Chris Froome emerges from a chaotic Tour stage with lead intact.
CHAMBERY, France — The Tour de France threw the kitchen sink at Chris Froome: Steep mountain ascents followed by daredevil descents at speeds exceeding 45 mph that wiped out other riders, the loss of his top teammate in a crash, a breakdown on his bike and rivals who tried to make him crack with bursts of acceleration.
But the most grueling, drama-filled day of this 104th Tour finished, again, with Froome wearing the race leader’s yellow jersey.
By surviving Stage 9 that put 12 riders out of the race and left others bloodied and bandaged, the three-time champion took a big step toward a fourth victory in Paris on July 23.
With seven ascents that together amounted to 15,000 feet of climbing — more than half the height of Everest — this was the “monster stage” Froome, 32, had predicted it would be. It separated contenders for victory from pretenders.
Attrition thins field
At the start Sunday, eight riders had been within a minute of Froome in the overall standings. Now, just three are.
Among top names gone are Richie Porte and Froome’s teammate Geraint Thomas, who led the Tour for its first four days. Both crashed out.
Porte, who had been fifth overall, was zooming downhill in pursuit of Froome when he missed a lefthand bend, cartwheeled across the road and bowled over fellow rider Dan Martin before slamming into a stony, vine-covered bank.
Medics treated the Australian on the tarmac and then took him to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis and collarbone. Thomas broke his collarbone.
The crashes took some of the shine off what otherwise was an impressive show of resilience from Froome. He placed third in the stage, narrowly beaten in a final sprint by Colombian Rigoberto Uran at the finish in Chambery, in the Alps. French rider Warren Barguil was just inches behind in second place — so close he burst into tears thinking he had won, only to learn he hadn’t.
For his third place, Froome was awarded four bonus seconds that allowed him to consolidate his overall lead. With Thomas, who had been in second place, out, Italian Fabio Aru climbed to second spot in the race rankings — 18 seconds behind Froome overall. French rider Romain Bardet, runner-up to Froome last year, is third overall — 51 seconds behind Froome. The other rider within a minute of Froome is Uran, who jumped from 11th to fourth overall — 55 seconds behind the leader.
Uran thought Barguil had beaten him to the line. It was a moment of confusion fitting for a day of racing so chaotic it was difficult at times to keep track of all the drama. Riders were strewn like leaves over the 112-mile stage — seven of them falling so far back they missed the time cut and are now out of the Tour.
Toward the front, Froome had a crisis of his own. With awful timing, the Briton survived a breakdown of his bike gears on the last, hugely tough climb that forced him to change machines just when he was riding furiously in a bunch with other top contenders.
Good sportsmanship
As Froome frantically was signaling to members of his team following in a car that he was in trouble, Aru choose that exact moment to accelerate, followed by other top challengers.
For a few moments, Froome’s Tour seemed to be hanging by a thread.
But Aru and the others slowed rather than press their advantage — apparently adhering to the Tour’s unwritten rule that challengers shouldn’t attack the race leader when he is in difficulty not of his making.
With a replacement bike and teammates who waited for him, Froome ground his way back into the pack
“I want to say ‘thank you’ to the other riders for not attacking,” Froome said. “They waited until I had changed bikes. That’s sporting and pleasing to see.”