IT’S CARNAGE
Froome survives fall but rival Porte is out
RICHIE PORTE, one of Chris Froome’s main rivals, crashed out of the Tour de France yesterday amid chaotic scenes on the cobbles.
The stage victory went to Germany’s John Degenkolb, but far more gripping than the contest for the day’s spoils was the battle between the favourites for the Tour, many of whom came to grief on the bumpy roads leading to the Belgian border. Porte was the most significant casualty.
The Australian hit the deck before the riders had even reached the first of 15 sections of cobbles, dislocating his collarbone after several riders went down after a collision with a spectator who is believed to have strayed into the road.
While none of the other likely contenders for the yellow jersey suffered the same race-ending misfortune as Porte, most flirted with disaster, including defending champion Froome, who somersaulted over his handlebars after his Italian team- mate Gianni Moscon crashed in front of him. ‘It was a brutal stage, just brutal. I feel sorry for Richie that he didn’t make it and it’s a relief to get through it safely,’ said Froome.
‘It’s never nice to see a mate go down. Our thoughts go out to him today.’
Given the carnage, it was a surprise that Froome and most of the other favourites for the title finished in the same group that came in 27 seconds behind Degenkolb, with Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas among them.
‘It’s a big relief to get that stage behind us now, while keeping myself and Geraint at the front. We’ll soak up the rest day now,’ said Froome, who moved up to eighth overall, 1min 42sec down on race leader Greg van Avermaet. ‘ Then we’re heading into the mountains where the real racing starts for me. We’re in a good position as we head into the Alps.’ Thomas remains in second place, 43 seconds behind Van Avermaet. ‘It was good to get through unscathed,’ said the Welshman. ‘I was directly behind Froome when he crashed and I managed to just get around him.’ As the highest placed of the favourites, Thomas is now perfectly placed to move into the race lead in the mountains, where Van Avermaet is almost certain to lose ground. ‘ It would be nice to go into yellow, but there are three big days ahead now so we’ll try and get through them as best we can,’ said Thomas, who said he has not set himself a final target for the Tour.
‘I just wanted to come here and race as well as I can and not make any mistakes. I’ve managed to do that so far but there’s still 11 days to go. A lot can happen.’
Fellow Briton Adam Yates also moved into the top 10 and sits one place behind Froome. ‘It was a good day. The guys looked after me really well,’ the Lancastrian said of his Mitchelton-Scott team-mates.
‘I’m excited to finally climb some mountains, but most importantly we now have a rest day, which is fantastic. Now this stage is behind us, I’m not worried at all about what’s ahead. I know I’ve got a strong team around me.’
The win was emotional for Degenkolb, one of the biggest stars in the sport until he suffered career-threatening injuries when he and several of his team-mates were in collision with a car during a training ride at the start of the 2016 season.
‘It’s been a hard battle to come back from that. This success has lifted a huge weight off me and restored the confidence I had before that incident,’ Degenkolb said.