Opinion: Christophe Laporte’s maiden Tour de France stage win a worthy prize for Jumbo-Visma's signing of the season

Christophe Laporte has come a long way since being Nacer Bouhanni’s deputy at Cofidis. If the Frenchman saw off that particular battle at his former team, the closest he ever came to winning a stage on the Tour was finishing in the wheels of compatriot Arnaud Demare at Pau in Stage 18 in 2018.

That was, until Friday’s stage to Cahors. With Jumbo-Visma on cloud nine after Belgian superstar Wout van Aert helped Jonas Vingegaard all but secure both yellow and polka dots at Hautacam on Thursday, all eyes were on the green jersey as the peloton rampaged towards the finish of Stage 19 in the wake of a plucky three-man break.

Ad/> Van Aert was on the nose of the pack with five kilometres remaining – and the 10-second gap held by Fred Wright, Jasper Stuyven and Alexis Gougeard would clearly evaporate once the Belgian danced up the ramp to secure his third win of a Tour that he has turned upside down and inside out. Tour de France‘Sobbing by the side of the road’ – Geschke polka dot heartbreak ‘transcends’ cycling2 HOURS AGO Laporte ends French drought with shock Stage 19 win as Jumbo-Visma's stellar Tour continues But no.

It quickly emerged that Van Aert was doing a job for one of the team’s best domestiques and most consistent performers of the season – a fast finisher in his own right who could just well end the host nation’s 38-stage wait for a win. And didn’t Laporte play a blinder? Riding over to the trio under the flamme rouge before ticking into Stuyven’s slipstream ahead of his decisive kick to the line – out-sprinting, but most importantly, out-anticipating Jasper Philipsen and the other chasing riders behind.