Tour de France stage 19 LIVE: Martinez, Carapaz, Paret-Peintre and Yates among those in large break on Alpe d'Huez day - Cyclingnews

What the report says

Cyclingnews reported live from stage 19 of the 2026 Tour de France on July 24, a 127.9km mountain stage from Gap built around Alpe d’Huez. The outlet said the race was making Tour history by tackling the famous climb on consecutive days, with the first installment carrying about 3,500 metres of climbing and finishing with a decisive summit test. Its live page later flagged Tadej Pogačar as the stage winner, but the supplied text does not include his winning margin or the final classification details.

The early race was marked by aggressive breakaway racing. On the opening Col Bayard, a very large group formed, including Richard Carapaz, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Lenny Martinez, Adam Yates, Ben O’Connor, Tobias Halland Johannessen, Mads Pedersen and several Visma and Ineos riders. Martinez’s presence was significant because Cyclingnews listed him as seventh overall, 12:50 down, making the move relevant to the general classification as well as the stage contest.

Paret-Peintre and Carapaz were central to the mountains classification battle. Cyclingnews said Paret-Peintre beat Carapaz for points over both the Col Bayard and the Col du Noyer, putting him virtually in control of the polka-dot standings at that point in the stage. The break’s advantage grew to more than three minutes before the long valley section leading toward the later climbs.

The stage also carried wider suspense around UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Cyclingnews noted illness concerns within the team and questions over Pogačar’s condition, while reporting that the team insisted its leader was fine. That context made the Alpe d’Huez finish especially important in the Tour’s final mountain phase.