The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Brave ride sees leader extend stay in yellow
Van Avermaet produces stunning effort in Alps to boost lead
Geraint Thomas saw another chance to take the yellow jersey slip away as Greg Van Avermaet defied expectations to extend his Tour de France lead on the first mountain stage.
Van Avermaet began the day with a 43-second advantage over Thomas but most expected the Classics specialist to be overhauled by the general classification contenders as the race hit the Alps.
Instead Van Avermaet honoured the yellow jersey with a superb ride on the 158.5km stage 10 from Annecy to Le Grand-Bornand, getting into a breakaway and staying clear to the finish.
The BMC rider finished fourth as Quick-Step Floors’ Julian Alaphilippe took his first career Tour stage win, but crucially was one minute 39 seconds ahead of the main group of contenders, including Thomas and his Sky teammate Chris Froome.
That saw the Belgian extend his overall lead to two minutes and 22 seconds over Thomas, with Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde up to third, three minutes and 10 seconds back.
If it surprised most, it did at least follow a pattern as Van Avermaet used attack as the best form of defence when spending three days in yellow in 2016 and Thomas was not among those caught out.
“We were expecting that,” said the Welshman, who had been just three seconds off yellow for much of last week. “He did it the last time he had the jersey. It would have been nice to take (yellow) but it’s the Tour de France. Nothing comes easy.”
OnMonday’srestday,2012Tourwinner Sir Bradley Wiggins had suggested his old team would “have a real problem on their hands” if Thomas took yellow ahead of Froome, who is 59 seconds back on his team-mate in sixth place.
Froome had dramas of his own on the day when he suffered a puncture on the gravel section at the top of the Montee du plateau des Glieres.
The four-time Tour winner said. “I had a puncture on the first section, got a spare wheel from a team-mate (Jonathan Castroviejo) only to find out that was flat as well. So it was a little bit of a comedy of errors going on there.”
Alaphilippe took victory after moving off the front of the break at the summit of the Col de Romme, 28.5km from home.
The Quick-Step Floors rider gradually pulled away as he turned a bid for the climbers’ polka-dot jersey into a first French stage win of this Tour.
The rider leading at the end of the first mountain stage has gone on to win the Tour every year since 2012 but Van Avermaet knows that sequence will end.
The Belgian is expecting to surrender yellow on today’s 108.5km stage from Albertville to the ski station at La Rosiere Espace San Bernardo, a route which closely mirrors stage six of June’s Criterium du Dauphine on which Thomas finished second on his way to overall victory.
Van Avermaet said. “I’m really happy to extend it by one day but I would say my chances for tomorrow are zero.”
I’m really happy to extend it by one day but I would say my chances for tomorrow are zero. GREG VAN AVERMAET