Tour de France: Soren Kragh Andersen wins stage 19 as Primoz Roglic retains lead

Soren Kragh Andersen claimed his second win of the Tour de France with another shrewd late solo attack on stage 19.

Team Sunweb’s Andersen, 26, attacked from a break 16km out and powered to the line in Champagnole, 53 seconds ahead of Luka Mezgec in second.

Ireland’s Sam Bennett won his duel with Peter Sagan and looks set to take the green jersey, leading by 55 points with two stages remaining.

Primoz Roglic comfortably retained his 57-second lead in the yellow jersey.

The Slovenian will win his first Tour title should he remain in the lead following Saturday’s mountain time trial, with tradition dictating the yellow jersey is not attacked on the final, processional stage into Paris on Sunday.

Having won stage 14 with a similar solo move, Kragh Andersen is the fourth rider in this year’s Tour to win two stages after Wout van Aert, Caleb Ewan and Tadej Pogacar, who remains second overall.

The Dane never looked back after kicking away from an elite 12-man group that included Bennett and Sagan, only letting up inside the final kilometre after screaming at a TV motorbike for a time check to ensure his lead was insurmountable.

“I have to say that, in the last kilometres, I was screaming in pure disbelief,” he said.

“I’ve got two stage wins on the same Tour de France – it’s incredible. I’m speechless.

“I was in the mix with some of the best riders of the world for this type of race and I honestly didn’t know how to beat them as I was on my limit too.

“But then I realised that, if I managed somehow to get a small gap, it may enable me to pull it off and that’s exactly what happened. This is a memory I will carry in my mind for the rest of my life.”

More to follow.