A changing of the guard in Aussie cycling has been confirmed by latest Tour stage, writes Matt Keenan

GOOD guy Rui Costa wins again while a changing of the guard in Aussie cycling is confirmed on Stage 19, Matthew Keenan writes.

RUI Costa was named "Athlete of the Year" in Portugal last year, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, without winning a Tour de France stage.

Having secured his second Tour stage, into Le Grand-Bornand, he must be a shoo-in this year.

Costa' popularity at home has also seen him be the rider to have received the most fan mail at this year’s Tour.

FROOME THE CHAMP BARRING DISASTER

His second win was a carbon copy of his first, into Gap, with an attack on the final climb from a large breakaway group.

There was also a little bit of heart-in-mouth for his fans on the wet descent to the finish line, as the motorbike cameraman couldn’t keep up with him.  But Costa is cool under pressure and there was no need to worry.

Clarke

This Tour has also marked a changing of the guard in Australian cycling.

As Cadel Evans came in more than half an hour behind, in a group that included Mark Cavendish, Simon Clarke confirmed his early promise.

Clarke only lost contact with the yellow jersey group midway up the final climb.

The Orica-GreenEDGE rider is in his first Tour de France, has been in a few breakaways, and shown no signs of being intimidated by the sport’s biggest race.

Clarke is not a potential Tour winner but much as the French regularly cheer Sylvain Chavanel to stage victories or stints in the yellow jersey Clarke will do the same for Australian cycling fans.

He will have an even bigger impact on the race in the future.

Well behind the stage winner was the race for a spot on the podium alongside Chris Froome.

From second place, Alberto Contador, to fifth place, Joaquim Rodriguez, there is only a 47 second gap. Four riders – Contador, Quintana, Kreuziger, Rodriguez –racing for two spots.

Exhausted from the previous day to Alpe d’Huez, and more than 3,000km of racing, not a lot happened until the final ascent of the day. And even then no damage was done.

The one big change was the shift in strategy from Contador.

Conceding Froome has an insurmountable lead the Spaniard rode to save second.

Crucial to this defense was Canberra’s Michael Rogers. Rogers rode tempo on the final climb to prevent a attacks from Quintana and Rodriguez, while Contador just responded to their eventual moves.

The efforts cost Rogers a place inside the top-10 overall but he won’t lose any sleep over that. At no point has the 33-year-old given any consideration to his own results. Only Contador’s.

The selflessness of Rogers also applies to Kreuziger who, still sitting in fourth place overall, is doing all he can to help Contador, his team leader.

Going into preservation mode is unfamiliar territory for the ambitious Contador yet his best chance of holding onto to second place is to stick with this strategy.

If he tries to attack on Saturday’s final mountain stage he could open himself up to a counter-attack from his rivals, who will be baying for blood.

Quintana and Rodriguez will throw everything they have at Contador and he’ll need everything he’s got to resist their barrage.

Once again Richie Porte rode faultlessly in support of Froome.

One more day for Porte, the protector, then he can relax on the roads of Paris knowing he’s played a major role in a teammate’s Tour de France victory for the second year running.

Saturday 20 July
Stage 20: Annecy – Semnoz 125km
Live coverage begins on SBS1 at 10pm
Follow Matt Keenan on Twitter: @mwkeenan