Thomas steals a march on Froome
gERaInT THOMaS, so often Chris Froome’s first lieutenant at the Tour de France, emerged as a strong contender for the title when he rode clear to claim both the stage win and the yellow jersey at this year’s first mountain-top finish. The Welshman finished 20 seconds ahead of Tom dumoulin of Holland and Froome (below), to push his lead out to more than a minute on both riders. Thomas’s victory leaves Sky boss Sir dave Brailsford with an intriguing tactical dilemma. does he put his team’s weight behind the in-form Thomas or back four-time Tour winner Froome? Thomas insists he’s still Sky’s back-up man. ‘Froomey knows how to win a three-week race, he’s still the leader,’ he said. ‘It’s an amazing feeling to win the stage and take the jersey.’ Pressed on whether he can win the Tour, Thomas replied: ‘Racing over three weeks is a bit of an unknown for me. But we’re in a great position.’ The favourites produced a day of non-stop action on a short stage that crossed three mountain passes before the final ascent to la Rosiere ski station. Harried by their rivals, Sky’s riders kept cool and countered in the closing kilometres. ‘geraint’s attack was a bit of a spur of the moment thing but it made sense to push on there,’ said Froome. ‘I knew the onus would be on the other guys to chase, but the guy who stands out as a threat to us now is Tom dumoulin. He was very impressive.’ Battle recommences on the iconic hairpins to alpe d’Huez today. Yesterday’s stage spelt the end of the road for three sprinters who failed to make the time cut. For Mark Cavendish, 33, it may also be the end of his ambition to overhaul Eddy Merckx’s record of 34 Tour stage wins. Cavendish stands second in the all-time list with 30. The Manxman was disqualified along with his dimension data teammate and long-term sprint lead-out man Mark Renshaw of australia, 35, and germany’s Marcel Kittel, 30, who has 14 Tour stage wins.