Tour de France 2023: Tearful Matej Mohoric pips Kasper Asgreen on Stage 19, Jonas Vingegaard defends yellow

Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) edged Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep) on the bike throw – just – to win Stage 19 at the 2023 Tour de France as the breakaway stayed clear again.

The Slovenian launched out of Asgreen’s slipstream just moments before the line, with the pair crossing the line in unison. After a long wait, Mohoric was confirmed as the winner via the tightest of photo finishes and immediately burst into tears.

Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) opened up the sprint in the three-man break, aware his rivals straight-line speed was superior, but the Australian was easily closed down and had to settle for third.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin–Deceuninck) won the sprint behind for fourth – the second straight day the Belgian was left wondering what might have been.

Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and his flagging GC challengers came home over 13 minutes in arrears. The Dane leads Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) by 7’35” ahead of Saturday’s final competitive stage in the mountains.