Saint-Lary-Soulan: Great Britain’s Geraint Thomas moved a step closer to winning the Tour de France after pushing Sky teammate Chris Froome down the standings on a 17th stage won by Colombia’s Nairo Quintana here Wednesday.
Thomas before the race held a lead of 1min 39sec on compatriot Froome, but took it to 2:31s after the four-time champion crossed the finish 1:36s behind Quintana and nearly a minute off Thomas.
Ireland’s Dan Martin (UAE) finished second at 28 seconds behind Quintana, with Thomas third and Slovenian Primoz Roglic (Lotto-Jumbo) in fourth.
Froome’s failure to stay with Thomas in the final few kilometres of the 16 km climb to the finish of the Col du Portet amid a series of attacks by rivals means the Kenyan-born Briton is in danger of finishing off the podium.
Dutch rival Tom Dumoulin, the 2017 Giro d’Italia champion, finished behind Thomas but well ahead of Froome to move up to second place. Roglic, meanwhile, moved up to fourth overall just 16 seconds behind Froome.
Welshman Thomas will start Thursday’s 18th stage, a mainly flat 171 km ride from Trie-sur-Blaise to Pau with a 1:59s lead on Sunweb team leader Dumoulin, with Froome in third.
“It was just about defending that lead,” said Thomas. “But it’s the Tour de France, so anything can happen.” Froome appeared to abdicate his crown when he tipped his hat to Thomas at the finish. “Geraint deserves to be in the yellow jersey, he’s earned it,” asserted Froome.
