The Briton produced a stunning finish on the uphill 17 kilometre individual time trial from Sallanches to Megeve, which served as the Tour’s 18th stage, to extend his lead in the general classification standings and take another step towards a third title.
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Froome was only fifth fastest at the first time-check 6.5km into the race against the clock but was up to third by the second and had taken the lead by the third. “He’s the strongest”, said cycling great Eddy Merckx, a five-time Tour victor. “I think over these next couple of days we’re going to see more of a race for podium spots”.
In an article posted on Linkedin, Bert Blocken of the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands shows how he and other academics at KU Leuven, the University of Liège in Belgium, and ANSYS International used Computation Fluid Dynamics to compare four different riding positions: a time trial position, seated on the top tube (like Froome), seated in the saddle with your chest close to the bars, and a normal cycling position sitting upright with your hands on the hoods. I still have a lot of years ahead of me to fight for the ‘yellow jersey dream’.
“It was very hard today because of the heat”, Froome said. Given the big gaps which the Kenya-born rider has already opened up, the news does not bode well for his rivals.
With four stages remaining before the finish in Paris, Froome leads Bauke Mollema by 2 minutes 27 seconds overall.
He remains fourth with Mollema second at 2min 27sec and Yates third at 2:53.
Once the stage reached the mountains, Froome’s teammates deployed their usual tactics, moving to the front to set a sustained tempo and tire his rivals.
On the steep ramps leading to the line, Quintana, Yates and Mollema were unable to respond, and Froome accelerated.
Quintana first followed the defending champion’s frenetic pace but cracked after a few hundred meters.
Chris Froome finished on the wheel of former team mate Richie Porte (BMC), the Australian emerging as a potential podium finisher in Paris.
“I really want to be on the podium, so they’re the moves that you have to pull”, Porte said of his attack in the final kilometers on Wednesday, which helped him to gain back time on all GC contenders other than Froome.
“The main thing for me now is staying safe”, Froome acknowledged.
Stage 17, which started in Bern following the second and final rest day, features two major climbs in the final 30 kilometers. They reached the foot of the penultimate ascent, a 13-km climb to the Col de la Forclaz at an average gradient of 7.9 percent, with a 13-minute advantage.
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The day began with an early crash involving Quintana’s teammate Gorka Izaguirre, who was forced to abandon with a suspected fractured collarbone.
