Thomas in the box seat
THE Tour de France is Geraint Thomas’s race to lose with only one rider seemingly left with a slim hope of catching the Welshman. The last stage in the Pyrenees – the Tour’s so- called “queen stage” for its difficulty and drama – offers Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin his final real chance of capitalising on any slip- up from Thomas.
But Thomas hasn’t put a pedal wrong after two weeks of racing, and Dumoulin knows he needs a miracle of sorts to take his yellow jersey on Stage 19 from Lourdes.
“I think the chance of winning the Tour is really, really small. But if I see an opportunity I will take it for sure,” Dumoulin said after yesterday’s uneventful Stage 18 ended in Pau. “I will try to test Thomas. We will see if it’s possible.” Thomas leads the Team Sunweb rider by 1 minute, 59 seconds with three stages of the Tour remaining, including tomorrow’s mostly ceremonial finish on the Champs Elysees in Paris.
Dumoulin lost nine seconds to Thomas the day before, when defending champion Chris Froome’s hopes of a record- equalling fifth title all but ended for this year.
Froome, who had been second, fell 32 seconds behind Dumoulin, whom he had earlier called his Team Sky’s “biggest threat.”
Yesterday’s stage was flat and easy, which allowed riders to prepare for the ordeal in the Pyrenees to come. The 200.5kilometre trek from Lourdes to Laruns in Stage 19 features the category 1 Col d’Aspin and two unclassified climbs in the 2115m Col du Tourmalet and 1709m Col d’Aubisque.