Tour de France 2024: crunch time in the Alps for lead contenders on stage 19 – live

2.49pm BST

25km to go: There’s under 10km to that final climb. This stage seems to have gone in the blink of an eye, and yet the plot is yet to reveal itself.

2.46pm BST

28km to go: Peter Craig gets in touch: “To respond to Shaun, I’m not aware that riders use different tyres if there’s a long descent but they’re all on wider tyres nowadays - up from Marco Pantani’s 21mm to 28, or even more for the cobbled classics - all run at much lower pressures. Campanaerts used super fast TT tyres for his breakaway exploits yesterday and found the descents a bit sketchy. Hope they all stay safe today.”

The descent reaches into a valley. A flat spot will soon come, and those in the break will have to work together. Egan Bernal receives a bike change, and will try to get back on in the peloton.

2.42pm BST

30km to go: Nils Politt is back with the peloton and leading Pogacar’s safe progress. Vingegaard is waiting and waiting but has benefit of nobody around him, where Team UAE have a blanket of security around their main man.

2.36pm BST

35km to go: The speed of this race is relentless, and so far, even if Guillame Martin has had a few difficulties, we’re yet to have a crash. There’s no rest for the nerves. The effort of staying in touch is sheer anxiety. The gap remains around four minutes.

2.29pm BST

45km to go: William Preston gets in touch: “There’s something beautiful about a summer’s day in the mountains. It’s made even better that it’s the antepenultimate stage, and as a strong gaggle of cyclists ascend the roads, they gradually shell out the slower ones, until there’s only one.

“I think Pogacar is going to go for it. He’s surely going to really put a stomp on his authority over this cohort of cyclists, despite their their thrillingly heroic efforts to break him. It’s a mesmerizing watch, he’s a machine and a half. What can be done, or should we all just enjoy it? Is Thomas on his swansong? Do all the polka dot jerseys come from the Caravan of Tat that precedes the race? I know there’s some hats and so on, but is it a supermarket purchase? Have a great day and thanks for all the coverage so far.”

So does Stephanie Wilson: “Do the riders who are in the green jersey group today get a longer time to finish given the climbs/altitude they have to do. Given that the bulk of them aren’t climbers!!” They’re being given 3% leeway, we are told. If the grupetto comes in as one, then there may not be a time cutoff.

Shaun O’Hara asks another question: “What bike settings are optimum for downhill? What tyre options are there depending on the road surface?”

2.25pm BST

47km to go: The speed of the descent is terrifying, and Carapaz continues to drive the break on. Pogacar is surrounded by teammates as they continue on this lengthy, 35km descent. Vingegaard is there, watchful, and so is Evenepoel. The clicks dropping quicker and quicker. The big showdown will have to happen on the final climb.

2.17pm BST

Carapaz leads over La Bonette, taking maximum points

57km to go: Back in the peloton, UAE swarm all over Vingegaard, as if to cut off a possible escape. Jorgensen, up ahead, is a fine descender. Up at the front, Carapaz tries to get clear to claim those polka points but Jorgensen and Kelderman are wise to him. Not that they put much resistance as Carapaz reaches for these points, and gratefully so. Huge noise from those who have made their way to the highest road in France.

Now for the descent. Poor Guillaume Martin was a kilometre back on the hill, between peloton and break. Lonely boy.

Updated at 2.17pm BST

2.11pm BST

60km to go: Hindley, Simon Yates, Carapaz, Jorgenson, Kelderman and Cristian Rodriguez are the remainders of the breakaway with 3km left to climb. The peloton is so small as to resemble a breakaway group itself. The altitude is high, the air thin. No jokes about carbon monoxide now. The two Visma riders lead the break. They continue to stretch the elastic. This doesn’t lool like it has the drama of 1993 yet. The winner that day was Tony Rominger.

2.03pm BST

62km to go: It feels like La Bonette may not be where the attack happens but with darkening weather, and the possibility of rain, there are tangible factors afoot. Carapaz, the gap dropping to 3’40”, is determined to claim those polka points.

Updated at 2.18pm BST

1.54pm BST

65km to go: Politt steps aside, having reduced the pack to under 20 riders. Pogacar offers his thanks, though it seems that the UAE team want Politt to stay in the pack to accompany his leader down the hill. A squad of white jerseys surround the yellow. Vingegaard is rather more lonely.

