Zakarin rode clear of stage 15 victor Jarlinson Pantano of IAM Cycling and Tinkoff’s Rafal Majka in the king of the mountain’s polka dot jersey to collect his first Tour de France stage win.
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The Team Sky rider did not pay the price for that crash, as he now leads by four minutes and 11 seconds with only two stages remaining and will surely claim a third Tour title on Sunday.
” I could see Froome on the front and he was saying chill on the radio but he doesn’t do chill, does he?” “There’s never a tiresome day in the Tour”.
Friday’s 19th stage proved him right.
Unlike when he captured his first stage win in last year’s Tour, Bardet wanted to fully enjoy the experience this time.
“It’s not over until we cross that final finish line, but today is a huge boost of confidence”, Froome added.
Froome’s compatriot Adam Yates is third, 4:16 off the pace, as the race to the podium is set to heat up with at least five riders still in the mix for second place. Besides the flat opening four kilometers (2.5 miles) and a short descent at the finish, it was entirely uphill. “I was just trying to stay safe and out of trouble but I think I just hit a white line on the road and lost my front wheel”.
“I’m okay. I’m lucky, nothing is seriously injured”.
Froome was descending at a relatively cautious speed of nearly 45 kph (28 mph) when he fell.
With his yellow jersey now torn, cuts and bruises on his back and blood on his right elbow, Froome looked uncomfortable on Thomas’ bike.
“It was great to have all the team around me, Wout Poels in particular. It was a great team effort and it feels great to be one day closer to Paris”.
Dumoulin sat in the hot seat for one and a half hours on Thursday waiting to see if any rider would beat his time.
“I slid out and was on the ground, ” Mollema said. “I’m 10th now, but that was not the goal”.
Riding alone toward the host country’s first victory in this Tour de France, Romain Bardet switched his focus from the road to the eyes of the spectators behind the barriers.
“I rode with my instinct”.
“Mika told me we should try something in the descent from Domancy and we just went”.
Mollema started the stage two minutes, 27 seconds behind Froome but finished 85 seconds adrift and is now nearly four minutes back.
“It’s been a very hard Tour for Nairo”, Froomesaid after the Colombian lost another 28 seconds.
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The Movistar rider is fourth overall, 4:37 behind Froome.
