Stage 19 | Embrun / Salon-de-Provence | Tour de France 2017

After the Alps and before the time trial in Marseille, the Tour de France had a long transitional stage into the heart of Provence. Had the wind blown it might have been a very interesting day but as it turned out it was the first stage of the race when the breakaway riders had a chance to fight it out among themselves.

And in the end it was a roundabout that proved decisive. Just inside the last three kilometres, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Nikias Arndt went the right-hand side of the roundabout and the rest of the break went the other side. That was all it took to give the leading duo enough of an advantage.

The way the Norwegian Boasson Hagen dropped Arndt in the final stages was impressive and more than made up for the near-miss in Nuits-Saint-Georges when he lost in a photo finish.

In this episode of The Cycling Podcast, Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and François Thomazeau are hit by a slight end-of-term feeling in Salon-de-Provence. They discuss the stage and are joined by Daniel Friebe before looking ahead to Saturday’s time trial.

The Cycling Podcast is supported by Rapha and Science in Sport.