With two stage victories under his belt, it doesn't come as a surprise that Michal Kwiatkowski had already his sights on the possibility of adding number three to his collection on eighteenth stage of the Tour de France. And for a long time, it seemed like everything plays into his hands, especially...

This years Tour reaches new heights with the mighty Bonette, altitude and attitude combined. Dont miss the early finish.A Man With A Plan: 28 riders went up the road, the first breakaway to get more than ten minutes this Tour. This gave them the luxury of being able to trade attacks for the next few hours, each trying to reshape too large a group. It was splendid to watch, sunshine, tactics and hours of helicopter shots of the Alpine landscapes, just the melancholy of knowing next week itll all be over.At times riders were dropped but came back, notably Matteo Vercher. Victor Campenaerts sat tight for a long time, as if measuring his efforts.Micha Kwiatkowski took off on the final marked climb of the day, the Demoiselles Coiffees, with over 30km to go. He was soon joined by Vercher and Campenaerts and the trio gradually built a lead, the chase behind suffering from the classic stand-off where if some wanted to chase, others got a free ride and so the chasers didnt want to take them to the finish.Vercher launched a move with 800m to go, the move not to make but what else could he do? It made Kwiatkowski chase. With less than 200m left Campenaerts launched but it was like watching a muscle car accelerate on a green light, all while Kwiatkowski wilted in the heat.Campenaerts said hed picked this stage since last winter, knowing hed be working for Arnaud De Lie for much of the race. He went to altitude for nine weeks, when three is plenty for many. Come the day he asked for time trial tires on his bike to get every aero advantage and the confidence boost, even if he said he was on the limit on the descents. All the investment and thought paid off.The Route: todays plat du jour certainly isnt flat. 144km and 4,400m of vertical gain, a lot for a stage where the first 20km look flat but actually the course uses a side road and its got some slopes and even a hairpin, the sprinters wont like it at all, this could even be a place for Girmay to aim for as he climbs better than Philipsen but itll be hard to set up a sprint amid the attacks.The mighty Col de Vars, an unsung climb that is challenging and scenic but reduced to the entre today. It is harder than the 5.7% average suggests, you can spot the flat middle section and even the descent. The opening part to the Col de la Viste is more like 10%.Then comes the mighty Cime de Bonette at 2,802m which is over an hour of climbing and a good part of this above 2,000m, daunting for the length and altitude. The descent is regular down to Saint-Etienne where theres 15km of valley roads familiar from Paris-Nice.The Finish: Isola 2000 is the most of the Col de la Lombarde and a ski station access road where corners have been widened and ramps levelled. Its steep to start but steady to the ski station used by plenty of Nice and Monaco pro cyclists for altitude training.The Contenders: Tadej Pogaar (UAE) is the obvious pick, he can mark his rivals and the Isola climb suits him with the way the slope levels out, he can pick his point to attack or even wait for the sprint. Hell need his team, or Visma as well, to work to contain the breakaway. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-LAB) still has a chance at the win but hed surely need to turn the tables with his team throwing everything theyve got only they sent riders up the road yesterday stage hunting, so well see the long climbs can suit. As we saw in Dvoluy Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) is aggressive too for a late move.Among the breakaway picks Richard Carapaz (EF) is suited to the climbing, indeed with 40 points on the Bonette today he can get close to Pogaars polka dot jersey, and overhaul him if he can score elsewhere. Simon Yates (Jayco) sat out yesterdays moves so could be fresher. Wout Poels (Bahrain) and Laurens De Plus (Ineos) are making the breakaways but out-climbing everyone is a tough ask. Jai Hindley (Red Bull), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Enric Mas (Movistar) are the same too.Pogaar, CarapazS Yates, EvenepoelVingegaard, De Plus, Hindley, Gall, Buitrago, CicconeWeather: sunshine and 28C with the heat making the wind blow at times in the valleys.TV: KM0 is at 12.30pm CEST and the finish is forecast for 4.45pm CEST.Postcard from La BonetteEven the postcard industry struggles with the Col de la Bonette. The mountain pass that sits at 2,715m, only the Agnel and Iseran are higher paved roads in France. But reach the pass and you can ride a short loop that reaches 2,802m as it circles around the Cime de la Bonette, the mountain peak above which tops out at 2,862m. This causes a lot of confusion as people refer to the col when they mean the cime road. There are worse mistakes to make but read on if you want to be a Bonette boss.As you can see on the map above theres the Col de la Bonette and then just to the south of this the a small road that climbs to 2,802m as it rides around the peak, this is the road we label the Cime de la Bonette but its not a pass. If confused just casually refer to La Bonette.The confusion doesnt end here though. Sometimes it is called the Bonette-Restefonds on signs, the Restefonds is a nearby pass at 2,680m. Tackle the route and youll large signs at the start and top that boast the highest road in Europe but the Pico Veleta in Spains Sierra Nevada goes beyond 3,000m and its not the highest road in the Alps either as the Austrias tztaler Gletscherstrae is 30 metres taller. Maybe the altitude gets to peoples heads?The post Tour de France Stage 19 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

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