Stage 19 Review
By Phil Liggett

It was a perfect course for a breakaway on stage 19 of the Tour de France between Bourgoin-Jaillieu and Aubenas in the Ardeche, but in the end it turned out to be one for the sprinters and Mark Cavendish has no rivals when it comes to his speciality.
A long breakaway by 19 riders set the trend for a very fast day, but even though 14 teams were represented in the break, it was still pulled back thanks to the hard work of the Dutch Rabobank squad, who had placed no one in the breakaway  move.

Nine times out of ten, the break would have succeeded, but on this one occasion the field refused to succumb and although it thinned somewhat on the last climb with 10 miles to go, Cavendish and arch rival in the sprint, Thur Hushovd, both held on. A tricky finish only served to show the immense strength of Cavendish, who comes from the Isle of Man in the  North Sea off the coasts of England and Scotland, when he was obliged to take the lead early, yet he still held off the best sprinters at the line.

Very emotional at the finish, Cavendish was clearly moved at his fifth victory at this Tour as it was one he had never expected to get. And, it was not just Cavendish who had played and won, as Lance Armstrong held on to the sprinting front group gaining four seconds on his rivals before the stage tomorrow to the feared Mont Ventoux.

Armstrong never misses a trick and he now has 1min 15sec in hand over fourth placed Bradley Wiggins as the 156 riders face up to their final difficulty before the finish in Paris.