Froome coronation day crowns epic team effort
CHRIS FROOME will be crowned Tour de France winner for the third time in Paris today after surviving a final rain-lashed run in the Alps.
With the final stage to the ChampsElysées largely ceremonial, Froome will, barring a disaster, join an exclusive club of three-time winners that currently numbers Greg LeMond, Louison Bobet and Philippe Thys among its members.
Only Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, all five-time winners, have won more Tours. And with Lance Armstrong stripped of his seven titles, Froome will also become the first back-to-back winner since Indurain in 1994 and 1995.
After crashing towards the end of Friday’s stage, and with more rain forecast yesterday, Froome and his Team Sky team-mates had every reason to be nervous as the 146.5km stage rolled out of Megève.
Ahead of them lay four climbs and, following the ascent of the Col de Joux Plane, a descent into Morzine that is dangerous enough on dry roads, but treacherous in the rain.
A big breakaway formed early that included Roman Kreuziger, who was an outside danger. At one point the Czech rode into second overall, but Froome’s lead was such that his team could control the tempo behind without panicking, knowing that Kreuziger would tire eventually.
A huge factor in Froome’s success has been his team, who once again kept him in a protective coccoon for much of the stage. Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Vasil Kiryienka have been strong workhorses on the flat roads and on the early part of the mountain stages, before Geraint Thomas, Mikel Nieve, Sergio Henao, Mikel Landa and, in particular, Wout Poels have taken over.
Froome said it was the strongest team Sky have ever fielded at the Tour, and that claim was borne out over the three weeks. Poels was a revelation, setting a fearsome pace on the climbs that, for the most part, deterred any attacks. Having let Romain Bardet slip away to claim a first French stage win on Friday — a performance that saw him climb to second overall — Sky and Froome were not in the mood to let anyone away on the penultimate stage. But his rivals were not inclined to risk their own placings either. Bardet seemed happy with second and Nairo Quintana, the Colombian who started as many people’s favourite, was resigned to finishing third.
Quintana’s team-mate Ion Izagirre triumphed in the stage, having left his fellow escapees behind on the descent of the Joux Plane. They included Vincenzo Nibali, the 2014 Tour winner and a fearsome descender. Behind Izagirre, Jarlinson Pantano was second with Nibali third and Julian Alaphilippe fourth.
Froome was shepherded down the hill by Thomas, who led for most of the way. Froome was 20th across the line in Morzine, more than four minutes behind Izagirre but safe in the overall lead and the yellow jersey.
‘It’s an amazing feeling,’ said Froome. ‘It could be the first Tour all over again for me. All those emotions coming down those final descent, there was suspense, trying not to put a foot wrong, but coming into that last kilometre with my teammates around me, I felt happiness, relief, after three weeks of putting everything on the road. I feel privileged to be in this position, that I’ve always had teammates around me. We’ve been far and away the strongest team in this race and I’m incredibly grateful for that.
‘There have been moments when we’ve really taken on the race, on the descent [into Luchon] and in the crosswinds [to Montpellier] sprinting with Peter Sagan.’
Froome had been nervous after a ‘tough’ Friday when he crashed, adding: ‘When I hit the ground I was in pain. Having to swap bikes and ride Geraint’s bike to the finish wasn’t ideal, but I was grateful he was there — our car [with Froome’s spare bike] was quite far behind.
‘I was incredibly mentally drained but I slept well. The legs were better today. It’s felt like a rollercoaster with a mixture of emotions.’
Britain’s Adam Yates will arrive in Paris in the white jersey of best young rider and fourth overall, only 19 seconds behind Quintana. After a wobble on Friday, Yates looked more comfortable and finished a few places in front of Froome.
‘I’m fourth — for a lot of people it’s a dream to ride the Tour de France, but for me to come top 10 or five, I’m super happy,’ he said. ‘I learned a lot that will help me in future to go one step further. It’s only my second Tour de France and I’m only 23.’