Boasson Hagen’s winning break

EDVALD BOASSON HAGEN ended a run of near-misses to take stage 19 of the Tour de France on an uneventful day for race leader Chris Froome who moved to the brink of overall victory yesterday.

Norwegian Boasson Hagen ended Team Dimension Data’s wait for a stage win this year with a superb solo burst at the end of a hot and humid 222km ride from the Alps into Provence.

He had been pipped at the line in two stages this year and finished third in two others, but he took matters into his own hands when he attacked a nineman lead group and cruised home five seconds ahead of Sunweb’s Nikias Arndt.

Boasson Hagen and Arndt had both taken the shortest line around a roundabout to leave seven other breakaway rivals trailing but the Norwegian was too strong for German Arndt who finished five seconds in arrears.

Jens Keukeleire (Orica) was third.

While there was some excitement at the finish, there was precious little going on behind a day-long 20-man escape group with Chris Froome’s Team Sky colleagues forming a white wedge at the front of the peloton to keep their leader out of trouble.

Froome had emerged from two gruelling days in the Alps with a 23-second lead over Frenchman Romain Bardet and suffered no mishaps on the Tour’s longest stage – the fight apparently gone out of his rivals for the yellow jersey.

Sky’s white train followed sport director Nicolas Portal’s instructions to allow the break- away to stay clear and so avoid what could have been a risky massed bunch finish.

Barring a crash in today’s time trial in Marseille, where Froome will be a favourite, the 32-year-old Briton will claim a hat-trick of Tour de France titles and a fourth overall.

Sunweb’s Michael Matthews will become the third Australian rider to win the Tour de France’s green jersey providing he makes it to the finish in Paris on Sunday. He mathematically secured the points category during yesterday’s stage