Caution pays off for Froome
CAMBRAI, France — Having stayed safe on the treacherous cobblestones, Chris Froome cared little about conceding the race leader’s yellow jersey to Tony Martin in Tuesday’s fourth stage of an actionpacked Tour de France.
After crashing out of last year’s race early, following three crashes in two days, Froome had good reason to be nervous given that this stage featured seven sections of cobbles.
But the nightmare scenario never materialized, and the British rider repelled the attacks of defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali as the valiant Italian failed to claw back time on him.
“I wasn’t trying to show how strong I was on the cobbles today; it was about staying out of trouble,” said Froome, the 2013 Tour champion. “Congratulations to Tony for his late attack.”
Relieved after cruising through the final paved section, Froome did not chase as the German rider peeled away some 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the line to clinch a fifth Tour stage win and take the yellow after narrowly missing it on stage 1.
“While Tony’s a great time trialist, he’s not going to be there in the mountains,” Froome said. “I’m happy to see the jersey go to him rather than any of the big overall rivals.”
Relief after stage
Ferocious side-winds in stage 3, a huge crash on stage 4 that took down 20 riders and put five out of the race, and Tuesday’s cobbles have presented riders with a dangerous cocktail of hazards.
Froome has come through them unscathed and with a healthy edge on his rivals. He leads twotime Tour champion Alberto Contador by 36 seconds, Nibali by 1:38, and Colombian rider Nairo Quintana, the 2013 runner-up, by 1:56.
“We can all let off a big sigh of relief after today,” Froome said. “I know we’ll all be sleeping a lot better tonight.”
The 30-year-old Martin, a three-time world time trial champion who finished second to Rohan Dennis in stage 1’s time trial, fell into the arms of his teammates after the stage. Countryman John Degenkolb finished second, and Slovak Peter Sagan was third.
“All the pressure of the last days has come off,” said Martin, who was one second behind Froome overnight. “I was really on the limit. I got round the last corner, and I was surprised I could make it.”
He leads Froome by 12 seconds and American rider Tejay Van Garderen — shaping up as a dangerous outsider — by 25 seconds.
Nibali can’t nab lead
Nibali, who built last year’s win on the back of a brilliant performance on the slippery cobbles, failed repeatedly to crack Froome’s resistance.
“I don’t have any regrets,” Nibali said. “Froome is very strong.”
After losing time to Froome in stages 3 and 4, Nibali hoped to turn the tables, and his Astana teammates really started to speed up heading into the second cobble section.
But Froome was right behind and, refusing to be intimidated, right next to Nibali nearing the third set of cobbles.
Pushing hard, Nibali still had not gained time on Froome in the final three cobble sections, one of which caused Frenchman Thibaut Pinot to lose valuable time after a tire puncture.
Wednesday’s mostly flat fifth stage, over 189.5 kilometers (117.5 miles) from Arras to Amiens, will be a welcome relief after a demanding few days.