Froome on cusp of Tour win
Brit virtually locks it up day before last stage
MARSEILLE, France — Chris Froome virtually sealed a fourth Tour de France victory on the penultimate stage on Saturday, stamping his authority on the race in a time trial in Marseille streets.
Froome, the last rider to set off from the Stade Velodrome, finished third in the 22.5-kilometer stage won by Maciej Bodnar, and increased his overall lead.
Colombian rider Rigoberto Uran moved to second place in the general classification, 54 seconds behind Froome, after Frenchman Romain Bardet cracked and dropped to third overall.
Only the largely ceremonial stage into Paris on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday stands between Froome and his fourth triumph in five years.
“It’s just an amazing feeling,” Froome said.
“It was so close coming into this TT. This was my closest Tour de France, the most hard-fought between the riders on GC. I didn’t think it would come down to this TT in Marseille. There was a bit of pressure but, for me, it’s always a good thing having pressure.”
The British rider from Team Sky also won cycling’s biggest race in 2013, 2015 and 2016. Only the four men who have won the Tour five times have more victories than Froome: Jacques Anquetil, Eddie Merckx, Bernard Hinault, and Miguel Indurain.
Froome did not win a single stage this year.
He was booed and whistled by fans at the Stade Velodrome when he went down the starting ramp, but he was in control throughout, gaining time on his main rivals at all intermediate check points. He almost caught Bardet in the finale.
“Today I did not take risks, I took all the bends carefully, you can lose everything on a day like this,” Froome said.
Bardet endured his first bad day after three grueling weeks, and reached his limits in the small climb up to Notre-Dame de la Garde cathedral.
Bardet salvaged a spot on the podium by one second, ahead of Mikel Landa of Spain.
Bardet had been second overall before the clock race, with an advantage of more than a minute over Landa. But the French rider melted in the heat on the twisting and technical time trial course.
He said, “I was in poor health and I paid for it, in cash.”
He felt his immune system starting to react after the last stage in the high Alps, and “I didn’t feel well this morning.”
Twice a runner-up at the Giro d’Italia, Uran added another second-place finish at a Grand Tour on his resume but his hopes were almost ruined when he hit barriers as he entered the Velodrome, which hosted the start and finish of Stage 20. Uran managed to stay on his bike but lost precious time and finished 31 seconds off the pace.
Froome’s teammate, Michal Kwiatkowski, was second in the time trial, one second behind Bodnar.
The Polish rider missed out on a stage win in Pau after being swallowed by the pack only 250 meters from the finish.
“I still can’t believe it,” Bodnar said. “Last year was close and this year was even closer and now I finally get one. It’s amazing. I have been here three hours waiting. It was really nice seeing the atmosphere in the stadium. I was waiting for Froome because he’s a really good time triallist.” —AP