Froome loses power ... and yellow jersey
CHRIS FROOME’S Tour de France dominance was close to collapse last night after the three-time winner fell off the pace in the closing metres of the brutal finish to Peyragudes ski station. Froome’s surprising loss of power cost him the yellow jersey. The stage was won by Frenchman Romain Bardet, ahead of Italy’s Fabio Aru, who now leads the race overall by six seconds. Froome lost a worrying 22 seconds in less than a half a kilometre. ‘It was a really hard finish and I didn’t have the legs for it,’ he admitted. ‘But there is still a lot of racing to come so we’ll see. I did the most that I could at the finish, but I couldn’t go with them.’ In what was a murderously steep uphill sprint, Froome looked a spent force after Bardet and Aru attacked the leading group. As Bardet rode clear to take his third stage win, Froome’s acceleration deserted him. Team Sky’s leader crossed the line with his face creased in pain and quickly reverted to his standard white team jersey, as Aru donned the yellow jersey of race leader. ‘It is the best thing that could happen, to take the yellow jersey,’ Aru said, ‘because it was a really hard stage. ‘We attacked at a good moment and saw that the others were a bit stuck behind us, including Froome. I tried hard to win but Romain was too strong.’ Bardet said: ‘I’m really happy. Everyone knows I attack in the descent so today it was time to change tactics and attack uphill.’ Froome now faces the likelihood of further attacks in today’s critical mountain stage from Saint-Girons to Foix, which includes three first category climbs, including the 18 per cent grades of the Mur de Peguere. ‘It’s a really big stage and we will need to stay focused,’ Bardet said. ‘Sky is the strongest team but this stage will be hard to control.’ Aru admitted that injuries to his team may hamper his chances of overall victory. ‘It won’t be easy,’ he said, ‘but they will fight hard.’ Sky’s control was complete until those fateful final metres. Ultimately, all of the team’s hard work is for Froome but if his rivals sense that the Briton is struggling today they will show no mercy.