LIVE stage 19 Tour de France 2025 | Five climbs and one brutal summit finish!

After the brutal stage to the Col de la Loze, the riders are simply expected to keep going. With this stage featuring another 4,600 meters of climbing, the riders will have completed more than 10,000 meters of elevation gain in just two days. And the climbing starts quickly as we leave Albertville. The Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine (11.3 kilometers at 5.2%) is the first challenge, just 18 kilometers into the stage. Right after that, the Col des Saisies follows. This climb is longer and steeper, at 13.8 kilometers and 6.4%.

Those two climbs will likely make the opening hour brutally tough, but that’s only the beginning. After a long and tricky descent southward, the riders reach Beaufort, which means it’s time for the monstruous Col du Pré. The first kilometers aren’t too bad, but the real challenge is the top of the climb.

From Beaufort, the road climbs for 4 kilometers at 6.8%, and then the real climb starts. Nearly the entire ascent stays above 9%, with the steepest kilometer exceeding 11%! And even then, the riders aren't done: after the summit comes a plateau, followed by the Cormet de Roselend. Normally considered a climb 'hors catégorie', from this side it’s a shorter affair (5.8 kilometers at 6.5%). Still, it will make for a brutal challenge after the Pré.

Another long descent follows. After more than 20 kilometers, the route reaches Bourg-Saint-Maurice, and then there's a gentle false flat to Aime. From there, the final climb to La Plagne begins. On paper, it’s not the steepest climb, but after all that elevation - and with stage 18 still in their legs - it’s going to feel brutal.

The climb to La Plagne is relatively steady: the 19-kilometer slog never really goes over 10%, but also rarely dips below 5%.

The forecast for the Alps isn’t great for Friday. In La Plagne, temperatures will be around 14°C, and there’s a chance of rain. Wind, however, should be minimal.

The last time the Tour de France finished in La Plagne was back in 2002. That day, Dutchman Michael Boogerd won with a long solo for Rabobank. If a Dutch rider is to repeat that feat, it will likely have to be Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), targeting the breakaway.

That said, this is also the final true mountain stage of the Tour, and that immediately brings to mind the best climbers in the race. And those are, without question, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), who between them have dominated and won the last five Tours. On Thursday, we saw once again that the Slovenian has the upper hand over his Danish rival.

But Thursday also showed that others can benefit from the stalemate between the two top contenders and their teams. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe duo of Florian Lipowitz and Primoz Roglic managed to make the most of the Pogacar-Vingegaard stalemate on the Col de la Loze. That could happen again on Friday, especially if energy is managed better.

One thing is certain: if you want to win this stage, you’ll need a solid pair of climbing legs. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R) has demonstrated in that past that he thrives in week three, and others like Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Einer Rubio (Movistar), Sergio Higuita (XDS-Astana), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), Julian Alaphilippe and Michael Storer (Tudor) have also looked strong in the previous mountain stages.

In terms of GC, Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X) still have an opportunity to move up, while others like Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) seem to be fading a bit. Finally, don’t rule out the domestiques of Vingegaard and Pogacar, especially Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss and Adam Yates, depending on how the race unfolds.

Top favorites:Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders:Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), Florian Lipowitz, (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) and Felix Gall (Decahtlon AG2R)
Long-shots: Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Michael Storer (Tudor), Matteo Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Sergio Higuita (XDS-Astana) and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X)