Stage 19

The road

How it was won

1. 1136 km to go

   A furious start

   The road pitches up from the gun and, after waves of attacks, a nine-man break sticks briefly in the valley on one of the most sensational days in Grand Tour history.

2. 275 km to go

   Froome attacks 80km out

   On the gravel of the Colle delle Finestre, Elissonde detonates the group and Froome flies off his wheel — spinning away from Dumoulin with 80km still to race, in a raid nobody believes can succeed. This is no testing of the water: Froome is going for the Giro.

3. 351 km to go

   Alone off the Finestre

   Froome descends the treacherous, wet Finestre and then Sestrière nearly a minute quicker than his pursuers, his lead yawning open as the impossible starts to look real.

4. 421 km to go

   The lead grows on the valley roads

   Even on 15km of false-flat highway — terrain that should favour the chase — Froome, dousing himself with water, pushes his advantage over Dumoulin past three minutes.

5. 52 km to go

   Holding on up the Jafferau

   The steep Jafferau is the sting in the tail, but despite big accelerations from the chase group Froome rallies and holds more than three minutes to the top.

6. 6At the line

   Froome seizes the maglia rosa

   Froome soloes into Bardonecchia to take the pink jersey and a 40-second overall lead — an 80km solo that will be remembered as one of the great Grand Tour rides.

The result