Froome takes back yellow jersey from Aru, pictured.
No one expected Chris Froome to attempt to wrestle back the yellow jersey from Fabio Aru on Saturday — not even the Team Sky superstar, who lost the general classification lead Thursday, after uncharacteristically running out of gas on the final ascent.
“I never thought I’d get the jersey back on a stage like today,” Froome said, according to via Cycling News, of Saturday’s 112.8-mile Stage 14 that traveled from Blagnac to Rodez, taking the riders on plenty of flatlands between the Pyrenees and the Alps.
Froome finished seventh in the stage that ended on an ascent, just one second behind Australian stage winner Michael Matthews of Team Sunweb, who took the stage victory.
Aru, meanwhile, struggled on the last climb after falling to the back of the group and was unable to catch up to Froome after a hard day’s work. He finished in 30th place, 30 seconds behind Matthews, and now sits second in the general classification results, 18 seconds behind Froome.
“At 1.5 kilometers remaining, the group was already broken up,” the Italian Astana Pro Team rider told Cycling Weekly after the race. “I was behind [the first group]. I closed it, but I was too late.”
Froome, of course, has one major advantage over his rival — his strong team, which did much of the pace-making to benefit their leader.
Froome remained appreciative of them as he slipped back into yellow, pointing out his Polish domestique, Michal Kwiatkowski, specifically for helping keep Froome within reach of the lead.
“The team always stayed very close front, and taking 20 seconds is enormous,” Froome said, who started the day just six seconds behind Aru. “It’s a fight for every second this year.” And it is still a fight. There are three riders who trail the threetime Tour de France winner by less than 30 seconds. Along with Aru, French rider Romain Bardet of AG2R La Mondiale sits 23 seconds back, and Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran of Cannondale-Drapac is in fourth place at 29 seconds behind.
Aru, who picked up 20 seconds on Froome on Thursday to temporarily earn the yellow, is confident he can do it again when the Tour hits the Alps in the coming days.
“It’s important to continue and not lose my path,” the 27-year-old said Saturday, calling the race “still pretty much open.”
“The last week will be very demanding,” he continued, referring to his hope of being able to take advantage of another situation that might see Froome weaken at the end. “So not everything is lost.”
The Tour de France continues Sunday, when the riders will travel 117.7 miles from Laissac-Sévérac l’Église to Le Puy-en-Velay.