Champion elect Chris Froome to Reclaim Tour de France Crown

Team Sky's Chris Froome is all but assured of a second Tour de France crown following Saturday's penultimate stage.

 
Chris Froome
Chris Froome
Photo by Getty Images
Chris Froome will reclaim the Tour de France title on Sunday after ending the penultimate stage at the top of the general classification.
The Team Sky rider valiantly kept touch with closest rival Nairo Quintana of Movistar on the approach to Alpe d'Huez on Saturday, eventually finishing one minute and 20 seconds behind the determined Colombian in a thrilling finish.
With only the traditional procession to Paris to come, Froome's lead of just over a minute in the general classification is enough to all but assure him of a second Tour crown.
Froome last won the yellow jersey in 2013 but his defence of the title came to a heartbreaking end as he crashed out last year.
His route back to glory has not been without its setbacks. The Kenya-born rider has been plagued in recent weeks by accusations of doping - vehemently denied by Froome and Team Sky.
Froome also claims to have been spat on and had urine thrown in his face during the 21-stage race, but he showed tremendous grit and determination to deny Quintana a dramatic victory.
Thibaut Pinot won stage 20 by 18 seconds from Quintana.
Lars Bak, Nicolas Edet, Alexandre Geniez and Ramunas Navardauskas mounted an ambitious early break, with the peloton happy to allow the quartet to take the race at their own pace.
The leading four were more than seven minutes clear by the time they reached the foot of Col de la Croix de Fer, before Lampre-Merida's Ruben Plaza Molina decided to break from the chasing group and the peloton scattered somewhat.
The peloton then started to close the gap on the leaders and Alejandro Valverde made a break, soon followed by team-mate Quintana.
Team Sky prevented Quintana from building too big an advantage and, after Froome had left his supporting cast behind in pursuit of the Colombian, the British outfit acted to re-establish order.
Meanwhile, out in front, leader Geniez tired and FDJ's Pinot moved into top spot.
The persistent Quintana, with the help of Valverde, tried time and again to make a telling break as the race entered its final 12km, but Froome and Sky repeatedly reeled in the Movistar man.
And Quintana's best efforts ultimately proved to be in vain as - in his chase of stage winner Pinot - he failed to open up a big enough gap over Froome on the challenging final climb, with the Sky rider adding the polka-dot jersey to his maillot jaune.
Peter Sagan clinched the green jersey as the top sprinter on the Tour, while Quintana topped the young rider classification - scant consolation for missing out on the top prize

Share this

Related Posts

Previous
Next Post »

2 komentar

komentar
29 November 2015 pukul 11.36 delete Komentar ini telah dihapus oleh pengarang.
avatar
19 Maret 2016 pukul 23.44 delete

Forex is available virtually on-demand. Forex is open for trading 24 hours a day for 5 days each week; making it available for every single trader to participate on-demand, on their schedule (and not during specific market times). This is the perfect opportunity to trade only when it's convenient for you!To know more visit my website Hot Forex Signals

Reply
avatar