Beginning on June 6th, 2020 FloBikes will be streaming the 2019 Tour de France live and on demand. Relive the 2019 Tour de France, then get ready to watch the delayed 2020 edition. The 2020 Tour de France will be streamed live and on demand on FloBikes beginning August 29th. 

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One reason why the Tour de France is the best show in cycling is because the stakes are so high. Sprinters, time trialists and climbers all show up prepared to fight harder than ever to claim a stage victory.

The 2019 Tour de France is regarded as one of the best editions of the race in over a decade, and the sprint finales are no exception to that claim. From the tour’s start in Brussels to its iconic finish on the Champs Elysees, the sprints were as explosive as they were unpredictable.

Read on to revist the most iconic sprints of the 2019 Tour. 

Stage 1 - Brussels to Brussels

Stage 1 of the 2019 Tour de France was a challenge for the sprinters. After visiting iconic climbs like the Muur van Geraardsbergen and the Bosberg, sprinters had to contend with the frayed nerves of a peloton approaching the first pack finish of the Tour de France.

Unsurprisingly, there was a large crash in the final two kilometers. The greatest casualty of the crash was Dylan Groenewegen, Jumbo Visma’s sprinting ace. 

As the peloton hit the uphill drag to the line, Peter Sagan was in prime position and appeared to have the race under control. What nobody saw coming was Mike Teunissen leapfrogging through the peloton in the final 600 meters, syncing up with Wout van Aert, and eventually outpowering Peter Sagan to the line. 

Teunissen, who many would have pegged as the team’s third string sprinter stepped up in Groenewegen’s place to win the first stage of the Tour and with it, the first yellow jersey.

Teunissen’s ride set the tone for the rest of Jumbo Visma’s Tour. 

Stage 4 - Reims to Nancy

If you want to see lead-out mastery at work, look no further than Michael Mørkøv in stage 4 of the 2019 Tour. 

The Danish Champion’s jersey is easy to pick out in the field as he patiently bides his time in the final 3 kilometers. Despite hurtling toward Nancy at an unbelievable pace, the Danish rider calmly shepherds his team up the side of the peloton through technical twists and turns. As the peloton passes under the flamme rouge, Julian Alaphilippe appears on the front in the yellow jersey, with his team neatly lined out behind him. 

Deceuninck Quick Step gave Elia Viviani an armchair ride to the line, and Viviani finished the job. 

Stage 5 - Saint-Dié-des-Vosges to Colmar

What is better than watching Peter Sagan and Wout van Aert battle for a stage victory in the Tour de France? That one stumped us too.

Peter Sagan has been so dominant in the green jersey competition for the last decade, that calling it a competition seems like a stretch. However, Sagan’s stage win tally has waned in recent years. On stage five, the fan favorite had his day. Watching the green jersey win a stage of the Tour will always be special. Add in Sagan’s hulk-smash antics as he crosses the line and it becomes one of the most iconic Tour sprints of the decade.

Stage 7 Belfort - Chalon-sur-Saône

The battle in the final kilometers of stage 7 demonstrated how rough and physical sprinting is in modern cycling. In the closing kilometers, teammates on lead-out duty were rideing flat-out on the front, to keep the pace literally as fast as humanly possible. 

Ten wheels back, sprinters banged off one another as they fought for position while being whisked along in the slipstream of their lead-out riders at speeds nearing 40 mph. 

As the road kicked up hill in the final 200 meters, Dylan Groenewegen made a bullish move from the right side of the strung out peloton to the left in search of open road. The maneuver paid off as Groenewegen rebounded from his stage 1 crash to take victory.

Stage 21 - Rambouillet to Paris

Stage 21 of the Tour de France is a special race for the sprinters. It may not be a monument like Milano-Sanremo, but to win on the Champs Elysees is as special an achievement for a sprinter as any. 

Caleb Ewan, who left Mitchelton-Scott after being snubbed a place on their 2018 Tour de France roster, won on the Champs Elysees in his very first Tour. Ewan stood on the podium in Paris with three stage victories and confirmation that he was one of the best sprinters in the world, and on that particular day, he was the best.