The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tour is my race to lose, says Froome as time trial awaits
Chris Froome called the Tour de France his to lose as he heads into today’s penultimate time trial with a 23-second lead over Frenchman Romain Bardet.
Froome and the other contenders enjoyed a sedate stage 19 as a breakaway contested honours in Salon-deProvence, where Froome’s former team-mate Edvald Boasson Hagen made up for being on the wrong side of two photo finishes by winning solo.
As the peloton eased over the line more than 12½ minutes later, attention quickly turned to Marseille, where Froome’s rivals have one last chance to overhaul him in a 22.5km battle against the clock before tomorrow’s traditionally processional stage into Paris.
“Certainly at this point it’s my race to lose,” Froome said. “I have to make sure I do everything right, follow the right processes and hopefully not have a bad day. I’ve got the legs, and hopefully everything else will be all right.”
A day after the final mountain test, the organisers threw the longest stage of the entire Tour at the riders as they rode 222.5km from Embrun.
Perhaps for that reason Sky – in control of the peloton – allowed a 20-man breakaway to go more than 10 minutes up the road and settled in for a tranquil day.
Today’s stage will start and finish at Marseille’s Velodrome as the football stadium returns to its cycling roots for the afternoon,with a crowd of 67,000 expected inside.
Although Froome is favoured to gain time in a battle against the clock, he has little margin for error.
AG2R La Mondiale’s Bardet remains within striking distance, while the Colombian ex-Sky rider Rigoberto Uran is third, only 29 seconds back. Froome has said it is the Cannondale-Drapac rider he fears most.
“I have to do everything right. I’m not going to go out there and take any big risks,” he said.
“I’m in a fantastic position and I’d much rather be in this position than second, third, or fourth trying to make up time.”
Sky dominated the short opening time trial in Dusseldorf with four riders in the top eight and Geraint Thomas winning, 12 seconds ahead of sixth-placed Froome. Much was made of the aerodynamic skinsuit Sky wore – with the UCI race jury dismissing claims from rival teams that it was illegal.
Froome’s team-mates will have the suit again, but the race leader will have to do without the ‘vortex generator’ as rules dictate he must wear a yellow skinsuit provided by the organisers.