Thomas claims stage, lead
LA ROSIERE, France: Geraint Thomas is in the perfect position to win a maiden grand tour title after claiming victory on yesterday’s first mountain stage of the Tour de France, but the Briton says compatriot Chris Froome remains the Team Sky leader.
Thomas, who won the weeklong Criterium du Dauphine last month while Froome was resting after winning the Giro d’Italia, took the 11th stage of the Tour with an impressive attack in the final climb to snatch the yellow jersey.
Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin was 20sec back in second with Froome third on the same time.
Thomas leads teammate Froome by 1min 25sec in the overall standings.
However, Fourtime champion Froome is the more experienced rider, having already won all three grand tours.
‘‘Froomey is the leader. He’s won six grand tours, he knows how to ride a threeweek race,’’ Thomas told a news conference.
‘‘I just had an opportunity. Froomey knows how to win a threeweek race. For me it’s already a success. Froomey is still our best chance.’’
With thirdplaced Dumoulin 1min 44sec off the pace, Sky has two cards to play in the Tour’s tactical battle.
Yet Thomas, a former track cycling Olympic champion like 2012 Tour winner Bradley Wiggins, has yet to prove he can handle the pressure of a grand tour.
His best overall grand tour result is 15th place in the 2015 and 2016 editions of the Tour de France.
Sky’s position is a nightmare for its rivals, which in the past have struggled to unsettle the British outfit when Froome, who was cleared of a suspected doping offence in the week leading up to the Tour start, was the sole leader.
With two riders now able to win the race, the equation has got even more complicated for the opposition.
‘‘Sky have a strong hold on the race; everyone is asphyxiated,’’ AG2RLa Mondiale team manager Vincent Lavenu said.
His team leader, Romain Bardet, limited the damage suffered yesterday, finishing 59sec behind Thomas along with Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana. Frenchman Bardet is now lagging 2min 58 off the pace.
Sky’s rivals will now be pinning its hopes on possible leadership issues within the British team.
‘‘Since the start of the race I’ve been saying that Thomas is the strongest at Sky. But he has no references in a threeweek race so we can always speculate on that,’’ Lavenu said. — Reuters