Just as organiser ASO had hoped when they planned the final week of the 2019 Tour de France, the race is wide open ahead of the final showdowns in the Alps.
In fact, nothing has been decided in terms of the podium places as any of the current top six riders could win, finish on the podium or fall by the wayside as the big Alpine stages loom into view.
Of the teams involved in the fight for the GC honours, only Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma have recent history in controlling and dictating how a Grand Tour is conducted. The Deceuninck-QuickStep management haven't had a Tour contender for years, and Bora-Hansgrohe have usually concentrated on stage wins and the points jersey competition. Groupama-FDJ have some experience of three-week strategy and planning, but it's been a while since they were at the pointy end of the Tour with real hopes, so the uncertainties of what Julian Alaphilippe, Geraint Thomas, Steven Kruijswijk, Thinaut Pinot, Egan Bernal and Emanuel Buchmann might do are matched by their respective teams' possibilities.
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Realistically, heading into the last of the mountains, the two strongest teams are Team Ineos and Jumbo-Visma, with FDJ operating at a slightly lower level. However, it won't be as simple as the first two fighting it out with the French squad waiting to pounce on any slip-ups as both Ineos and Jumbo-Visma have elements in their composition that limit their options.
Top six to battle it out
Starting with defending champions Ineos, they are still managing the Thomas and Bernal situation with a degree of flexibility. If Bernal can cover the attacks or go on the offensive himself, then that takes the pressure off Thomas to some degree, but the imposing back-up that the team enjoyed in previous editions hasn't been there in the big mountains. Poels and Kwiatkowski aren't as impressive as they can be, although the Polish rider has done a lot of work in the flatter stages protecting his leaders. They don't seem to have a climbing domestique they can call on in the final half hour of racing to set a high tempo or chase down attacks, either.
You could say with Thomas and especially Bernal in the select front group that they have good options, but as a team they haven't been capable of doing what they usually do – namely putting everyone in the red and then delivering the decisive blow when the domestiques are spent. It's been more a case of them being subjected to other teams' tactics than the contrary.
Alaphilippe still leads
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via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/philippa-york-analysis-a-tour-de-france-like-this-has-been-a-long-time-coming
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