His team-mate Mark Cavendish, victor of four stages in this Tour, stayed with the final group on the cobbled climb but did not have the legs to engage in the sprint and rolled home in 22nd place.
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Meanwhile, Froome paid tribute to Peter Sagan after the world champion claimed his third win of this year’s Tour by sprinting to victory on stage 16.
Tuesday was a rest day.
Froome kept his 1-minute, 47-second lead over Dutch rider Bauke Mollema, with Britain’s Adam Yates in third, 2:45 behind.
“Other teams have said they’re going to attack this week in the Alps and I expect they will”, he said.
“Coming into this last week, myself personally I feel more ready for this third week than in previous editions”, he said.
Cavendish has opted to leave the Tour early, ahead of Sunday’s conclusion in Paris, to focus on his dream of achieving gold at the Rio Olympics next month.
Quitting the race before the Alps was always a likely scenario for Cavendish once he had completed the stages that he could realistically compete in. “We need to wait for the right time, for the moment that will allow us to be efficient, when we make a move”, he added.
“It’s one day at a time”, said the Kenyan-born British rider.
The 208.5km stage from Montelimar had finished with a three kilometre straight directly into a headwind which broke up the sprint trains, and Cavendish bided his time as he lurked behind the big frame of Kittel.
“Last year he made up a lot of time in the final week, and I expect he’s gonna to be one of the main guys putting us under pressure these next few days”, said Froome, who is much less anxious by his compatriot, the 23-year-old Yates. “In Andorra and at the Ventoux, he did not attack to create gaps, I believe that he is not as strong as he was before”.
“Today it was just about not taking any risks”, Froome said.
Froome has disputed suggestions that other riders have been unwilling to challenge the Team Sky rider and his team-mates.
“I’m in good condition and it is a hard four-day block coming up after the rest day”. To say the Tour is won and I don’t have any rivals. that’s rubbish.
“I was not waiting for the results, I thought I was second until they came and told me I had won”, Sagan said.
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Swiss Sebastien Reichenbach, who started the Tour as Frenchman Thibaut Pinot’s lieutenant, was the best-placed rider in the overall standings as he started in 17th place, 11:41 off the pace.
