The 2019 Tour de France in 100 frames

The 106th edition of the Tour de France could possibly go down as the greatest in history. Barring the final mountain stages that were cut short due to mother nature, the drama, the surprise, the plot twists, the extraordinary characters and the pure sporting magnificence make it unforgettable. A better movie script couldn’t have been written.

With two Frenchmen animating and leading the race and with the way they plunged in their glory, it couldn’t have been a ‘more French race’ to reinvigorate the nation’s imagination and support. Some say that Alaphilippe won the Tour de France by popular vote. It was a shame that Egan Bernal, the youngest Tour winner ever, didn’t get to show his dominance in a truncated tour, but history will soon forget.

If you’re feeling the post-Tour melancholy this week, we hope this photo gallery by our incredibly talented and hard-working photographers gets you through the day.

From all of us here at CyclingTips, thank you for following and we hope you enjoyed our coverage.

Until next year, vive le Tour

: The Grand Depart in Belgium promptly went over one of the most iconic climbs in cycling, the Muur van Geraardsbergen used at the Tour of Flanders

: Belgian hardman Greg Van Avermaet (CCC) got away early on the first stage

: Dylan Groenewegen would have been one of the top favourites for the first stage win. He was not the only big-name rider to hit deck on the crash-marred stage. GC hopeful Jakob Fuglsang hit the deck hard just inside the final 20 kilometers. He ultimately rejoined the peloton before the finish, but sustained a cut near his eye.

: Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) took a stunning sprint victory in the opening stage of the Tour de France, topping Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) to nab the first yellow jersey of the race. What could have been a disaster for Jumbo-Visma when Dylan Groenewegen crashed in the finale turned out quite differently when Teunissen seamlessly transitioned from lead-out man to sprinter, staying well-positioned into the final kick and pipping Sagan at the line. “I cannot believe it. We’ve been working for weeks, months even to bring Dylan to the stage victory, to the yellow jersey,” an incredulous Teunissen said after the finish.

: Dylan Groenewegen, the lead sprinter of Team Jumbo-Visma wounded in the teambus after the first stage

: Jumbo-Visma started the team time trial last but was fastest around the course in Brussels.

: Luke Durbridge (AUS/Mitchelton-Scott) in the back of the teambus at the race start.

: Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) won stage 4 into Nancy. “This meant a lot for me,” said Viviani, who has now taken stage victories across all three Grand Tours in his career. “Today we did a perfect job, you saw how the lead-out did. I just need to thank the team. They were really unbelievable. I just had to in my job in the last 180 meters.”

: Nicolas Edet (FRA/Cofidis) is deeply disappointed as he is forced to abandon the race due to illness after hanging on a thread trying to catch the peloton again for a good hour… Overtaken by emotions, he gets into the teamcar.

: Stage 6 up La Planche des Belles Filles was where the GC battle first heated up and Alaphilippe put in an impressive performance against the other overall contenders.

: Bahrain-Merida’s Dylan Teuns rode to a huge victory atop La Planche des Belles Filles on the sixth stage of the Tour de France. The 27-year-old Belgian topped fellow escapee Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) by 11 seconds on the steep finishing climb. “It was really a man-to-man fight,” said Teuns, who hardly had the energy for a celebration by the time he hit the line. “I was so getting tired it was even difficult to put your hands in the air.” Ciccone may have settled for runner-up honors, but he finished the day with a prize of his own—the Italian would start Friday’s stage 7 wearing the coveted yellow jersey.

: Alaphilippe put in a dig off the front and the battle of him and Pinot began on stage 6

: Green Jersey Peter Sagan (SVK/Bora-Hansgrohe) entertaining the crowd with his signature wheelie up the gravel section in the final stretch to the finish line up La Planche des Belles Filles

: Heavyweight sprinter Andre Greipel uses a less glamorous method to get up the steep final section of La Planche des Belles Filles

: Roman Kreuziger with one of his two daughters and biggest fans

: Dylan Groenewegen nabbed his first victory on stage 7 narrowly out-kicking Caleb Ewan. “Every time I sprint against Caleb [Ewan], it’s always very close. He’s a very good sprinter, but today I could beat him and I’m very happy with this result,” Groenewegen said. “The first day I crashed really hard, and the next days I was really f—ed, but yesterday I felt good again.”

: A photofinish victory by Dylan Groenewegen

: Tejay van Garderen crashed out on stage 7 after fracturing his hand in a crash. “The crash was a result of a personal error,” van Garderen said in EF’s statement. “I was looking down at my bike because I saw something caught up in it, like a piece of paper, so I was looking down and I hit a median. I have no one to blame but myself, and I really hope that no one else got hurt because of me.” The 30-year-old American hit the deck in the early goings of Friday’s stage. Seven kilometers into the day, van Garderen hit a traffic island and went down along with Jumbo-Visma’s Mike Teunissen.

