Tour de France: stage 19 - as it happened

General classification after stage 18

1. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC2. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC +1min 24sec3. Bernhard Kohl (AUT) GST +1min 33sec4. Cadel Evans (AUS) SIL +1min 34sec5. Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB +2min 39sec6. Christian Vandevelde (USA) GAR +4min 41sec7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE +5min 35sec8. Samuel Sanchez (ESP) EUS +5min 52sec9. Tadej Valjavec (SLO) ALM +8min 10sec10. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS) ALM +8min 24sec71. David Millar (GBR) GAR + 2hr 00min 16sec150. Wim Vansevenant (BEL) SIL + 3hr 45min 48sec*

* 150 riders remain from 180 starters

Stage 19: Roanne to Monlucan (165.5km)

Yesterday's stage from Bourg d'Oisans to St-Etienne was a transitional one and, as expected, there were no changes in the top 10 in the general classification. Barring accidents, there are unlikely to be any today either and the outcome of this year's Tour will in all likelihood be decided in tomorrow's time trial.

CSC rider Carlos Sastre zips up the maillot jaune for a second successive day with a lead of 1min 24sec over his team-mate Frank Schleck. Gerolsteiner's Bernhard Kohl is in third place, 1min 33sec behind the Spaniard and only needs to finish the race to win the polka-dot jersey for king of the mountains. Australian Silence-Lotto rider Cadel Evans is one second behind Kohl, but his skills as a time-triallist make him favourite to win the yellow ersey in Paris on Sunday.

The itinerary for today's includes climbs: the category-three La Croix-du-Sud (at 17.5km) and the category-four cote de la Croix-Rouge (42km). There are also two intermediate sprints: Chantelle (at 102.5km) and Commentry (143.5km).

Guardian chief sportswriter Richard Williams' report on yesterday's stage is here. To virtually ride the route yourself without any of the effort, why not have a go on this fantastic Google Streetmap gizmo. For our route map and interactive guide, plus all the news, features and comment on this year's Tour, you could do worse than pay a visit to our special report.

1.30pm: Good afternoon everybody. With 117km to go in the third-last stage of this year's Tour, Egoi Martinez (EUS), Stefan Schumacher (GST), Pierrick Fedrigo (BTL) and Alessandro Ballan (LAM) are 4 seconds clear of the peloton. "This is very much a day for the purists," says the Eurosport presenter. (Tanslation: it'll be even more boring than yesterday.) Never mind, there are worse ways of killing the last few hours of the week before the few Friday night pints than peddling this pedaling nonsense on t'Interweb. I have an action-packed weekend in store, with visits to the gym (to win £50 from a friend who thinks he can run 1.5miles in 11min 55sec, despite not having taken exercise of any kind for 15 years), the pool hall and the supermarket planned. If anyone can top that for hi-octane thrills, I'd love to hear from you.

1.35pm: "Can you please explain what is considered whatever the French for 'cricket' is when it comes to challenging the yellow jersey on the final ride to Paris?" asks Patrick O'Brien.

I have no idea Patrick. I don't think I've ever seen anyone challenge for it in an ordinary stage on the last day, so all the incumbent has to do is stay in the saddle and he's home and hosed.

1.40pm: I haven't watched this yet, but apparently it's magnificently entertaining. Why? The question "Darren, according to the internet, you scored the greatest goal ever. Tell us about it" and the news ticker at 1min 30sec.

1.50pm: "I will be watching the tour on the weekend on Ireland's TG4 channel," writes Kieran Burns. "It is broadcast in Irish which, being a language I don't understand, makes the racing more interesting as I have to work out what they are talking about. Perhaps you could do the minute-by-minute in Irish to liven up proceedings."

