We have reached the end credits without the film of the Tour ever having as exciting and convincing as it was in the premises. One stage after another without ever a surprise like in western movies where you could doze off and eat popcorn anyway in the end John Wayne always won. In Morzine Chris Froome finally got his hands on his third Tour without having to work overtime as he did as a Martian in 2013, a trio that puts him on the same level as three other pre-war champions such as Belgian Philippoe Thys (1913-14- 20) and from a more or less distant past such as Louison Bobet (1953-54-55) and Greg Lemond (1986-89-90). Froome was too strong, the competition too resigned: the fact remains that the Tour seemed like a blockbuster emptied of pathos. The path doesn't matter. Indeed, never before have the organizers scoured all the heights of the Exagone as this year to look for new and not easy ascents. Yesterday's stage was also a mountain festival: but if Froome's rivals are at his wheel, happy with the place they occupy in the top ten, almost fearful that in the event of an attack the master will beat them with his lethal shakes. there is little to do. So also in Morzine, in the last Alpine stage with the dreaded Col de Joux-Plane nothing happened that changed the podium decided by the previous stage of Saint-Gervais. The vertical collapse of Fabio Aru causes a sensation: due to a crisis of hunger and cold in the rain he practically planted himself at the beginning of the last hors catégorie of the Tour: an ordeal up to Morzine where he arrived over 17 minutes late by the winner, Ion Izagirre who in extremis gave Spain its first victory in this Tour.
Only Italy, among the historical nations of the pedal, remains dry. A nightmare day for Aru – mirroring the one he inflicted on Tom Dumoulin in the penultimate stage of his triumphant Vuelta – which dropped him from sixth to 13th place in the standings almost 20 minutes behind Froome. And to think that yesterday Astana had also put the group to the whip by making the train, with Vincenzo Nibali acting as a bridgehead in the breakaway of the day, ready to act as a beacon for a possible extension of Aru. A strategy that worked perfectly for the crush of the Sardinian even if Nibali proudly tried to win the stage by extending on the Joux-Plane, but in the descent – after yesterday's slip next to Froome – the Shark admitted he was scared preferring not to risk it on the slippery road from the rain. Izagirre and Pantano have thus reached and passed him. For the Italian champion a third place at 42” which bodes well for the Rio Olympic competition. In a piecemeal fashion, after Nibali, other survivors of the initial escape arrived such as Alaphilippe, Rui Costa and Kreuziger (who is back in the top ten after having been virtually in the podium area for a long time). The first of the so-called big names to cross the finish line 3'24” behind Izagirre was Purito Rodriguez, who has returned to health in the last few days, climbing up to seventh place in the general standings. Daniel Martin set Froome's squad at 4'12 with Quintana, Bardet, Porte, Valverde and Yates. The Tour was over. Froome was more careful not to be surprised by the pitfalls of the road than by his opponents. In the dive into Morzine he avoided all risk. And Quintana and his team took good care not to create problems for the master of the Tour. The podium remained identical to the one fixed at the end of the Saint-Gervais stage won in a big way by Romain Bardet, who keeps second place 4'05” from Froome which is his best performance in the Tour after the third place behind Nibali and Jean-Christophe Péraud in 2014. Even Quintana, a condor without grit and without sprint, despite disappointing as never happened to him, will climb the podium from third today in Paris , a step down from last year's second place finish. Fourth Yates who despite leaving the podium area is the deserved white jersey of the best young under 25. Fifth Porte at 5'17”. Sixth at 6'16” is Valverde – the grand old only one in the top ten who also struggled in the Giro where he got on the podium as third; seventh Rodriguez at 6'58”; eighth with the same gap as Purito, Louis Meintjes, the first South African to enter the top ten of the Tour; ninth at 7'04” the Irishman Daniel Martin; Roman Kreuziger closes the top ten at 7'11” overtaking the unfortunate Bauke Mollema, finished 11th, who also had a difficult stage yesterday after the crash in the Saint Gervais stage.
