19 photos from July: The best cycling pictures of the month
While the men's Tour of France was being held for the 110th time, the women's event was back for its second year. There was plenty of excitement in both races. While Vingegaard and Pogacar haggled for seconds for a fortnight until it became clear, the women's podium was only decided on the final day.
Lippert and Bauernfeind make history
From a German perspective, the women were particularly impressive. After Liane Lippert won the second stage and thus became the first winner of a Tour stage from Germany, 23-year-old Ricarda Bauernfeind was crowned the youngest stage winner of a Tour de France Femmes stage three days later.
With two stage wins, the Germans were the most successful nation in France after the Dutch. Bauernfeind rounded off her debut tour fantastically with 9th place in the overall standings.
Men's tour more exciting than for a long time
What was the long-awaited duel between Demi Vollering and Annemiek van Vleuten in the women's race was reflected in the men's race in the person of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar.
The opening stage in the Basque Country fuelled the atmosphere, and the early Pyrenees did the rest - along with the battle for seconds between the two protagonists. It only became clear in the final week of the Tour, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowds.
