The Col du Portet Tour finds its worthy master in Welsh for this edition – Froome goes haywire in the last km and is also overtaken in the standings by Dumoulin
The Tour has waited the highest peak at 2215 meters on the Col du Portet to finally know what it is Geraint Thomas his only master. The other vying to be one, Chris Froome, for four editions of the last five years a sort of dictator in the running, raised the white flag right in the last two km of the mountain that dominates Saint-Lary Soulan: with his legs no longer responding more to the impulses of the brain, Froome was unable to react when Primoz Roglic sprinted for the second time, immediately chased and joined by Thomas and Dumoulin. At that moment it became clear that the goal of hitting his fifth Tour was getting out of hand for the white Kenyan. Only about ten hairpin bends before, Roglic had always offered Froome an assist for a stretch even on Thomas, justified by the need to chase a dangerous rival for the standings. But it was a smoothie that soon ran out also because it was Tom Dumoulin who covered the hole by dragging the yellow jersey behind him.
The one that climbed in the last meters of the Col du Portet, following the trusty Bernal - the man of the future of Team Sky - was a draft of the terrific Froome striker on the Colle delle Finestre in the amazing breakaway towards Bardonecchia which earned him his first success in the Giro d'Italia. Tongue hanging out, it was quite the picture of surrender. In front Geraint Thomas, having gotten the go-ahead from the cumbersome ex-captain, was doing the devil at four demonstrating a strength and form that legitimize his leadership on the Tour. The Welshman in yellow also managed to win the 4 second bonus of third place , 5” ahead of Roglic and Dumoulin. Froome arrived with Landa 48” after his former squire, also preceded by Kruijswijk and Bernal himself. “I'm disappointed – these are his first words after the finish line. I no longer had the right legs. Thomas deserves to win this Tour. From tomorrow we will all race to protect his yellow jersey”. Thomas now leads the standings with 1'59” on Dumoulin who overtook Froome who dropped to third place at 2'31” and threatened for the podium by Roglic just 16”. A decisive step on the road to final triumph but Thomas avoids the triumphalistic tones that would be out of tune with Froome. “The Tour must be faced day by day. I knew Froome wasn't looking great. There's a real friendship between us, it's different from what happened years ago between Chris and Bradley Wiggins, but I also understand his disappointment ”.
Thomas's hands on the Tour take away space and the spotlight on Nairo Quintana's return to success, finally back to spreading the wings of the Condor: apart from the victory in Arosa in the last Tour de Suisse, he was from the Block-Haus stage of the Tour of last year we didn't see the little Colombian grimpeur dominating a race like yesterday, on the toughest climb of the Tour: sprinted from the group of big names 14 km from the finish, Quintana first reached Valverde – the teammate sent in advance by Movistar as a point support for a possible attack by the Condor or Landai – and then Kangert on the run from the start of the shortest stage of the Tour. A few hairpin bends and the Colombian left the company, setting up a solo climb that finally made the teamwork come true up in smoke in many previous stages. The Condor crossed the finish line first with 28” on Daniel Martin., a tough Irishman who never gives up, winner on the Mur de Bretagne. Third at 47” came the yellow jersey, stealing the show from the Colombian.
The Tour, four days before the Parisian catwalk, has practically awarded the most important jerseys. Only Thomas can now lose the yellow one, who shouldn't struggle to defend it in tomorrow's last Pyrenean stage – from Lourdes to Laruns – with the last col, the Aubisque, 20 km from the finish – and in the 31 km time trial of Saturday. The ranking for the best climber sees Julian Alaphilippe in the white jersey with red polka dots increasingly in the points again yesterday by breaking away with Kangert on Peyrousourde-Peyragudes and Val Louron-Azet. Barguil is now out of the game so much so that Alaphilippe immediately pulled the oars in the boat on the final climb of the Col du Portet, a mountain more suitable for a Colombian Condor than a Cricket, as the Frenchman is nicknamed – Cricket. A stage full of risks for the green jersey firmly secured on Sagan's shoulders: the world champion, who slipped on the Val Louron-Azet Risk descent, arrived well within the maximum time but with bad bones. Radiographs ruled out fractures. His sixth green shirt in the safe for days seems to be safe.
