Tour twists and turns
On the bike — and off — Chris Froome has been in a class of his own for three weeks at the Tour de France. Two crashes put his ambition to the test, but Froome recovered each time. Here’s a closer look at the key turning points:
STAGE 8: SOLO WIN IN PYRENEES
Froome surprised rivals with a downhill attack to claim the race leader’s yellow jersey in the second Pyrenean stage. He led at the top of the final climb of the day, the Col de Peyresourde, and attacked when least expected. Crouched on top of his handlebars for extra aerodynamics, he soloed to victory and moved atop the general classification.
STAGE 11: THE CROSSWINDS
In a stage that looked promising for sprinters, Froome’s tactical skills were on display on the road to Montpellier, using the wind to his advantage to slip into a breakaway and gain more time on his direct rivals. Peter Sagan won the stage by edging Froome in a sprint finish, but the Briton got a six-second bonus for his second-place finish and gained 12 seconds on all of his main opponents.
STAGE 12: VENTOUX CRASH
The image of Froome off his bike and running toward the finish up Mont Ventoux is already part of Tour de France lore. Just moments after Froome, Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema attacked together in the punishing climb, they rode into the back of a TV motorbike that abruptly stopped on a road blocked by fans. The trio hit the ground, but Froome could not resume racing because his bike was broken. In the panic, he started to run up the mountain before receiving a race assistance bike which was not the right size.
STAGE 19: FALLING IN THE RAIN
Two days before reaching the Champs Elysees, Froome endured another crash during a chaotic and spectacular alpine stage in stormy and wet weather. He was lucky enough to escape with no serious injury, and even emerge with a bigger overall lead. Froome hit the ground in a descent 13.5 kilometres from the finish, slipping on road paint as he crossed a white line. With blood dripping down his right leg, cuts and bruises on his back and blood on his right elbow, Froome did not panic. He quickly borrowed a teammate’s bike and stayed in the overall lead. Once again, nothing could part Froome from his yellow jersey.