Richie Porte, Bauke Mollema and Nairo Quintana are the three nominated, but Froome should hang on and Quintana could well lose more time based on his form. “I gave everything. It’s really, really big for me”, said Zakarin, who is back at the top after a horror crash in this year’s Giro d’Italia.
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Colombian Quintana (Movistar), who has been lacking his usual stamina in the long climbs, is fourth, 3:27 off the pace after losing 28 seconds to Froome when he was expected to attack.
Chris Froome thinks there has been a “huge shift” in attitude towards him at the Tour de France this year after having to contend with doping allegations following his recent successes in the famous race.
“We were in disagreement with how the rules were applied but we need to turn the page and focus on what’s next”, Trek general manager Luca Guercilena said.
Unzue has been vainly scratching his head to find the winning formula that will allow his riders to crack Team Sky’s supremacy.
“It was very hard today because of the heat”, Froome said.
“I am asked why guys didn’t attack two stages ago (in the 14th stage of Culoz), but Fabio Aru, Alejandro Valverde and Romain Bardet did”.
And Froome has sensed that he has won over the doubters as he has taken on all comers once again in the 2016 edition of the Tour.
The peloton should be strung out on the final climb, with the GC men looking to limit their time losses ahead of the mountain time trial on stage 18. Instead, he’s built his lead with an impressive showing against the clock combined with master tactical coups in the Peyresourde downhill and the crosswinds near Montpellier. “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”.
But the 23-year-old Yates lost only 8sec to his compatriot Froome and is closing in on second place. As a result, he has slightly changed his preparation to be in a better shape in the final week of racing.
There appears to be no stopping defending champion Froome as he closes in on a third Tour de France title after he stretched his advantage over his rivals by 40 seconds.
“My yellow dream is over, but I’m just 26, and the riders in front of me have more experience”, said Quintana, who finished twice runner-up at the Tour behind Froome in 2013 and 2015.
Wednesday’s first Alpine stage takes the peloton on a 184.5-kilometer ride to the ski resort of Finhaut-Emosson, and features a punishing 10-kilometer final climb to the finish.
Then comes the traditional final stage, with a sprint finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where the Tour’s sprinters will look to get one final stage win in what is one of the most iconic finishes in the sport.
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“I feel as if I’ve been waiting for these four days”, Froome said.
