Sky on big high

THE big guns came out to play on stage 11 and there is no doubt the Sky is the limit.

By that I mean Team Sky has set the standard so high the others are struggling to even hold the wheel.

Only big Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and the ever aggressive Irishman Dan Martin were able to fire a shot.

Geraint Thomas (pictured) showed he is much more than a support act to race favourite Chris Froome as Sky flexed its muscles and put the rest of the tour in defence mode.

For Aussie team Mitchelton Scott it was a day of heartbreak. It went from chocolates to boiled lollies.

As team leader Adam Yates cracked at the start of the final climb to La Rosiere, his main support rider, Spaniard Mikel Nieve, broke clear of the breakaway and looked set for victory. But in the final 400m a rampant Thomas stormed past his former teammate for a brilliant win.

At this point Nieve’s wheels seemed to almost fall off and he was swallowed up in the final 10m and finished fifth.

Yates, meanwhile, lost more than four minutes along with any realistic chance of a podium in Paris.

Stage 11 from Albertville to Rosiere was one of the most majestic stages I have seen with breathtaking scenery all the way.

But with four major climbs, including two HC monsters, it was breathtaking for riders in the truest sense.

When this race started Sky said there was only one leader but now it has two riders in dominating form.

It takes me back to 2012 when Brad Wiggins had to fight off Froome and the fallout from that is still felt in the British team.