Froome lauded

Take it from cycling great Eddy Merckx: nobody can beat Chris Froome in this Tour de France. Riding with the poise and purpose of the Tour’s undisputed leader, Froome won a mountain time trial in stage 18 yesterday and opened up a seemingly insurmountable lead of nearly four minutes over his closest challenger, Dutch rider Bauke Mollema. Only two Alpine stages remain before Monday’s mostly ceremonial finish on the ChampsElysees in Paris. ‘‘He deserves his win. He’s the strongest,’’ said Merckx, a five-time tour winner. ‘‘I can’t see what could prevent him from keeping this yellow jersey until Paris.’’