The 2019 Tour de l'Avenir was the 56th edition of the Tour de l'Avenir, a UCI 2.NCup stage race for riders aged 23 or younger.[1] The 1,036.2-kilometre (643.9 mi) race consisted of 10 stages. It started on 15 August in Marmande and concluded on 25 August in La Corbière,[2] with Norwegian Tobias Foss winning the general classification.
A total of 153 riders,[3] from 26 teams participated in the race.[4] There were 23 national teams, two regional teams, and one international team.[3] The Canadian team competed at the event for the first time in eight years.[1] The event consisted of mostly hilly and mountainous stages, with one rest day between stages 6 and 7.[3] Stage 2 of the race was a team time trial.[5]
British rider Ethan Hayter won stage 3, before withdrawing from the race after breaking his collarbone on the fourth stage.[6] Fellow British cyclist Fred Wright won the fourth stage.[6]Ben Healy won the fifth stage, after he broke away from Morten Hulgaard and Matteo Jorgenson around 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) from the stage finish.[7] Healy is an Irish rider, who was competing for the International team.[8] Swiss cyclist Stefan Bissegger won the sixth stage. Briton Tom Pidcock withdrew from the race after crashing within the final 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) of the stage.[9] Stage 8 of the race included an ascent of the Col de la Loze, the seventh highest mountain pass in France.[10] It was the first time that the mountain had been part of a professional cycle race.[11] The route up the Col de la Loze started in the valley and involved a direct descent of the mountain.[11] The stage was won by Australia's Alexander Evans.[11] Hungary's Attila Valter won the ninth stage despite momentarily going the wrong way near to the finish.[12] Going into Stage 10, Norway's Tobias Foss held a lead of 1:10. He managed to hold onto his race lead, finishing seventh at the summit of Le Corbier.[13]
