Tour de France 2019: Stage 20 Route, Live Stream Schedule, TV Info for July 27

Egan Bernal will start Stage 20 of the 2019 Tour de France in the yellow jersey.

The Colombian took the jersey on Friday after a gripping Stage 19. The race was neutralised because of bad weather, and Bernal had already done enough to move into the virtual general classification lead ahead of Julian Alaphilippe.

Another challenging mountain day was set to come in the 130-kilometre ride from Albertville to Val Thorens, but because of the weather, the ride has been cut to 59 kilometres, losing Category 1 and Category 2 climbs, per the Guardian's Jeremy Whittle. It gives the 22-year-old a terrific chance to keep the jersey ahead of the exhibition stage into Paris.

Start Time: 11:45 a.m. (BST), 6:45 a.m. (ET)

TV Info: ITV 4 (UK), Eurosport 1 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: ITV Hub (UK), Eurosport Player (UK), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

Preview

Although calculations were still being made in the general classification on Friday, Bernal had done enough to take the yellow jersey from Alaphilippe.

The competition Twitter account put together some provisional standings in the aftermath of the race:

While the inclement weather meant that no stage winner was awarded for Stage 19, the Colombian was presented with the yellow jersey and spoke about how much it meant to him:

The Inner Ring Twitter account commented on how emotional the 22-year-old was after one of the best rides of his career:

Even though the race was called off on Friday before a treacherous descent and another summit finish into Tignes, Bernal surely would have done enough to have finished the day in yellow.

Having shown his strength to take back some time on Thursday on the Galibier climb, the Team Ineos rider was always going to attack on Stage 19. In doing so, not only did he break Alaphilippe, but he also blew away many of the peloton's best climbers, with Simon Yates the only rider able to bridge the gap over the top of the Col de l'Iseran.

Cycling writer Mihai Cazacu praised Bernal's aggressive tactics on the day's biggest climb:

The attack and the consequent result almost certainly ended the chances of Alaphilippe, who battled terrifically for 14 days in the maillot jaune.

Few anticipated the Frenchman would be a contender at this stage of the race, although it took the second consecutive day of tough climbing for him to finally lose significant ground. Cycling journalist Neal Rogers noted the timing of the neutralisation on Stage 19 cost him a chance of clawing back time on Bernal:

The Frenchman's team praised him after he relinquished his grip on the yellow jersey:

On Saturday, it will be almost impossible for Alaphilippe to take back the time required on Bernal given the revised profile of the stage.

The man in third is defending champion Geraint Thomas, and the Welshman has said he will look to help his Ineos team-mate get over the line on the penultimate stage instead of seeking to win a second successive title:

With the rider in yellow traditionally never attacked on the roll into Paris on the final day of the Tour, if Bernal ends Saturday's stage in the lead, his status as the 2019 champion will effectively be secured.

The Colombian will not be as aggressive now he has yellow draped around his shoulders, and he will seek to mark the attacks made by his rivals on the final climb. He's shown more than enough to suggest he can finish the job.