Tour de France 2019: Matteo Trentin Wins Stage 17; Julian Alaphilippe Holds Lead

Matteo Trentin powered to victory in Stage 17 of the 2019 Tour de France on Wednesday, though yellow jersey-holder Julian Alaphilippe did enough to retain his lead in the general classification.

Mitchelton-Scott rider Trentin completed an admirable solo run to his third career Tour stage victory—his first since 2014—with Kasper Asgreen finishing 37 seconds behind in second and Greg Van Avermaet taking third:

Deceuninck-Quick Step star Alaphilippe brought a lead of one minute, 35 seconds into Wednesday's stage, which saw the pack journey northeast from Pont du Gard to Gap.

Riders were challenged with an uphill finish as the steeper inclines begin to make their way back into the Tour, and Trentin withstood Wednesday's "hilly" route to emerge with his first stage victory this year.

Mitchelton-Scott have now won four of the 17 stages to have taken place on this year's Tour, though they trailed team classification leaders Movistar by more than one hour coming into Wednesday's event.

Some correctly predicted this stage would provide the perfect platform for a number of breaks. Many riders focused on preserving their spot in the general classification would sit back ahead of the upcoming mountain stages in an effort to save energy.

Trentin's speed really picked up in the final descending kilometres, but it was his gruelling determination to lead an individual charge up Col de la Sentinelle that sealed his triumph, per LeTourData:

His win also maintained a strong look for the current kingpins of the continent, per Gracenote Olympic:

Thomas de Gendt and Xandro Meurisse were among those who formed breakaways in the first half of the race, stretching the field as it worked towards the first substantial climb, the Cote de la Rochette-du-Buis.

Those out in front had established a lead over the peloton of about 10 minutes going over the halfway mark. De Gendt set a blazing pace out in front until he was chased down with around 70 kilometres to go.

Dane Michael Morkov led the peloton alongside a group of his Deceuninck-Quick Step team-mates at 50 kilometres remaining, with Alaphilippe tucked in at the back and looking comfortable.

Team Ineos appeared content to allow the other teams make those breaks for the most part. Geraint Thomas suffered a fall in Stage 16 and took a slight knock in the standings, telling reporters his gears locked to cause the tumble.

They were happy to stick with the bunch and protect Thomas until the climax, holding back their best before the mountain terrain returns on Thursday:

Riders scaled La Montagne de Ceuse on their way up Col de la Sentinelle, the highest peak of the stage at 981 metres and the final climbs before a welcome descent to the finish.

Trentin embarked on a solo trip out in front and was the first rider to reach the Col summit, with Asgreen of Deceuninck-Quick Step tracking him around 30 seconds behind.

There was no catching the Italian from there, and the five-kilometre run into Gap looked a breeze as he sauntered to his first Tour stage victory in five years.

Alaphilippe looked somewhat motivated to pick up a few extra seconds in the home stretch, but he and the other heavy hitters will be expected to stage a stronger run at the lead on Thursday.

What's Next?

The mountains make their return in Stage 18 on Thursday for a 208-kilometre journey from Embrun to Valloire, the longest stage left on the Tour.