As far as the profile of stage 19 of the 2023 Tour de France is concerned, Friday's stage was supposed to be a much less stressful trek for the overall contenders through the foothills of the Jura mountains. Instead, the breakaway battle that unfolded over 100 of the 172.8 km made for a much tougher challenge and one of the fastest stages in history.

As the decisive 31-man breakaway group left, the peloton buckled down and worked to regain their strength, and in the final stage of the 2023 race, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) won in a photo finish.

Although subject to final confirmation, the day's average speed of 49.13 km/h was reported as the fifth fastest non-time trial stage in Tour de France history for a stage containing more than 2,000 m of climbing. 1999 Tour de France stage 4, Laval to Blois at 50.36 km/h, still tops the rankings, but stage 19 of the 2023 Tour was hardly leg-friendly, at least for riders in first through 32nd place in the stage standings.

As the exhausted riders weaved through the crowds around the finish area, looking for the team bus that would take them down the long straight behind them, the team directors reflected on why it had been such a high-speed day.

"When you look at the profile this morning, you knew it was going to be a tough day because everyone had a chance," Ineos Grenadiers racing director Rod Ellingworth told Cycling News.

"Today was an opportunity for everybody. So it was a tough day. It was very dramatic to see a small guy like Tom Pidcock in the same lead group as some of the biggest sprinters in the peloton.

"I'm not surprised that the gas was full, though. There are a couple of major teams that haven't won a stage yet," he added. Just three teams - Movistar, DSM-Filmenig, and Astana-Kazakstan - did not participate in the attack, while 19 teams did.

Ellingworth said that this made for a much faster race, very different from a race with only 10 riders. When [the first breakaway] went down to one minute, I thought that was it," Ellingworth said. But "Uno X" with Anson Charmig and Rasmus Tiller did a great job. It was an exciting day for sure."

The terrain was also suitable for escape sticking, Ellingworth noted, with twisty, technical roads and considerable climbing. Many managers and riders noted that this stage was more like a classic stage than a Tour stage, and with only one major mountain stage and one group sprint remaining, "nothing to lose" summed up the attitude of many teams on Friday.

"Even if the winning team has already won some stages, that's cycling. Tom did his best, but there wasn't much the three that got away could do." For Mohoric to win was a very special victory, among many other things.

"I was racking my brains trying to figure out how to win," the diminutive Pidcock admitted after the stage.

Finishing 10th, Pidcock said, "I think I did well. I tried to save what I could and see if I could get a chance, but that was probably the best I could do."

He agreed that this stage was a classic ride, with movement from the start and nonstop action up front. He said, "The start was full throttle. The start was full throttle. I hesitated for a second and missed, but caught up after the sprint. The race felt good.

"I had some riders with a few kilos on me, so I needed a bigger hill to fight for an advantage. When the group in front of us started to pull away with four or five kilometers to go, I knew we wouldn't pull away unless they started to see each other, but Matej and [stage 18 winner] Kasper Asgreen [Sourdal-Quick-Step] knew how to win from the break."

Some journalists were not so sure.

As one reporter noted, there was good cooperation within the group, but several riders looked tired.

"Some of the same group complained about the bikes, but lately everyone seems to be complaining about the bikes. But these three guys were pretty strong, so it would have taken some legs to bring them back."

"But it feels good to be back in the race, back in bike racing.

Meanwhile, Carlos Rodriguez, Ineos' GC option, stayed safe in the pack and waited for Saturday's final day of climbing. He, too, spoke of how frustrating the early part of the race was until the decisive break of 36 riders was cleared.

"It was unbelievable, completely flat out, sprinting all over the place," Rodriguez said. Rodriguez said, "I'm finally settling in, but tomorrow [Saturday] a lot of people's legs are going to feel like they did in the first half of today."