: In his trademark style, Thomas de Gendt was the first one to break away at kilometer 0 and was the first one across the finish in Saint-Étienne on stage 8.

: Thomas de Gendt (BEL/Lotto-Soudal) is mobbed by journalists after his (fastest time) finish. “I had a really good feeling all day so I believed in it all day,” De Gendt said. “We almost crashed in a few corners because we were taking some risks, but from 70 kilometers to go I started to believe in a possible victory. But still, it hurt so much.”

: Alexis Vuillermoz (FRA/AG2R La Mondiale) crossing the finish line in bandages on stage 9: Saint-Étienne to Brioude (170km)

: Geraint Thomas got an apology from Michael Woods a day after the spectacular crash brought down most of Team Ineos that threatened to derail his defence of the Tour de France title. “It was my fault.” Woods will apologise to Thomas and Ineos for yesterday’s crash. “If I was (Ineos) I wouldn’t be too happy with Mike Woods right now. Every pro cyclist has made that mistake…it’s just crap that I did it and ended up affecting someone else’s race”

: Daryl Impey won stage 9, out-kicking breakaway companion Tiesj Benoot in a two-rider sprint in Brioude. “It’s the seventh time I’m riding the Tour de France and have been in a number of breakaways. To finally nail it today, it’s a dream come true,” Impey said. “I really don’t have any words.”

: Stage winner Daryl Impey letting it all sink in after returning to the team hotel and having his first solo moment since crossing the finish line almost 2 hours earlier.

: Near the midway point of stage 10, the peloton came across increasingly heavy winds. A brief split with some 60 kilometers to go foreshadowed the bigger split to come.

: With around 40 kilometers left to race on stage 10 and the break’s advantage at around two minutes, a handful of teams surged to the head of the pack, with EF Education First and then Ineos among those injecting a turn of speed. The tempo lined out the bunch. Within minutes, things reached a breaking point and the peloton split into multiple groups, with dozens of riders caught out, including Porte, Pinot, Fuglsang, and even Urán, despite the hard work of his own team at the front a few minutes prior.

: Wout van Aert sprinted to his first career Tour de France stage win on stage 10 that also had serious GC implications for the race. Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo), Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First) all lost more than a minute and a half after getting caught behind a split in the crosswinds with just under 40 kilometers left to go.

: Wout van Aert celebrates his first TdF win

: Marcel Kittel who announced his surprise departure from cycling a couple months prior was at the Tour de France doing some work for German television

: Parasols in the French flag colours over the streets of Toulouse

: Cue the iconic Tour de France sunflower shot

: Caleb Ewan finally got his first career Tour de France stage victory on stage 11.

: With scorching temperatures in France the soigneurs prepared ice packs for the riders (often pantyhose or stockings filled with ice)

: “I’ve been saving energy until we got here in the mountains and this was my first day to try something,” Yates said after the stage. “Normally I’d be back in the peloton helping Adam [Yates] but today I had my own chance so I grabbed it with both hands.”

: Alaphilippe now back in yellow

: Photographer Kristof Ramon describes this moment wonderfully: “Most beautiful scene at the Tour de France so far? In 2014 Stig Broeckx rode a long time at the front of Tour of Flanders in his first year as a Lotto-Soudal pro. In 2016 Stig was involved in a crash at the Belgium Tour and he ended up in a vegetative state coma. Life as it was for Stig was over at that point. After seventh months of coma he started showing signs of awakening. The progression he made since is nothing short of miraculous. Today Stig visited his first cycling race since the accident. Stig has become an inspiration to many in the meanwhile because of the way he commits to his recovery and his positive approach to life. Everywhere he stopped along the course, people stepped up to the car and wanted to greet him, shake his hand, see him. Stig is back and Stig is beautiful. Driven around in the VIP-van of his former Lotto-Soudal team with driver (former Flanders winner ) Eric Vanderaerden (138 career wins!!) sitting next to him. As they stop halfway up the Col de Peyresourde, (mainly Belgian) people spontaneously walk up to the car to greet Stig, who has become an inspiration to many because of the way he fights back to a ‘normal life’.

: Belgian time trail champion Wout van Aert crashed out of the ITT France following a high-speed collision in which he caught a barrier near the end of stage 13. Van Aert was removed from the course in an ambulance with a deep gash in his right thigh. Van Aert appeared to catch the inside barrier halfway through the corner, a detail that was confirmed to by a spectator who witnessed the crash.

: Sarah de Bie, the wife of Wout van Aert, looks to the horror of her husband’s crash on television.

