Visma-Lease a Bike said that their hopes of turning the tables at the last minute on Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) on stage 19 to La Plagne were dashed by the overnight change in the stage route and resulting reduction in difficulty.
Cows infected by a virus and the consequent culling of several herds indirectly meant that on an already short but very mountainous stage, two key early ascents, the category 2 Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine and the category 1 Col des Saisies, were removed, reducing the stage length by 30 kilometres to 95km and leaving it with only the three final climbs of the original course.
