Under the Tour’s unwritten code of chivalry, rivals aren’t supposed to attack the yellow jersey if he crashes, pauses to relieve himself or, in this case, suffers a bike problem.
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Nibali made his move six kilometres from the top of the gruelling ascent to the col de la Croix de Fer and did not look back.
Even if it isn’t a thing of beauty, he is one hard day of racing from winning his second Tour de France.
Television images showed Nibali turning around just before he attacked but the Sicilian insisted he hadn’t seen Froome.
Valverde held on to third place, 5:25 behind Froome, but Nibali overtook Contador to move into fourth, 6:44 adrift.
Froome followed a surge by defending champion Vincenzo Nibali and the pair caught Quintana and Valverde on the long descent, which flattened out in the valley approaching Alpe-d’Huez.
“Alpe-d’Huez is a climb I’d like to settle a record with”, he said.
He admitted to being surprised by how well Froome defended his lead, but said he would attack again on Saturday. “For my part, I used my experience more than anything else to limit the damage in spite of my cramps”.
Victor Petri of the Tinkoff Saxo Bank team said Valgren was coughing at the start of Friday’s 19th stage and wasn’t feeling well, but had wanted to race anyway.
“It was a tough day for the team, and tough for Geraint losing a lot of time”.
“There were so many emotions, there were moments when I thought I could be in danger”, he admitted to Eurosport. “Tomorrow, maybe we will try from a little bit further away”.
“He’s young, he’s very strong and has a great mentality”.
By the end, though, Quintana had come up short on both counts.
“When Quintana attacked, I didn’t start panicking”.
The “next logical step” said the Sky head, Sir Dave Brailsford, will be for him to lead at the Giro or Vuelta, but probably not until next year, with Froome expected to ride the Vuelta. “I just went into TT mode”. With others attacking all around, Froome will have to pick who to chase and who to let go of carefully.
“I think the Tour de France suits him best because of the character of the climbs, and there’s no saying he won’t soon be a leader in his own right”.
In what is going to be a cracker of a stage, Chris Frooome goes in holding an advantage of 2:40 over Nairo Quintana in the General Classification. Unlike the Montvernier Laces, the most iconic climb in cycling will be teeming with fans.
Froome finally saw the victory line come into sight as he crossed clearly shattered from his efforts.
“I was just empty today”, Thomas said.
Froome said he didnt see the man but called his behavior appalling. Earlier in the Tour, Froome said another spectator threw a cup of urine at him and another punched his teammate Richie Porte.
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It’s not the first time Froome has been targeted during the Tour, with the 30-year-old claiming a spectator threw urine at him during stage 14. “At this point, the focus is on the yellow jersey, and keeping that on my shoulders”. Although there has been no Dutch win since Gert-Jan Theunisse in 1989, fans from the Netherlands still flock in their droves – gathering most noticeably at the seventh of 21 hairpins, which has been christened Dutch Corner. Already in control of the white jersey as well as what will be his second runner-up result in three years, the Colombian will be gunning for the victory.
