A big break of around 20 riders tried there luck but they stood little chance as an aggressively riding field kept them well within their reach. Full pressure all day made for a hard hard stage that ran well ahead of the expected time schedule. By the time the peloton reached the final climb it was all together and it was Saxo who grabbed the initiative with Sørensen and Majka setting a hard tempo that quickly created a selection. The work was a setup for Roche who tried his luck with a little less than 2 km to go but his attack went nowhere and instead it was Rodriguez who benefitted from the setup. His attack under the 1 km banner was irresistible and behind Valverde tried with what he had to minimize the timegap.
On the steep final few hundred meters Chris Horner also managed to distance the leader Nibali who once again looked to be suffering as he lost the crucial few seconds that saw the red jersey pass over to Horner. Now it will all come down to a showdown on the viscious Angliru on Saturday where Horner now looks the clear favorite even if J-Rod made the impression of a man on the rise today. He still has to make up two minutes to win but that is not impossible on the crazy gradients of the Angliru.
Top 10 Stage 19
| 1. | ESPRODRIGUEZ, Joaquin | 121 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 16' 13'' | |
| 2. | ITAULISSI, Diego | 139 | LAMPRE-MERIDA | 4h 16' 24'' | + 11'' |
| 3. | ESPMORENO, Daniel | 127 | KATUSHA TEAM | 4h 16' 24'' | + 11'' |
| 4. | ESPSÁNCHEZ, Samuel | 91 | EUSKALTEL EUSKADI | 4h 16' 24'' | + 11'' |
| 5. | USAHORNER, Christopher | 184 | RADIOSHACK LEOPARD | 4h 16' 27'' | + 14'' |
| 6. | ESPVALVERDE, Alejandro | 1 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 4h 16' 27'' | + 14'' |
| 7. | ITASCARPONI, Michele | 131 | LAMPRE-MERIDA | 4h 16' 29'' | + 16'' |
| 8. | CZEKONIG, Leopold | 151 | TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA | 4h 16' 33'' | + 20'' |
| 9. | ITANIBALI, Vincenzo | 31 | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 4h 16' 33'' | + 20'' |
| 10. | IRLROCHE, Nicolas | 205 | TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF | 4h 16' 36'' | + 23'' |
General Classification
| 1. | USAHORNER, Christopher | 184 | RADIOSHACK LEOPARD | 77h 56' 05'' | |
| 2. | ITANIBALI, Vincenzo | 31 | ASTANA PRO TEAM | 77h 56' 08'' | + 3'' |
| 3. | ESPVALVERDE, Alejandro | 1 | MOVISTAR TEAM | 77h 57' 11'' | + 1' 06'' |
| 4. | ESPRODRIGUEZ, Joaquin | 121 | KATUSHA TEAM | 77h 58' 02'' | + 1' 57'' |
| 5. | IRLROCHE, Nicolas | 205 | TEAM SAXO-TINKOFF | 77h 59' 54'' | + 3' 49'' |
| 6. | ITAPOZZOVIVO, Domenico | 11 | AG2R LA MONDIALE | 78h 02' 05'' | + 6' 00'' |
| 7. | CZEKONIG, Leopold | 151 | TEAM NETAPP-ENDURA | 78h 02' 43'' | + 6' 38'' |
| 8. | FRAPINOT, Thibaut | 101 | FDJ.FR | 78h 03' 07'' | + 7' 02'' |
| 9. | ESPSÁNCHEZ, Samuel | 91 | EUSKALTEL EUSKADI | 78h 03' 50'' | + 7' 45'' |
| 10. | ESPMORENO, Daniel | 127 | KATUSHA TEAM | 78h 07' 10'' | + 11' 05'' |