: Race leader Julian Alaphilippe did more than just conserve his yellow jersey on stage 13 of the Tour de France. The Frenchman bested Geraint Thomas and Thomas De Gendt to win the 27.2-kilometer individual time trial in Pau and extend his overall lead. “I knew that I really could do a good performance on this parcours.” Alaphilippe said. “I just gave everything I had and I won the stage.” Stage 13 (ITT): Pau to Pau (27km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: The 117.5km stage 14 route brought the race up from Tarbes, over the Col du Soulor, and finally, to a summit finish atop one of cycling’s great climbs. The winners? A rapturous host nation, mostly, thanks to Thibaut Pinot’s stunning stage win and Julian Alaphilippe’s phenomenal defence of his yellow jersey. The losers? A broad swathe of GC contenders – including, most significantly, defending Tour champion Geraint Thomas. Pinot said, “Since the start of the Tour I’ve been targeting this stage, this is the one I wanted, the mythical Tourmalet,” said Pinot, who moved up to sixth overall. “We are going into the third week now, people will be tired, but this is where I feel best.”

: Stage winner Thibaut Pinot congratulated by the Yellow Jersey Julian Alaphilippe

: Yellow Jersey Julian Alaphilippe congratulated on podium by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. Stage 14: Tarbes to Tourmalet (117km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Alberto Contador may be retired, but was still a prominent commentator for Eurosport this July

: A lot of days in yellow for Team Deceuninck-Quickstep

: Stage 15 of the Tour de France offered no shortage of action. Simon Yates stormed to the victory, his second of this Tour de France, out of the breakaway. Not far behind, the GC contenders lit up the mountainous stage with attacks. Thibaut Pinot and Mikel Landa took second and third on the rainy day, putting over a minute into race leader Julian Alaphilippe, who showed his first signs of vulnerability of the entire race on the final climb.

: Photographer Tim de Waele getting up close on Steven Kruijswijk

: Most of the big GC contenders for this year’s race picked up time on Alaphilippe on the final climb of stage 15, with Thibaut Pinot finishing more than a minute ahead of his compatriot. Alaphilippe made no attempt to hide his fatigue after two tough days in the Pyrenees. “I’m not disappointed, I’m just exhausted,” he said after the stage. “It’s not a surprise for me to crack against the best climbers, especially after yesterday’s stage, where I really went deep into my reserves.”

: Julien Bernard ready to make the descend back to the team bus after the stage. After Chris Froome’s altercation with a police officer while descending last year, the riders are now given armbands and whistles so they’re not mistaken as fans Stage 15: Limoux to Foix Prat d’Albis (185km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Nairo Quintana (COL/Movistar) taking a selfie with colombian fans at the finish line in Nîmes

: Peloton rolling over the picturesque ‘Pont du Gard’

: Caleb Ewan wins his second stage on stage 16. “To be honest I felt so bad today during the day. I think the heat really got to me,” Ewan said after his win. “I was suffering so much I almost told Max [Monfort] to get off the front. But I had extra motivation today. My daughter and my wife were here so I was so happy I could win for them.”

: Christopher Juul-Jensen (DEN/Mitchelton-Scott) on the teambus at the finish line in Nîmes

: Steven Kruijswijk (Netherlands / Team Jumbo – Visma) – Emanuel Buchmann (Germany / Team Bora – hansgrohe) pictured on stage 17 from Pont du Gard to Gap

: Matteo Trentin picked up Mitchelton-Scott’s fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France with an impressive solo move out of the breakaway on stage 17. The 29-year-old Italian jumped off the front of a big break on the final climb of the stage, inside the last 15 kilometers, and held on to take the victory. “It was really an emotional finish because I’ve only won two races alone in my whole career before now,” said Trentin, who often relies on his sprint kick to nab results. “Doing it here in the Tour de France, on this finish line, winning against this group, it was amazing.”

: Matteo Trentin telling the war stories of the stage to his teammates, Simon and Adam Yates in their hotel room after his win

: Eventual polka dot jersey winner, Roman Bardet climbing his way to get back points on the mountains classification

: Daryl Impey (ZAF/Mitchelton-Scott) up the Col de l’Izoard (HC/2354m/14.2km@7%), in the Casse Déserte Stage 18: Embrun to Valloire (208km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Nairo Quintana up the Col du Galibier on his way to win stage 18.

: World Champion Alejandro Valverde (ESP/Movistar) up the Col du Galibier (HC/2622m/23km@5.1%) Stage 18: Embrun to Valloire (208km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Richie Porte (AUS/Trek Segafredo) up the Col du Galibier (HC/2622m/23km@5.1%) Stage 18: Embrun to Valloire (208km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Quintana descending his way to victory. After he crossed the finish line he said, “This a reflection of all the hard work we’ve done,” Quintana said. “Things haven’t gone the way we’d hoped, but we kept at it. We didn’t let ourselves stop pushing.”