Updated at 1.55pm BST

1.45pm BST

68km to go: The speed with which they are attacking this legendary hill is something else. Geraint Thomas has been spat from the back. UAE are eating up the road, the gap coming down. When do the wildcat attacks start? Possibly not until later. The two groups snake their way up the hill.

1.33pm BST

72km to go: Nils Politt is giving the peloton a pull for Team UAE. Up ahead, the Visma pair of Jorgensen and Kelderman are driving the breakaway, the aim being to crack the main group. Still 15km to climb.

1.24pm BST

Here comes La Bonette

77km to go: Matt Cast gets in touch: ‘Coquard is going for the sprint points to try and seal 3 ^rd in the green jersey classification as it is worth some UCI points for his team which might help them to remain on the World Tour. Given the way Pogacar is hungry for stage wins, Coquard is concerned that Pogi might overtake him for 3rd place, and in this type of stage the only chance for Coquard to steal a march is via the intermediate sprint points.”

As does Kieran Monaghan: “Hello – looking forward to the queen stage today. On stage 18, I publicly tabled my betting woes and in the same breath tipped Campanaerts from 80km out; on these here blogs. Of course with no money on the table. There is obviously some omen at play, so today I fancy Lenny Martinez, Buitrago, Formolo and Oscar Onley. For no reason whatsoever – let it be known. It’s bread and dripping for me if this one doesn’t land well.”

Just over 20km of climbing to come, and already the gap is beginning to close. Carapaz looks full of legs. He’s a third-week specialist. The last leader of this stage was John-Lee Augustyn. You may recall that ride, and more specifically the descent that followed.

Related: Augustyn plummets from heroic high as Schleck holds yellow

Updated at 2.18pm BST

1.15pm BST

80km to go: After that excitement over that first climb and the descent, Pogacar and the main contenders take on refreshment. Pogacar throws his bottle into the Team Intermarche car. He has mountain points to defend – should Carapaz take double points on top of the Bonette, the Ecuadorian will be in virtual polka. The UAE riders are told to follow “the Gorka nutrition plan”.

1.05pm BST

85km to go: Richard Carapaz is eating a banana as he’s flying through the valleys. Nils Politt leads the peloton as it fans behind him. The Bonette beckons.

12.56pm BST

95km to go: The speeds of the descent are up to 100km/h, and terrifying. The gap to the peloton is 3’40”. That’s getting larger but it’s bridgeable. A lot of energy has been consumed by the breakaway. All eyes on Vingegaard after his crash in the Tour of the Baque country, even if he’s proved his mettle already. Mere mortals would have lost their nerve.

12.47pm BST

Carapaz leads the race over the first climb

102km to go: The final push to the top – the gap is three minutes – and Richard Carapaz chases the polka dot points on offer – and the Visma riders let him take it uncontested. He moves up the mountains charts, as the Tour climbs over 2000m, and he pockets 20 points. Now for a crazy descent with a headwind and plenty of turns.

Updated at 12.58pm BST

12.33pm BST

107km to go: The road winds up and up, on and on, and this climb looks to have been used by Visma to set up the Vingegaard charge. The hope is that UAE and Pogacar crack. It’s a high-risk strategy – but one that can deliver yellow back to the defending champion. The word from Adam Blythe on the Discovery motorbike is that Pogacar looks full of beans. Nils Politt continues to pull along a reduced peloton.

12.25pm BST

110km to go: The gap to the peloton is 1’ 30”, and the sprinters are approaching five minutes behind the yellow jersey group. Food and drink are being taken on. It’s been gruelling so far.

Here’s that lead group: Matteo Jorgenson, Wilco Kelderman (Visma-Lease a Bike), Simon Yates (Jayco-AlUla), Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon-Ag2r La Mondiale), Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal-Quick Step), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Cristian Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL.)

Updated at 12.29pm BST

12.17pm BST

115km to go: Neilson Powless paces Carapaz to the front, and that means Romain Bardet is dropped back. No heroics from the people’s champion today. Simon Yates makes it across, too, and Visma, having planted the early detonation, find that Vingegaard is rather lonesome in the GC group. Still 13 clicks to the top of this climb. Brutal scenes.

12.08pm BST

118km to go: Here we go on that opening climb, 18km or so, an often steep gradient. Simon Yates, denied the other day by Carapaz, is joining the vanguard. In the peloton, Marc Soler is setting a pace for UAE that has meant Wout van Aert has been shelled. A few years back, Van Aert was capable of competing in the highest mountains. The word is out: Pogacar wants this one. Louis Meintjes, breakaway king, has a dig.