I could try, Kieran, but it certainly wouldn't liven up proceedings. Having spent a year in an Irish college as a lad, I used to be fluent in Irish. Sadly, I haven't spoken a word of it since I left school so I've forgotten most of it. However, I do remember it started coming back to me when I was watching the Galway Races on the same channel a couple of years ago when I was at home. If it's any help, I can tell you that the Irish for "bicycle" is "rothar" and the Irish for "fast" is "tapaidh". For example: "Beidh Cadel Evans ag rothaiocht go tapaidh in eadan an chlog amarach" means "Cadel Evans will be cycling fast against the clock tomorrow".

1.55pm: The escape party is being reeled in by the peloton, which has narrowed the gap to 19 seconds. Liquigas and Quick Step are leading the chase at a good clip.

2pm: Amateur bike-racer of minute-by-minutes passim, James Cavell writes, so that I can go downstairs for a sandwich.

"I saw today that the riders begun their day with 9 km of 'neutralisation'," he says. "This is an unusually long way for the neutral start. Basically, if you are unfamiliar, the neutral start is when the peloton leaves the start city, and racing is not yet permitted, either for safety reasons (lots of roundabouts, road furniture) and/or to give all the assambled fans a chance to see the riders at a slow pace. To ensure people like Voigt and Gilbert don't immediately sprint off into the distance there are cars and motorbikes in front of the peloton riding at 30km/h, effectively blocking their path. When the neutral zone is over, the race director waves a flag, the cars zoom off and the race is officially begun.

"When I see pros riding neutralisations I am always very jealous, as they ride easy, seeing it as a pleasant start to the day. Chatting, waving to fans, often deliberately riding at the back with a big smile.

"In the amateur classics, especially in the windswept low countries, neutralisation is as mad as a bucket. As soon as the flag is waved the guys in front hit 60km/h, string the peloton out in a long line, and if it is windy, the peloton normally breaks up into echelons within 5-10 minutes when riders down the line 'crack' under the high speed. The strongest riders are usually in the first echelon and they are often not seen again, and juries have a habit of pulling all but the first 2/3 groups out of the race after an hour or so. The last group, where I unfortunately have plenty of experience is known as the 'Mongol Echelon'.

"The only way one can guarantee being in the first/second group is to be at the front at the moment the neutralisation ends. Unfortunately, all 180 riders are trying to do this and the few km of 'neutral' start is basically 'everybody trying to ride in front of everyone else all the time' or 'let's see if all 180 of us can ride on an area of road the size of half a tennis court'. With it getting so crowded, the only way to move up from the back is often to jump onto the pavement, ride over the middle of a roundabout, zip up a bike lane, push other riders out the way, shout etc.

"Twice this year I have been involved in mass pile-ups in the first 2km of a 180km classic, and have even had the luxury of viewing myself bouncing over a parked car on local television."

Brilliant stuff, James. Thanks for allowing our readers just another quick peek into the glamourous world of the mediocre-at-best amateur cyclist. You should write a book about your experiences, because I've certainly found parts of your occasional dispatches very funny; none more so than the expression "Mongol echelon".

Is that wrong?

2.15pm: With an emphatic stop put to the gallop of the four-man peloton-break, Sylvain Chavenal has attacked and is about 10 seconds clear of a chasing bunch of 18 riders, all of whom want to make the most of their last realistic chance of securing a stage win in this year's Tour, what with tomorrow being a day for time-triallists and Sunday's almost certain to be won by a sprinter.

2.20pm: "The Tour de France coverage on TG4 is pants," writes Harry Coen. "Two loons sitting in a studio in Indreabhán watching Phil 'n' Paul and talking an awful lot about Alberto Contador. Watching Wednesday they were a right laugh. Going up the Croix de Fer it was all "Cá bhfuil Cadel?!? Cá bhfuil Cadel?!?" (Where is Cadel?) and he was right there in front of them, but with his jersey unzipped they didn't recongise him. And up the Alpe it was all "Cá bhfuil Kohl! Cá bhfuil Kohl?!?" You'd have thought the polka dots on the jersey would have helped them identify him."

