Froome takes trial, has Tour in grasp
Lead approaches 4 minutes with two Alpine stages left.
Take it from cycling great Eddy Merckx: nobody can beat Chris Froome in this Tour de France.
Riding with the poise and purpose of the Tour’s undisputed leader, Froome won a mountain time trial in Stage 18 on Thursday and opened up a seemingly insurmountable lead of nearly four minutes over his closest challenger, Dutch rider Bauke Mollema.
Only two Alpine stages remain before Sunday’s mostly ceremonial finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
“He deserves his win. He’s the strongest,” said Merckx, a five-time Tour winner. “I can’t see what could prevent him from keeping this yellow jersey until Paris. His opponents just stay on his teammates’ wheels. Barring an incident, nobody can beat him in this Tour.”
Riding in a yellow bodysuit and yellow aerodynamic helmet, Froome pumped his right fist after clocking slightly more than half an hour over the 17-kilometer (10.5-mile) route from Sallanches to the Megeve ski resort — which featured majestic views of Mont Blanc.
Froome finished 21 seconds ahead of Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin to take his second stage win this year.
“That’s a huge compliment coming from Eddy,” Froome said. “Obviously we feel like we’re in a bit of a bubble in the race here. But to have somebody like that give a compliment like that is a great honor.”
Froome increased his overall lead to 3 minutes, 52 seconds over Mollema, with Adam Yates of Britain third, 4:16 behind.
Two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana stayed fourth but now trails by 4:37 after another difficult day for the Colombian.
“The main thing for me now is staying safe,” Froome acknowledged. “Obviously I’ve got a fantastic advantage now. So now it’s about looking after that advantage and not taking any risks.
“It’s not over until we cross that final finish line, but today is a huge boost of confidence. I think over these next couple of days we’re going to see more of a race for podium spots.”
Stage 19 today follows a 146-kilometer (91-mile) route over four ascents from Albertville to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc. The penultimate leg Saturday concludes with a tricky descent to Morzine after four more climbs through the Alps.