12.03pm BST

120km to go: Three chasers – Carapaz, Romain Bardet and…Egan Bernal. The former champion has had a chastening Tour. That crash continues to take it out of him. The opening break is beginning to shell riders, including Laporte – bad news for Team Visma.

In other news: Jasper Philipsen is way out the back already. That would close the door on Girmay winning green. There’s been an extra allowance for stragglers today.

11.59am BST

123km to go: Bryan Coquard takes the intermediate sprint but he’s nowhere near touching distance of Girmay. The gap reduces to 45 seconds after a bit of chicanery. Back in the field, the other sprinters are coagulating into the grupetto. Now, is the peloton catching them up? Some good work by Matt Healy and Sean Quinn of EF Education, working for Carapaz, who goes after the break. The Olympic champion is going for it once more.

11.55am BST

125km to go: This course is full of small bits of descent followed by sharp climbs and hairpins. Treacherous stuff. There’s an intermediate sprint coming but the likes of Girmay and Philipsen will be nowhere near it. The gap is a minute now to the GC group. Those in the breakaway’s task, should they be up for it, is to act as bridges for Vingegaard. That relies on tactics and legs. The best-laid plans? Visma are going for it.

11.48am BST

130km to go: One absentee from the breakaway is Richard Carapaz, who is chasing polka-dot points. Does that mean his EF-Education team will push hard to get their man up the road, lending help to UAE? It does. Ineos Grenadiers need something from Carlos Rodriguez too.

Reminder of the standings there.

• 1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 77

• 2. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Visma - Lease a Bike 58

• 3. Remco Evenepoel (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step 42

• 4. Oier Lazkano (ESP) Movistar Team 41

• 5. Richard Carapaz (ECU) EF Education - EasyPost 37

• 6. Jonas Abrahamsen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility 36

• 7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama - FDJ 30

• 8. Carlos Rodríguez (ESP) INEOS Grenadiers 24

• 9. Ben Healy (IRL) EF Education - EasyPost 21

• 10. Tobias Johannessen (NOR) Uno-X Mobility 19

Updated at 11.56am BST

11.42am BST

135km to go: It’s a sizeable group, with plenty of quality within it to cause problems. It’s full of one-day, puncheur and climbers. The gap is out to 35 seconds as UAE deliberate, with super domestiques Soler and Politt seemingly caught at cross purposes. Early anxiety. There’s a third Visma rider – Wilco Kelderman – that break of 22 riders. Or is it 25?

Updated at 11.50am BST

11.37am BST

140km to go: Breakaways! Christophe Laporte – of Team Visma – is among it. As is Matteo Jorgensen, from the same team. What will UAE – Pogacar’s team – do? The gap is 10 seconds or thereabouts. A lot more work required to go away and stay away.

Updated at 11.39am BST

11.31am BST

Away we go on 4400 of climbing!

144km to go: A flat spot to start with, though the menace of the hills around Embrun shows there will be little respite. Even the départ fictif looks like heavy going. The highest road pass in France beckons. Bonne chance.

11.20am BST

The Bonette looks like the hill upon which to die for the contenders.

Pippa York, as shown below, knows all about these climbs. Here’s her expert view. And, yes, someone put her back on the telly. Few speak with such expertise.

Updated at 11.20am BST

11.11am BST

Could be another day when we see Cav expertly dart for the line, and make the time limit. Though with so many tired riders and the sprints all but done, the grupetto is bound to be large.

11.00am BST

Thursday’s race saw a very popular winner but another disappointment for the Big Sir Jim team.

Related: Campenaerts denies Ineos elusive Tour de France stage win with late surge

11.00am BST

William Fotheringham’s verdict on stage 19

An early green jersey sprint is the last time we will see the sprinters in action, and after that it’s a climber’s day. The Col de Vars is a brute, but the Bonette is in a class of its own, the highest ascent the Tour tackles. Some will recall Robert Millar’s gutsy escape over that monster in 1993; as on that day, the chances of a break getting to the finish are minimal as the overall battle will take centre stage.

11.00am BST

Preamble

Tadej Pogacar’s grip on Le Tour is strong, but not unassailable. This is where it will be decided, in the Alps, as he he and Jonas Vingegaard, and the new, coming force of Remco Evenepoel, will have their fate decided. An exhausted peloton, full of aches, pains and Covid-19, must haul it way up two days of climbs and then risk itself down terrifying descent. This is what the last three weeks have been building up to, and with a final time trial in Nice, time is of the essence.

Join us here.