2.23pm: With 80km to go, the 148-strong peloton has eased off the gas and let Frenchmen Sylvain Chavenal (COF) and Jeremy Roy (FDJ) open a gap of 2min 12sec. The pair pass through the feed station but don't take any grub on board, choosing instead to concentrate on building their lead and dine from their team cars later.

2.25pm: "The Tour is rating very highly in Australia and grows in popularity each year - particularly when Australian riders are doing so well," g'days Christopher Larwood from Adelaide. "Hard to believe a Brit has actually done better than our blokes in terms of stage wins this year.The dramatic French Alpine landscapes in bright sunlight takes me away from the coldness of mid-winter in Adelaide and has me staying up too late for 3 weeks. Our coverage on TV starts about 2130 hrs each night and runs through to about 0130 hrs. Keep a look out for CSC rider Stuart O'Grady - he is the local Adelaide boy - a great pro rider and in off season always up for a beer around town."

2.26pm: Never mind the off season, if Stuart O'Grady is anything like most Australians I know, I'd say the chaps in his team car probably fill his bidons from a barrel of draught Cooper's on the back seat.

2.30pm: James Cavell is back with more fascinating insights into peloton life. "The term 'Mongol Echelon' actually sounds even better in Dutch: 'Mongol Waaier'. There is an unofficial hierarchy of competence and respect in the peloton ...

1. At the bottom is 'First Class Mongol'

This is either a newcomer, or just one of those individuals who no matter how much experience they gather, can't seem to steer properly, allows gaps to open up in front of him when the bunch is strung out, forcing riders behind him to dig deep to close the gap. These guys have a tendency to cause crashes too, often doing something stupid, like doing calf stretches on the bike. First Class Mongols usually ride at the back, and get dropped very quickly and spend many an afternoon trying to find their way back to the start of the race. Some of these guys have excellent condition and train hard, but are just dumb, whilst others are not only stupid but also crap too. I have seen guys literally sit up looking bewildered at the first moment the race accelerates, not having either the ability or the balls to ride faster than 55km/h. Incompetence as liability = First Class Mongol.

2. Then there is just an ordinary Mongol, who is a slightly diluted version of his first class colleague.

3. Moving upwards from the mongols, one finds the "Pancakes" both first class and regular

These guys started out as Mongols, but have learned a little, and can just about get by if the race isn't too hard. Still prone to unpredictable errors and getting dropped, but on a good day they can pass as a bike racer. It's funny, as some succesful guys will always be seen as pancakes, no matter how well they do, whereas some less successful riders are considered experts (perhaps just by themselves, though) despite regularly showing Pancake characteristics. For example, the loudest voice in the Dutch amateur peloton, Amsterdam's Pieter Scheerens, provides a constant stream of on-bike critical commentary on other riders, usually berating them for being Mongols and Pancakes, but then he is always at the back, in the thick of the Mongol chaos, and usually joins them for the humiliating ride back to the changing rooms after just half an hour.

4. And the rest ...

There unfortunately aren't any amusing terms for the better riders. Just something along the lines of "strong/trustworthy" or "strong/doping".

So where does our font of all knowledge, James Cavell, fit into this hierarchy?

"I am fairly sure I am a pancake nowadays," he says proudly. "In fact my team captain called me so. But I suspect behind my back I might be called a Mongol. I would be disappointed if I was still a Mongol - First Class though.

"The pros have a similar system. I understand Mauricio Soler is a First Class Mongol as he can't steer. When he came to Holland to ride the lucrative post-Tour criteriums it was difficult for the others to allow him to podium (these races are pre-determined on status) as he was such a first class mongol on all the corners."

And there was me thinking the Barloworld rider who pulled out after a few stages couldn't steer because he had two injured wrists, when it seems he had two injured wrists because he couldn't steer!

2.42pm: With 63km to go, Chavenal and Roy are 4min 34sec clear of the chasing Mongol hordes.

