Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious) outsprinted Kasper Asgreen (Soudal Quick-Step) to take an astonishing victory from the breakaway on stage 19 of the Tour de France.
On a frenetic day of action, Mohorič and Asgreen denied Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) the win as they powered past the Australian in a three-up sprint for the line in Poligny. The trio broke away from a large group of riders on the category 3 Côte d'Ivry climb in the final phase of racing.
Originally sparked by Asgreen, the three riders managed to make their move stick as they held off the chasing group which contained the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck), Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) amongst others.
Philipsen took fourth behind O’Connor and will now have to wait until the final day in Paris for a final opportunity to take a fifth stage victory in this Tour. Meanwhile Asgreen came staggeringly close to a second stage win in two days.
Mohorič now has three victories to his name at the French Grand Tour. His previous two came in 2021.
The main peloton - containing race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) - came in ten minutes behind the leaders. More than 30 riders had managed to get into the breakaway and small groups came across the line in between Mohorič and the main field after a chaotic day.
