Stage 19

The road

At the start

Uphill to Macugnaga, in the rain

Nothing moved at the top of the standings yesterday: Contador by 4:58 over Scarponi and 5:45 over Nibali. Today runs 211 kilometres from Bergamo to Macugnaga under Monte Rosa, over the Mottarone and then a long steady haul to the finish. For most of this peloton it is the last realistic chance of a stage win, which is why nobody will be allowed up the road easily.

How it was won

1. 1160 km to go

   Three at last

   Nineteen riders go early and are pulled back inside twenty-eight kilometres. It takes fifty-one before three men are finally allowed the road on what is, for most of this peloton, the last realistic chance of a stage.

2. 274 km to go

   Garzelli goes hunting points

   Acqua e Sapone drive the bunch to set up their mountains leader, and then Garzelli attacks alone on the Mottarone. He just misses the leaders before the summit and joins them over the top; Tschopp and Cherel get across too, and six ride into heavy rain in the valley.

3. 37 km to go

   Tiralongo jumps

   Seven kilometres from Macugnaga, on drying roads in late sun, Paolo Tiralongo goes. Di Luca closes it just before a tunnel and Tiralongo comes out of the other end with a gap anyway. Twelve years a professional, and no wins.

4. 41 km to go

   Contador, 1,500 metres out

   Dupont attacks at 2.5 kilometres and Rodriguez drops him. Then Contador moves and Nibali, Scarponi and Gadret all cover it; Gadret counters, and Contador goes again and sweeps past the lot of them with an ease that is almost rude. Dupont, then Rodriguez, then daylight.

5. 5At the line

   Macugnaga

   He catches Tiralongo with 400 metres left, and instead of going past him the maglia rosa says something, takes the front, and tows his old Astana domestique to the line. Tiralongo comes through for the first win of a twelve-year career, and cries about it.

The result