2.45pm: "I empathise with Christopher Larwood's tiredness over the past three weeks," yawns Patrick O'Brien in Australia. "It's a tough effort with the time difference, but worth it. It's funny finding out that more and more people are watching it. When the Tour starts it can feel like you're the only one watching, but gradually you notice more and more people with dark circles appearing under their eyes as the weeks progress. Then you start to overhear snatches of conversations on the trams about pelotons, time trials and natural breaks."

2.48pm: The Liquigas and Milram teams are at the front of the peloton, dragging it along in a bid to close the 4min 17sec gap between it and the breakaway duo. On Eurosport, they're wondering if the legitimacy of a Cadel Evans Tour win could be called into question if he ends the race in yellow without winning a stage. David Harmon reckons it could not, Sean Kelly thinks it could ... a bit.

2.50pm: Harry Coen's back: |There was a great piece on an Aussie site* yesterday describing one journalist's experience in a VIP car this Tour: 'We were driven up there [the Alpe] by a former professional cyclist who had nearly given us heart attacks an hour earlier as he made the long and winding descent down the Galibier at breakneck speed - while simultaneously watching the race on TV and taking phone calls. Sensing our unease, he lightened the tension by jovially relating how he had to stop the car the previous day so his Italian passengers could bring up their breakfast. Oh, and before we set off after the modest lunch he noticed that the single bottle of champagne provided for four of us and another group of four had not quite been finished - so he had a swig from the bottle.'

"Given that Fränk and Andy Schleck's da is driving VIP guests," continues Harry. "I wonder if this article might have prompted the rozzers to pull him over yesterday? It was clearly a part of a crack-down on champagne-swilling VIP drivers."

* Reading Australian newspaper websites makes you go blind.

3pm: Chavenal and Roy ... 3min 50sec worth of road ... peloton. Will they hold on? Won't they? Does anyone actually care?

3.11pm: 46.8km to go, Chavenal and Roy are 4min 23sec and I can feel my will to live slowly slipping away. Oh look ... a nice castle in the middle of a forest. Or "a spectacle", as Eurosport's David Harmon calls it. He says it's one of the oldest castles in the region. I wonder does Dave know this to be a fact, or is he just guessing?

3.15pm: "Everyone seems to be predicting a Cadel Evans win," writes Rupert Wolheim. This is calculated on the basis of his faster time in the Cholet time trial, the margin of which is then multiplied by the increased distance (53km against 29.5 km). But is this fair? Sastre, as a climber, must have better stamina so the extra distance may reduce Evans' superiority. Also, the stage is definitely hillier."

Good points and well made, Rupert. I don't think Evans is the shoo-in some think he is either, but if somebody put a gun to my head and forced me to pick an alternative winner of this year's Tour, I'd probably go for Denis Menchov.

3.20pm: James "The pancake" Cavell is back. Hurrah! "I may have painted a rather bleak picture of life as a mongol/pancake in the amateur peloton, with all the crashes, getting dropped, expensive repair bills etc." he writes. |But it's a nice life too. Working part-time is great whatever you do and being outdoors in the sun while all your mates are stuck in the office looking at spreadsheets never stops being exciting.

"The worst thing ever about it is during the TdF lots of middle-aged, overweight, new-to-cycling, pro team replica jersey wearing "Freds" write colums describing their 10hr Etape du Tour rides in which they are referred to as 'amateur cyclists'. This represents a humilation for those of us who train and live like pros, but just don't get paid a salary for our equally hardman/pancake/mongol exploits.

"Yes, I know they are 'amateur' in the sense that they don't get paid either, but there is a world of difference between a 'recreational' cyclist and an elite category racer."

Is there, James? The way you tell it, both cycle long distances slowly for no reward. What exactly is the difference? I only ask because I'm fat and middle-aged and was about to regale everyone with the exciting tale of my 15km on a stationary bike (set to a gradient/resistence of 13) in the gym last night in under 30 minutes. I thought that was Cadel Evans-esque.