: This year’s Tour gave Colombian fans lots to cheer about

: Julian Alaphilippe, however, remains in the yellow jersey after putting in another impressive ride in the mountains. The Frenchman was briefly distanced near the top of the Galibier but rejoined the main GC group on the descent.

: Jesus Herrada (ESP/Cofidis) post race exhaustion

: In a heartbreaking end to Thibaut Pinot’s Tour, he abandoned Stage 19 due to muscle tear in his left thigh. He said later that he believed he would win this Tour de France.

: White jersey / best young rider Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) leading the race leaders up the Col de l’Iseran where the race was eventually stopped (at the top) because of landslides further up the road (after a severe hail storm in Tignes)

: In a dramatic stage 19, Egan Bernal was awarded official race leader as organizers cut the stage short, with heavy precipitation and even a landslide making the roads ahead impassable. No one was awarded the stage victory, but Julian Alaphilippe’s reign on the yellow jersey had come to an end.

: Christian Prudhomme explains the situation to Egan Bernal, who had attacked out of the yellow jersey group on the climb, led over the ascent with enough of a gap to Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) to be the provisional race leader.

: Alaphilippe took the decision in good stride and was happy with his performance overall

: Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) becomes the new GC leader and receives the Yellow Jersey. Stage 19: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Tignes (126km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Happy girlfiend and father of Egan Bernal as he becomes the new leader of the race

: 2 Aussies/ 2 ‘Matthews’ at the race start in Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne: Michael Matthews (AUS/Sunweb) & former Milano-Sanremo winner Matthew Goss

: Oliver Naesen (BEL/AG2R-La Mondiale) and Mickaël Cherel (FRA/AG2R-La Mondiale) stick around for the podium ceremony to cheer for their friend and teammate Romain Bardet who is the winner for the Polka Dot Jersey

: Just as the race finishes, a serious thunderstorm (including hail), hits the area and the Mitchelton-Scott crew (already working in their hotel very nearby) simply keep on going even make the best of the gnarly situation Stage 18: Embrun to Valloire (208km) 106th Tour de France 2019 (2.UWT) ©kramon

: Not long ago the riders were putting ice packs under their jerseys, now have brought out the embrocation

: Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) soared to victory on stage 20 as Egan Bernal cemented his overall win. Nibali pulled clear of the day’s breakaway with around 12 kilometers left to race on the climb to Val Thorens. Despite an attempted chase by his former breakaway companions and then the gradual closing in of the yellow jersey group, the Italian churned away on the Alpine slopes to maintain a safe gap all the way to the top, winning with a 10-second advantage.

: Race leader Bernal rolled over the stage 20 finish line in fourth celebrating with Ineos teammate Geraint Thomas, with Bernal’s GC victory all but secured with only the sprinter-friendly finale in Paris ahead.

: The race finally reaches Paris where it’s warm again

: Team Ineos escorting yellow jersey / Tour winner Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) safely over the Champs-Elysées

: One lap to go

: The final corner with 350 m to go ; Matteo Trentin (Italy / Team Mitchelton – Scott) – Dylan Groenewegen (Netherlands / Team Jumbo – Visma) – Caleb Ewan (Australia / Team Lotto Soudal) – Peter Sagan (Slowakia / Team Bora – hansgrohe)

: Caleb Ewan (AUS/Lotto Soudal) wins his 3th stage of this Tour on the final stage into Paris on the Champ-Elyséés

: Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) sharing the joy of his first Tour win with his family on the Champs-Élysées

: Incredible achievement by Emanuel Buchmann (DEU/BORA-hansgrohe) who finishes 4th overall and is celebrated by his teammates on the Champs-Elysées

: After finishing the 2019 Tour on the Champs-Élysées, Daryl Impey and Michael Hepburn have some fun with the many Colombian fans who now want more than water bottles (thrown earlier)…

: podium with the Tour de France 2019 jersey winners: Green Jersey Peter Sagan (SVK/Bora Hansgrohe) Yellow and white jersey Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) Polka dot Jersey Romain Bardet (FRA/AG2R La Mondiale)

: 2019 Tour de France podium: 1st place Egan Bernal (COL/Ineos) 2nd place Geraint Thomas (GBR/Ineos) 3th place Steven Kruijswijk (NED/Jumbo Visma)

: 7 Tour wins in 8 years for Team SKY/Ineos

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The 2019 Tour de France in 100 frames

Words by Wade Wallace | Photography by Kristof Ramon, Jered & Ashley Gruber, Cor Vos