The organisers of the Tour de France have rerouted today’s stage 19 of the race, following the discovery of a contagious cattle disease in the Col des Saisies.
The final mountain day of this year’s race, stage 19 was originally intended to cover 129.9km from Albertville to La Plagne, but it will now be 95km. The Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine and the Col des Saisies have been removed from the route.
“The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals,” race organisers ASO said on Thursday evening.
“In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the col des Saisies.”
🚨 Changes to Stage 19 - Albertville - La Plagne
The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals. In light of the distress experienced by the affected… pic.twitter.com/yxpQLQVqBR
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 24, 2025
The new route means the stage will begin an hour later than originally planned at 1.30pm BST (2.30pm CEST).
Following a 7km neutral rollout, the peloton will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. The race will then join the original route before Beaufort, which was at 52.4km on the original route.
Stage 19 will still end on La Plagne, an Hors Categories climb that takes the race over 2,000m of elevation. After that, there will be only two more days of racing left in the 2025 Tour de France.
Tadej Pogačar goes into today’s stage with a lead of 4 minutes 26 seconds over his closest rival, Jonas Vingegaard. It seems even more likely that the Slovenian will win the Tour de France, claiming his fourth overall victory at the age of 26.
