Briancon (France): Tour de France leader Chris Froome remained rock-solid on a thrilling Col d’Izoard climb won in audacious fashion Thursday by Warren Barguil, and now looks unstoppable in his bid to claim a fourth title in Paris.
Fans wedged onto the 2,360m sun-bleached landscape roared home Barguil who became the fifth Frenchman to win the iconic climb which had posed the last serious threat to Froome.
It was not the story the home fans craved though. They had imagined Romain Bardet leaving Froome in his wake and snatching the yellow jersey on the last day in the Alps.
The AG2R La Mondiale rider did beat Team Sky’s Froome over the line at the end of a 179km stage culminating in a brutal 14km ascent to the lunar-like Izoard summit finish.
But his third place, behind Sunweb’s Barguil and Colombian Darwin Atapuma, only allowed him to shave four seconds off Froome’s 27-second lead as the British rider finished just behind in fourth place with other GC rival Rigoberto Uran fifth.
“I gave it my all,” 2016 runner-up Bardet, who had set out to become France’s first Tour winner since 1985, said. “I risked everything. I have nothing to regret.”
After some early wobbles Froome has looked in control in the Alps and with just Friday’s straightforward 222km ride south followed by a time-trial in Marseille before the ceremonial roll into Paris he looks armour-plated for the third year in a row. The Briton leads Bardet by 23 seconds and Uran by 29.
“For sure it would have been amazing to have won on the most iconic climb of the race but my goal is the yellow jersey,” Froome said. “The hardest part of the Tour is behind now. The top three are all within 30 seconds. Rigo seems to be the biggest threat for the time trial, but there are still two days of racing, so anything can happen,” added Froome.
Reuters
