With Voeckler having visibly given it everything he had in stage 18, and another hors catégorie finish looming (at Alpe d'Huez) in stage 19, he was no longer the favourite to keep the yellow jersey to Paris, as Evans and the Schleck brothers held an advantage over him in the high mountain stages. Though stage 19 was also the Tour's shortest, Voeckler was indeed dropped between the Col du Galibier (visited again in stage 19) and Alpe d'Huez, finally ceding the jersey to Schleck. However, the day was still a very good one for the team. On the ascent of the Galibier, Voeckler told Rolland not to work for him any further and to ride his own race, and Rolland rode at or near the front of the race the rest of the day. Together with Spaniards Alberto Contador and Samuel Sánchez as the leading group on Alpe d'Huez, Rolland rode away from them with to race and took the day's honors, the first and only stage win for a French rider in this Tour. He also claimed the best young rider white jersey by finishing two minutes the better of Cofidis' Rein Taaramäe, who had begun the day in the lead in that classification. Voeckler finished 20th on the stage, losing three minutes to most of the other top riders, but this dropped him only to fourth place overall.