Froome keeps opponents at bay, stays in control of Tour
ARCALIS: Through hail, heat and constant pressure from some of his main rivals, Chris Froome rode strong during the toughest stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France on Sunday.
The British rider’s furious pedalling in an uphill finish padded his lead over several opponents and put him in control with the yellow jersey entering the race’s first rest day yesterday.
“That was a tough stage and the weather made it even tougher,” Froome said. “One minute we were pouring water over our heads and ice packs down our backs and the next minute there was ice falling from the sky.
“We were just trying to ride face down so the hail didn’t hit our faces,” added Froome, who took the yellow jersey with a downhill attack and stage win a day earlier. “It was pretty difficult out there.”
Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the ninth leg with a solo breakaway on the beyond-category finishing climb.
Froome crossed 11th, 6:35 minutes behind Dumoulin, right behind fellow British rider Adam Yates and immediately ahead of top rival Nairo Quintana of Colombia.
“In the back of my mind I was waiting for [Quintana’s] attack all the way up the last climb,” Froome said. “I thought he was saving it for one big one. But that never came.
“I would like to think he was on his limit. It was a tough day out there. He just stuck to my wheel like glue.
“He seems to be going well but right now he’s not showing any more than anyone else,” Froome added.
In the overall classification, Froome holds a 16-second lead over Yates, with Dan Martin of Ireland third, 19 seconds behind, and Quintana fourth, 23 seconds back.
“It’s a very open race at this point but I’m very happy to have the lead going into the first rest day,” Froome said.
Two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out with a fever midway through the stage.
Among those who couldn’t keep up with Froome on the final climb were French favourite Romain Bardet, top American hope Tejay van Garderen and Fabio Aru of Italy.
Bardet is sixth overall, 44 seconds behind, Van Garderen is 11th with a gap of 1:01 minutes and Aru is 13th at 1:23 minutes.
Still, Froome hasn’t fully shaken Yates, Martin and Quintana.
“I feel that this is going to be the biggest battle of my career,” said Froome, who won the Tour in 2013 and 2015. “By no means did I expect this to be easy and that I would ride away from everyone. The level is higher.”
Yesterday was the race’s first rest day. Then there is one more stage in the Pyrenees today, a 197-kilometre leg from Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, to Revel, France.