Froome still ‘the leader’ as Thomas pulls on yellow
LA ROSIÈRE: Geraint Thomas insists he will help Sky teammate Chris Froome claim a record-equalling fifth victory on the Tour de France despite underlining his own credentials by pulling on the fabled yellow jersey on Wednesday.
A day after seeing his chances of taking the race lead dented by Sky’s team tactics, Thomas underlined his Grand Tour credentials with a superb ride on the final climb of stage 11 that saw him overtake Spanish rival and friend Mikel Nieve (Mitchelton) inside the closing metres on his way to triumph at the line.
It was the Welshman’s second stage win on the Tour, after his victory in the opening time trial last year which saw him wear the leader’s yellow jersey for four days before crashing out on stage nine.
But while it left Thomas in a “dream” like state, it did little to settle the ongoing debate about whether Froome or Thomas is the leader for a Sky team that has won five of the last editions of the world’s biggest bike race.
Froome is fresh from winning the Giro d’Italia and, having won the 2017 Tour of Spain and France, is targeting a fourth consecutive Grand Tour triumph and the first Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double since the 1998 feat of the late Marco Pantani of Italy.
Thomas, a former track rider, is a proven stage race winner who has never earned a podium place on a three-week Grand Tour.
“Obviously Froomey is the leader. He’s won six Grand Tours and for me, it’s an unknown,” said Thomas.
“Froomey knows how to win a threeweek race. Froomey’s still the leader.
“For me, whatever happens now, it’s been a successful Tour. It’s just an amazing feeling to win the stage and take the jersey.”
After seeing his yellow jersey dream go up in smoke on Tuesday, when Sky refused to help overhaul Thomas’s 43-sec deficit to overnight leader Greg Van Avermaet, the Welshman made amends in style.
It took until the final 6km of the fourth and final climb, over 17.6km, for the drama to unfold. And when Thomas was given a chance, he seized his chance.
“It was more of an opportunity, more instinct from myself,” said Thomas.
An impromptu attack by Thomas prompted climbing specialist Romain Bardet to counter, which in turn prompted Froome to counter the Frenchman. For a moment, an internal leadership battle appeared to be looming.
But Thomas claimed Froome’s move “was more about trying to distance the other guys.”
Racing alongside Dutchman Tom Dumoulin in pursuit of Nieve, Thomas attacked the Sunweb team leader in the closing kilometre to overtake Nieve a few hundreds metres from the finish.
Froome finished 20secs later alongside Dumoulin to move up to second overall at 1:25 behind Thomas, with Dumoulin now third at 1:44.
KITTEL AND CAVENDISH OUT
Record-chasing Mark Cavendish and Germany’s Marcel Kittel are out of the Tour de France.
Cavendish and Kittel, two of cycling’s top sprinters, were disqualified from the Tour on Wednesday after proving too slow on its gruelling Stage 11 in the Alps.
The pair have a combined 44 career wins at the Tour but both riders finished well beyond the allowed time limit on the 108.5km leg from Albertville to La Rosiere near the Italian border. Cavendish struggled across the finish line atop the summit more than one hour, 5 minutes after stage winner Geraint Thomas. That was more than double the 31 minutes allowed.
The 30-year-old Kittel, a rider for Katusha, also missed the cut after finishing 44 minutes behind Thomas. He has won 14 stages at the Tour, including five at the 2017 edition.