Froome’s Tour to lose

Chris Froome called the Tour de France his to lose as he heads into today’s time trial with a 23-second lead over Frenchman Romain Bardet.

Froome and the other contenders enjoyed a sedate stage 19 as the breakaway contested honours in Salon-de-provence, where Edvald Boasson Hagen took the glory.

As the peloton eased over the line more than 12 and a half minutes later, attention quickly turned to Marseille, where Froome’s rivals have one last chance to overhaul him in a 22.5 kilometre battle against the clock.

“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.”

Saturday’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.