3.27pm: A lot of readers have written in to as ... well, one reader, Sacha Villeneuve in Quebec has written in to ask "why none of the top pretenders are trying something today? They know Cadel will beat them tomorrow at the time trial, so why not try something today? Why is Sastre, Shleck, Menchov, Khol aren't trying to escape, to provoke something? They're all following Cadel like sheeps going to the slaughterhouse. Ridiculous."

I don't know, Sacha. They probably know there's no point in doing so on what is a farily straightforward stage. Perhaps James Cavell can shed some light on the subject ...

3.33pm: "Re: the castles (ou chateuax, n'est-ce-pas?)," writes Gary Naylor. "Dave Harmon won't be guessing: he'll be using Dave Duffield's notes from 10 or so years ago. Unlike Duffers, he will stop before naming all the owners since 1682, discussing its interior design and remarking on the resident chef's specialities. More's the pity."

3.35pm: Sylvain Chavenal and Jeremy Roy have 30km to go and are 4min 40sec ahead of the peltoton, which is being led by the last remnants of the Barloworld team, who probably want to tee up a sprint finish for South Africa's Robbie Hunter to contest. You can read Hunter's Tour diary here.

3.40pm: "15km in 30 minutes with the gradient set at 13, Barry?" writes Rendell Harris. "Considering the Alpe d'Huez is 13.8km and only has an average gradient of around nine, and the best professionals take around 45-50 minutes to complete it, you should be out of the office and on to the road! Or is it possible your gym's fixed bikes are ever so slightly flattering?"

3.42pm: James Cavell is back and he's throwing metaphorical bidons at me, then leaning his head into my chest and attempting to butt my chin. "I'll have you know that lots of amateur races have equally fast average speeds as the pro races ... just the races are usually 20-50km shorter. There are a number of well known Olympic Gold medal track riders who remain amateur on the road, and when guys like Wim Stroetinga here in Holland start feeling frisky at the front in a criterium the speed can be enough to put pros in a world of pain. Mauricio "steering" Soler would be dropped! Thank God he's off to Milram next year to lead Zabel out!

"I've had the pleasure twice this year of hanging on as last wheel in a crit while some Olympic medal candidate has a workout on the front, and the experience crams all the pain of a 10hr Etape de Tour into 10 minutes of lactic acid maximum heart rate hell.

"Some of the better amateur teams (with UCI continental licenses) are allowed to take part in smaller pro races, and they often account valiantly for themselves."

Yes, but can they cycle the equivalent of L'Alpe d'Huez on a stationary bike in less than 30 minutes? What? Oh.

4.46pm: With 20km to go, the gap between Chavenal and Roy and the peloton has been whittled down to 3min 24sec. It's touch and go whether they'll manage to hold on to the finish line or not.

3.48pm: This is marvellous. Paul "Toobz" Tooby has written in to tell me that the James Cavell who's been doing my job for me today was once dumped by Rosie Williams-Aulden at the beginning of the film" (presumably on a first date) and once landed Paul's cousin Pete Round in the soup by "squaring up to some bloke at Bromsgrove fair and, when he accepted your offer of a fight, pointed at Pete, shouted 'Fight him then!' and ran off."

If James or Rosie Williams-Aulden would like to elaborate on this intriguing story, they only have 14km to do so.

3.56pm: With 10km to go, Chavenal and Roy's lead has been slashed to 2min 56sec. Meanwhile, James Cavell is back with an answer to Sacha Villeneuve's question.

"Convention has it that the GC contenders only race each other on 'proper' mountain stages, or in TT's," he explains. "There have also been a few instances of using crosswinds or cobblestones to sow mayhem, but generally things are quiet on days such as today.

'One other factor is that these guys are all virtually as good as each other, and also, as the terrain is not difficult each GC rider would have teammates able to cover the moves. Even lanterne rouge Wim Vansevenant would be able to (or would be shouted at until he did) mix it up if CSC, Rabo started launching attacks.

"If it became a free-for-all among the top riders, all that would happen is that the speed would go right up as teams countered each other and all the really tired guys would get really annoyed. There would then be all sorts of shouting and gesticulating, with Italian riders getting exceptionally dramatic, and then a patron would ride up front and wave a ceasefire."

