Defending champion retakes lead
Froome regains overall edge by 0:18; Australian Matthews wins Stage 14
RODEZ, France — After two frenetic days of racing in the Pyrenees, no one would have bet on a change of leadership Saturday after Stage 14, a rolling 113-mile ride with no major difficulty.
But a short and steep climb to the finish in the southern town of Rodez was enough for Chris Froome and his mighty Sky team to recover the yellow jersey they lost two days before in the mountains.
The big loser of the day was Fabio Aru, the Astana team leader, who cracked in the final 500 meters and relinquished the coveted jersey to the three-time champion Froome.
While Team Sky hit the front of the pack in the final kilometers at high speed, Aru was at the back and stayed there a while. He lost touch with the leaders and crossed the line 25 seconds behind stage winner Michael Matthews.
Froome was well positioned and had no problem tackling the final climb. He finished hot on the heels of Matthews.
“It’s a beautiful surprise today,” said Froome, who lost his jersey after enduring a bad day on the road to the ski station of Peyragudes.
Froome said he had no explanation for Aru’s breakdown. But Astana team director Dmitryi Fofonov said the Italian climber simply paid for his efforts in the previous days.
“He was on his own, isolated,” Fofonov said. “We had crosswinds the whole day, we needed to be up front all the time to avoid the splits. Then the finish was explosive, with sprinters climbing very fast. Not Fabio’s favorite ground. Today we lost a battle, but not the war.”
Froome, who had a six-second deficit at the start of the stage, is enjoying an 18-second advantage over Aru, who is paying for the weakness of his Astana team. The Kazakhstan-funded team lost key member Jakob Fuglsang Friday after he broke a wrist and elbow, and Aru had not enough teammates to help him stay at the front.