The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic, ranked by the UCI as a major one day circuit, will be shown live on BBC television for the fourth successive year.
Advertisement
The 31-year-old had effectively sealed victory by staying upright on Saturday’s stage 20 to Morzine ahead of Sunday’s largely processional stage.
Tour de France victor Chris Froome of Britain cycles past the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday.
“I’ve won it three times and I can categorically say the novelty is not wearing off”.
“To be here in the yellow jersey and taking it to the Arc (de Triomphe) is every cyclist’s dream”.
With disgraced American Lance Armstrong’s seven wins between 1999-2005 expunged from the record books after he admitted to doping, the record of five Tour wins is held jointly by Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Belgium’s Eddy Merckz and Miguel Indurain of Spain. “I think he can win many more Tours”. Riders were attacking until the end, but no one could pull back a very determined Romain Bardet who took France’s first stage victory of this years Tour.
“He is the best at the moment”, Merckx said.
The Tour may not have been as good as 2014 for home riders, but the resurgence is no fluke since Bardet is only the seventh Frenchman on the podium since Bernard Hinault, the last French victor back in 1985, came second in 1986.
There is a possibility that Froome could claim double gold at the Olympic Games of time trial and the road race.
The flamboyant Slovak rider, who does not have the climbing qualities to compete for the general classification, won three stages and clinched the best sprinter’s green jersey for the fifth consecutive time. “If anyone can do it, he can do it of all those people there at the Tour”. “There’s nearly 1,000 metres of climbing, it’s 60 kilometres in length and it’s extremely tough”.
Having won the bronze medal in the Olympic time trial at the London Olympics four years ago, Froome will be looking to improve on that achievement in Brazil.
Meanwhile, another crash on the 146 kilometer stretch of road between Albertville and Saint-Gervais-les-Bains on stage 19, saw Team Sky teammate, Geraint Thomas, selflessly give Froome his bike to enable him to push on and increase his overall lead.
“It’s more of a gamble”, said Froome.
Elected the super combative rider of the Tour, world champion Peter Sagan livened up the race on a daily basis with his bold attacks and breakaways.
“The fact that the three-time victor of the Tour de France views this race as the flawless preparation for his bid for Olympic gold shows the calibre of the race we have developed in just three years. With the looks of the team that we’ve got, the inclusion of Steve Cummings, we can be competitive, and to have a result there would be phenomenal”.
Sky’s dominance meant it was not perhaps a vintage battle for yellow, but there were other great stories: the return of Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) to the top table with four sprint wins, Bardet’s second place, Adam Yates’s emergence as a grand tour contender.
Advertisement
“I think for quite a lot of reasons, I’ve put that to rest now”, Froome said.
