The two-time Tour victor, one of the pre-race favourites, climbed into the Tinkoff team vehicle with 100 kilometres of the 184.5km ninth stage between Vielha Val d’Aran and Andorre Arcalis. His group of rivals is dwindling. Albeit with a double negative, Brailsford agreed that Yates has the potential to win the Tour in future: “You can’t say he can’t be the next British Tour victor”.
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Chris Froome had to survive pyrotechnics in the Pyrenees after opening Andorra’s box and hanging on to his Yellow Jersey in a violent hailstorm. Going into the first rest day in yellow.
“I’d like to think he was on his limit but he just stuck to my wheel like glue”. “Couldn’t be in a better place right now”.
Froome might lead the race overall on the first rest day, but he does so with a slender lead of just 16 seconds.
Movistar contender Quintana and Alejandro Valverde will test the efficiency and power of Team Sky in which Froome will ride along his lieutenants to bring him into a ideal attack few kilometers to the finish.
Given the conditions in which the riders came home three hours later, Contador was wise to call it a day when he did.
“It’s going to be interesting to see who’s really going to go that deep for the victory there, or are people going to be waiting a little bit knowing there’s a time trial the next day?”
Thomas told ITV4: “It’s been a tough week”.
“It definitely made it harder for us”. We were put under pressure by Contador and Valverde in the first climb but we didn’t panic.
Addressing his impressive Grand Tour form, he added: “It’s very, very special”. “We’re in a good position, but everyone within a couple of minutes is a threat at the moment”.
“It’s hard in the heat, so with the rain it’s actually quite nice”.
This tactic played out differently at the end of Stage 9, and the team might find itself regretting the decision, for it may have prevented Froome from gaining more time on his rivals.
And he recognised that compared with his victories in 2013 and 2015, this year’s Tour could be a much tougher challenge.
The Union Flag has flown high during the first week of the Tour de France as British riders enjoy record success.
There was more bad news for Alberto Contador, as the two-time race victor abandoned the race after suffering crashes and illness earlier in the week.
The escape group fragmented on the penultimate climb, the Col de Beixalis, with Dumoulin making his move in the valley before the concluding ascent.
Portugal s Rui Costa took second 38sec back with Rafal Majka of Poland third. The touch paper was lit by Froome’s team-mate, Sergio Henao.
Repeated attacks, from all angles bar Quintana, followed.
When the main pack reached the line 4 1/2 minutes later, Quintana and Froome were seen patting each other on the back and talking to each other, likely about the incident with the inflatable device.
With Froome in yellow, Yates is on the same time as third-placed Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha.
Froome had to respond to any acceleration and answered every question posed.
Significantly, both Adam Yates and McLay are former recipients of the Dave Rayner Fund, a charity set up to support young British riders trying to make it on the Continent, and whose early beneficiaries included David Millar and Charly Wegelius.
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Contador was one of four riders to abandon on the day. “He’s a lot more comfortable with you guys, he’s more comfortable with himself”.
