Chaos reigns at Tour de France as race is suddenly stopped because of extreme weather and landslide

MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images

Colombia's Egan Bernal with Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme after the race was stopped because of bad weather conditions in the last 20 kilometers during the nineteenth stage of the 106th edition of the Tour de France cycling race between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Tignes, in Tignes, on July 26, 2019.

• There was chaos at the Tour de France on Friday's stage 19 after extreme weather forced organizers to suddenly stop the race.
• Confusion reigned on the road as the riders didn't immediately know what was happening or whether they should keep racing.
• Video clips posted on social media appeared to show a landslide blocking the race route just ahead of the riders.
• Egan Bernal of Colombia became the new leader of the Tour after having distanced Julian Alaphilippe of France before the race was neutralized. There will be no stage winner, and Bernal will wear yellow as new race leader on Saturday's stage 20.
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There was chaos at the Tour de France on Friday as organizers suddenly stopped stage 19 because of extreme weather, which appeared to include a flash hail storm, snow blocking the roads, and a landslide all just ahead of the riders.

The Colombian rider Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) was in the lead when the stage was neutralized and became the new leader of the three-week Tour with just two stages to go to the race's finish in Paris on Sunday.

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Before the race was halted, Bernal had distanced himself from the yellow jersey holder, Julian Alaphilippe of France, who rides on the Deceuninck-Quick-Step team.

Bernal is expected to wear the yellow jersey as the new race leader on Saturday's stage 20.

According to the EF Education First team, there would be no stage winner.

"Official word from @LeTour organizers: no stage winner, no most aggressive on today's weather-neutralized stage. Egan Bernal (INS) is the new race leader: "For the overall classification, the times at Col d'Iseran will apply."

The organizers said the finish time for the riders on Friday's stage would be taken atop the Col d'Iseran.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.