Put Your Socks On.
The Tour de France's escape artists have one stage left to win. But attacking into a breakaway in week three is harder than you might think.
German rider Emanuel Buchmann is quietly positioning himself for a run at the Tour's final podium in Paris
The Welshman said he crashed when his gears jammed and he was thrown from his bike.
Four days after the crash that knocked him out of the Tour de France, Wout van Aert recalls the confusing moments following the accident.
The Australian sprinter launched at the perfect moment to capture his second stage win of this Tour. In the GC battle, Fuglsang crashed and abandoned.
Today marks the 30th anniversary of one of pro cycling's most exciting and indelible moments.
The Tour de France will be decided in the Alps. On this week's episode we devise a battle plan for Thibaut Pinot to try and win the race on the race's final three mountain stages.
Movistar manager confirmed rumors that both Carapaz and Quintana will be leaving the Spanish team next season.
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The Tour's race director sits down with Rob Arnold to discuss the excitement of the 2019 race, the prospects of a bigger women's event, and who is the Tour's best domestique
Australian journalist Rupert Guinness speaks with five international colleagues about the Tour thus far, the biggest stories in each journalist's home country, and how the race will play out in the final week.
We highlight a selection of our favorite images from the second week of the Tour de France.
The Frenchman concedes his lead hangs by a thread, but he'll fight with everything he has to hold yellow to Paris.
A look at the stories that you may have missed from this past week's coverage of the Tour de France
We take a closer look at the German's Arkea-Samsic team bike for this year's Tour de France.
The Pyrenees shook up the Tour de France's overall standings. Who is the strongest? How can Thibaut Pinot or Geraint Thomas win?
A combination of factors has transformed this year's Tour de France into one of the most unpredictable and engaging in decades.
The defending Tour champion says he'll call on teammate Egan Bernal if he needs his help in three critical mountain stages across the Alps.
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“The best and worst thing to happen in cycling was the power meter.“ -Today's special guest Mike Lepp, a sports physiologist with 35 years experience, weighs in with a unique perspective from auto racing.
The sprinters fight from the first climb of every mountain stage to stay in the race as they gamble on the chance for a sprint and seek the prize of completing the biggest race of them all.
Though he carries the yellow jersey into the Tour's final rest day, Alaphilippe realizes how hard it is going to be to win the Tour de France.
After putting costly time losses behind him, Pinot is a riding a wave of momentum after three stellar days across the Pyrénées to surge back into contention for the yellow jersey
Reigning champion Thomas looked to have regained confidence and form on Stage 15 only to find his momentum curtailed by Monday's rest day.
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Pinot powered to second place, Thomas faltered and then rallied, while Alaphilippe finally showed weakness, losing time but holding on to the yellow jersey.
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Defending champion Geraint Thomas remains positive after showing weakness in the final kilometers of the Tourmalet, where he lost 36 seconds on the yellow jersey.
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Across France, cycling fans and pundits are beginning to believe that Julian Alaphilippe is the man to end the country's 34-year drought at the Tour de France
Who's helping whom here? Episode 14 digs into team tactics, recon missions, saving energy and pre-race nerves. Also - there is no place to hide on the Tourmalet.
Movistar threw everything at the Tourmalet on Saturday only to see its GC hopes dissolve and the stage victory escape
Though the defending champion lost more time to GC rival Julian Alaphilippe on the Tourmalet, he is not ruling out his chances of taking a second Tour title.