Froome takes it easy on way to Tour milestone
Sky’s three-time winner earns 50th yellow jersey Kittel sprints clear to claim his 13th stage win
It was not the hardest yellow jersey he has ever earned, but it did bring him to a significant milestone. Chris Froome pulled on the 50th maillot jaune of his career yesterday, drawing him level with Jacques Anquetil in the all-time list and into some pretty rarefied company.
Only Eddy Merckx (96), Bernard Hinault (75) and Miguel Indurain (60) have now spent more time in the famous Tour leader’s jersey than the Kenya-born Briton with the spindly legs and the outwardly mild manners. Froome – who has revealed himself to be more the silent assassin type in recent years – could claim Indurain’s scalp by the time this Tour is over.
To do so he will certainly have to work harder than he did yesterday.
Froome admitted it felt almost like a “double rest day” for the general classification riders on stage 10 from Perigueux to Bergerac.
Sky’s leader, who holds an 18second lead over Fabio Aru (Astana) in the overall standings, was able to hide in the wheels all day and soak in the beautiful Dordogne countryside as the sprint teams controlled the gap to the day’s two-man breakaway, which consisted of Wantygroupe Gobert’s Yoann Offredo and Fortuneo-oscaro’s Elie Gesbert. When they were brought to heel with 7km remaining, the sprint trains took over.
A tame stage suddenly turned ultra-aggressive as Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), a former boxer who has expressed an interest in returning to the ring once his cycling career is over, landed a short-arm jab on Jack Bauer (Quick-step Floors) in retaliation for a nudge. The race jury fined Bouhanni 200 Swiss francs (£160) and docked him a minute on GC. It made no difference to the result. Bauer’s team-mate Marcel Kittel had already proved himself the strongest sprinter at this Tour bar none, winning every which way, from the front, from behind, with a sprint train, without one.
This time, after Britain’s Dan Mclay had led them out with 350 metres to go, Kittel came from behind sans team-mates to explode past everyone and win by a bike length. It made Kittel the most successful German rider of all-time in terms of stage wins, with 13 now to his name, one more than Erik Zabel. Fellow German John Degenkolb, of Trek-segafredo, was second and Dutchman Dylan Groenewegen, of Lottonl-jumbo third.
Froome came home safely in the pack and declared himself delighted with his second “day off ” after the carnage of Sunday’s ninth stage. “Today was one of the most relaxed stages we’ve had this year,” he said. “A bit of a double rest day. We’ll need that energy for later.”
Today’s stage from Eymet to Pau is likely to end in another bunch sprint. But tomorrow’s from Pau to the summit finish at Peyragudes will test the GC contenders, as will Friday’s short, sharp 101km stage from Saint-girons to Foix which features three categorised climbs and looks tailor-made for a longrange Alberto Contador attack.
“Alberto is never shy to attack from further out,” Froome agreed. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a go. [But] I think lessons have been learnt, especially from the Vuelta last year [Sky were ambushed by a similar attack]. We’ve got a very different team here.”
As for drawing level with Anquetil on 50 yellow jerseys, Froome said it was a “huge, huge honour” but that was not his ultimate goal. Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault and Indurain all won five Tours. If Froome, with three so far, can equal that statistic, the yellow jerseys will take care of themselves.