Fabio Aru (Astana) avoided any problems on the testing stage through the Massif Central to Le Puy-en-Velay, helping him overcome the disappointment of losing the yellow jersey in Rodez and giving time to focus on the decisive stages in the Alps which will reveal if he can topple Chris Froome and win the Tour de France.
Aru smiled broadly at the start of the stage and again at the finish, despite the aggressive day of racing produced by Romain Bardet's AG2R-La Mondiale squad. Aru finished with Froome and his other overall rivals, with only Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) managing to escape and gain 14 seconds. The Sardinian remains just 18 seconds down on Froome, with Bardet third at 23 seconds and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) fourth at 29 seconds.
A Tour de France has never been so close as the riders enjoy the final rest day with just six stages left to race. Despite his disappointment of Rodez, Aru knows he has never had and perhaps never will have a better chance of winning the Tour de France.
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"I always try to smile, even after a difficult day. You never know when you are going to gain time or lose time. You can't let it get you down," Aru prophesied, now wearing the red, white and green Italian national champion's jersey after losing the yellow jersey.
"There's no point in looking back at yesterday and what happened, we've got to look forward to the rest of the race and the remaining six stages. Now on it'll be up to another team to control the race. We'll sit on the wheels for now and see what happens.
"There are still six stages to go and the final week is testing, with two big mountain stages. We're going to enjoy the rest day and then think about the rest of the race."
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