Leopold König had a major shock in today's stage of the Tour de France when he went down in a crash inside the final 3km. Luckily he escaped any major injuries and is ready for tomorrow's crucial time trial.

Today’s 19th stage of the Tour de France was a classic transfer stage as the riders had to cover 208 kilometers heading north from Maubourguet to Bergerac. Heavy rain caused the treacherous finale to be a major challenge.A crash on the last three kilometers also took down Team NetApp-Endura’s captain Leo König, who thankfully was not injured and will be able to compete in the decisive time trial tomorrow. Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp) won the stage after launching a successful attack 12 kilometers before the finish line. John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) completed the podium. Today’s stage had no effect on the overall rankings.

“Today we had another stage that was very dangerous due to the weather conditions," Enrico Poitschke said after the stage. "We had a lot of rain. The forecast also called for strong winds, but thankfully they held off. The route was very challenging with its little climbs and narrow, winding roads.

"Then Leo was involved in a big crash on the final stretch. We are glad that everyone came away from the crash with no major injuries. Leo was with the top 20 riders going into the last three kilometers, then some riders crashed in a curve ahead of him and there was no way for him to avoid crashing as well. Things can happen that quickly – but we were lucky today. Now we are preparing for the time trial."

Tomorrow’s time trial will decide the overall rankings. The 54-km route from Bergerac to Perigaux has a very undulating profile and will challenge the specialists in particular.