Froome slips, but lead still secure

SAINT- AMAND- MONTROND, France — Wily Tour de France riders used the wind and worked together to trap their rivals, turning a trek across the flats of central France into a thriller Friday.

Yellow jersey holder Chris Froome lost a chunk of his race lead but not enough to gravely endanger the Briton heading toward what is shaping up to be an intriguing finale in the Alps. The team of Alberto Contador pushed the two-time champion back into the game, putting him close enough to Froome to make the last week interesting. A rear-wheel failure at the worst time dropped Alejandro Valverde from second place to out of contention in 16th place. And Mark Cavendish got a 25th stage win to lift the British sprinter to a third-place tie on the all-time list in cycling’s premier race.

Much of Friday’s mischief was cooked up by two teams — Belkin and Omega Pharma- QuickStep — that shared a hotel Thursday night. With two-thirds of the stage left, when the pack often pre- fers to take things easy and let breakaway riders speed ahead for a while, Omega powered as a group to the front. They soon got support from Belkin. Their sudden acceleration and sustained high speed caught dozens of other riders off guard. The breeze blowing across the long, undulating straights made it impossible for stragglers to catch up. Among them was Marcel Kittel, winner of three stages at this Tour.

Belkin rider Sep Vanmarcke said his Dutch team long ago identified this stage as a chance to spring a trap. “We had planned this. The team leaders knew exactly where we would go,” he said.

Valverde’s rear wheel broke with more than 50 miles to ride. He and his Movistar teammates tried but failed to catch up. Valverde suggested he might seek revenge on teams — naming Belkin and Europcar — that didn’t slow up for him, saying: “Maybe we can make the race tougher for those who didn’t help me today and made it so I couldn’t catch up.”

Froome disapproved of the way Valverde was eliminated.

“I just hope that no team would do that to me if I had a mechanical problem,” said the Team Sky leader.

LAURENT REBOURS / ASSOCIATED PRESS Mark Cavendish of Britain tied for third all time in Tour de France stage wins Friday with his 25th. “My team did an incredible job,” Cavendish said. “They rode themselves into the ground.”