4pm: With 6.7km to go, Chavenal and Roy have a 2min 51sec lead over the peloton, which should suffice unless they start fannying around playing cat and mouse. Of the pair, Chavenal is the hot favourite to win the stage.

4.05pm: "I'm pleased to see in the photo that Carlos Sastre isn't going for the all over - helmet, shorts, gloves, bike etc in yellow like some others - a little bit OTT, like Kohl's spotty helmet," writes Matthew Clarke. "Harmon prob has a guide with all the local landmarks the Tour passes on it. Sherwen has the same on ITV, which he blatantly reads verbatim, after which Liggett always praises his 'knowledge'."

4.07pm: Just 3.2km to go and no word from James Cavell or Rosie Williams-Auden about that pre-movie break-up. Yet. Chavenal and Roy are still pelting along with a 2min 11sec gap between them and the peloton. Sean Kelly reckons that Roy's only chance of winning the stage is to get on Chavenal's wheel and stay on it for as long as he can, then win with a kick in the sprint.

4.10pm: The gap is 1min 58sec. Chavenal leads with Roy on his wheel and 1km to go. They haven't started looking at each other suspiciously yet.

4.10pm: With Roy on his wheel, Chavenal slows things down, looks behind him and grins at his compatriot. Roy attacks him, but Chavenal is well able for him and wins the sprint for the line. There's not much in it, but he was never in any danger. The presentation should be interesting, as Bernard Hinault, who presides over these matters, is not a fan of Chavenal's work and has been highly critical of his work ethic in the past. Frosty handshake ahoy!

4.15pm: Sod the cycling, this is far more entertaining. "Paul Tooby needs to get his facts right," writes James Cavell. "I'll admit to the Rose Williams-Alden business, but the film in question was Sister Act, so the evening wasn't a complete loss as far as pain and humiliation are concerned.

"The Bromsgrove fair incident is wide of the mark. It was in fact Mike Flynn (now an industry colleague of yours) who copped an unfortunate one from some 'fairgound type', and the words 'fight him' were never spoken by my lips. 'Run!' well might have been. Now that I've lived in Holland for a decade, I forget the delights of England, where talking to a girl or looking at someone can get you a kicking which most people seem to see as well earned.

"By the way I was on the phone to my family, telling them to log on to see my comments, and also mailed some friends, and then moments later the Rosie WA/Bromsgrove Fair incidents pop up like a turd in the waterpipe."

Sorry about that, James. But if it's any consolation, I think your heroic tales of life at the sharp end of the peloton were far more undignified.

Top 10 in stage 19

1. Sylvain Chavanel (FRA) COF2. Jeremy Roy (FRA) FDJ at same time3. Gerald Ciolek (GER) COL at 1min 13sec4. Erik Zabel (GER) MRM at 1min 13sec5. Heinrich Haussler (GER) GST at 1min 13sec6. Leonardo Duque (COL) COF at 1min 13sec7. Filippo Pozzato (ITA) LIQ at 1min 13sec8. Thor Hushovd (NOR) C.A at 1min 13sec9. Robert Forster (GER) GST at 1min 13sec10. Julian Dean (NZL) GAR at 1min 13sec

The peloton rolls home 1min 13sec after Chavenal and Roy.

General classification after stage 19

1. Carlos Sastre (ESP) CSC 82hr 52min 36sec2. Frank Schleck (LUX) CSC +1min 24sec3. Bernhard Kohl (AUT) GST +1min 33sec4. Cadel Evans (AUS) SIL +1min 34sec5. Denis Menchov (RUS) RAB +2min 39sec6. Christian Vandevelde (USA) GAR +4min 41sec7. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) GCE +5min 35sec8. Samuel Sanchez (ESP) EUS +5min 52sec9. Tadej Valjavec (SLO) ALM +8min 10sec10. Vladimir Efimkin (RUS) ALM +8min 24sec