Barguil triumphs but Froome still leads Le Tour

French rider Warren Barguil triumphed on the barren slopes of the fearsome Col d’Izoard climb in the Alps, winning his second stage of the 104th Tour de France while Chris Froome successfully defended his overall race lead putting him within touching distance of a fourth Tour crown.

On the last day of climbing in the Alps on Thursday (Friday NZ time), Froome lost a handful of seconds to French rider Romain Bardet, who moved up to second in the overall standings, relegating Rigoberto Uran of Colombia to third.

But Froome still leads Bardet by 23 seconds, a margin that the French rider looks unlikely to close before the finish Sunday (Monday NZT) in Paris.

The last opportunity is in a time trial Saturday, but Froome excels at that discipline.

‘‘I gave it all, I thought I was going to suffocate as I crossed the line,’’ Bardet said. ‘‘I have no regrets, I did everything I could.’’

Froome was relieved to put the Alps behind him.

The mountains can crack even the best riders, and with them over with, there remain no real obstacles to stop Froome clinching a third straight title. His first was in 2013.

While not huge, his lead is sufficient to mean that he doesn’t have to take unnecessary risks on the twisting and technical timetrial course in Marseille. The stage out of the Alps through Provence isn’t tough enough to provoke a big shake-up in the standings, and the final ride into Paris is largely processional.

‘‘I’m happy that I went through the Alps without any major problem,’’ Froome said.

‘‘I normally find the Alps more difficult.’’

Dion Smith and Jack Bauer were the best of the Kiwi riders finishing 92nd and 93rd, with the same time, and Bauer is now the leading New Zealander at 106th in the general classification.

Barguil set off in search of the Stage 18 victory when there were still six kilometres left to climb to the top of the Izoard pass, with an altitude of 2,360 metres.

He sped away from Froome’s group and gradually reeled in riders ahead of him on the hairpin bends and steep road – the last being John Darwin Atapuma of Colombia, with about 1.5 kilometres left to ascend.

From there, Barguil laboured on alone to win the first stage to finish at the summit of Izoard in the 114-year history of the Tour. Barguil also won in the Pyrenees on Bastille Day. — AAP