Chris Froome confirmed his absolute superiority as he won the Stage 18 uphill time trial from Sallanches to Megève. The yellow jersey rode 21 seconds faster than specialist Tom Dumoulin and significantly increased his lead on the GC.
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South Africans had their eyes on Louis Meintjes after the rider made it into the Top 10 on the GC in Finhaut-Emosson on Stage 17. Meintjes said he was looking forward to the 17km time trial as his ‘legs were feeling strong’ ahead of the stage. The South African riding for Lampre-Merida did not disappoint. After the time trial, Meintjes strengthened his overall position to 9th on the GC. He is also second overall in the Young Riders race.
Check out our exclusive interview with Meintjes here: EXCLUSIVE: ‘My Legs and Body Feel Good’ – Louis Meintjes
With two Alpine stages remaining, Bauke Mollema is at 3.52, Adam Yates at 4.16, Nairo Quintana at 4.37 and Romain Bardet at 4.57.
Alexis Gougeard impressed despite a crash
Successively, Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18), Lars Bak (Lotto-Soudal), Leigh Howard (IAM Cycling), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis) had the provisional best time. Gougeard’s performance was an interesting one as the French rookie had a crash with 100 metres to go. The young rider from AG2R-La Mondiale had put a lot of efforts in order to reassure himself after he had a few disappointments. Edet has a similar spirit as he also felt unlucky in his quest for the decisive breakaways in previous stages. Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Romain Sicard (Direct Energie), Jérôme Coppel (IAM Cycling) bettered Edet’s time. Coppel was the first rider to complete the 17km course in less than 32 minutes.
Ion Izagirre takes the lead
Spain’s national champion for time trial Ion Izagirre (Movistar) took the lead as 75 riders were yet to finish. He remained on the hot seat for one hour until Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) took over for only one second. It was another story when Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) set the new provisional best time, 41 seconds faster than the Belgian, after he put his name on top of all rankings at the three different check points. Dumoulin’s average speed was 32.83km/h.
Chris Froome finishes strongly
Chris Froome (Sky) took a cautious start as he clocked the fifth time atop the côte de Domancy (km 6.5) where fastest climber Richie Porte (BMC) took the 5000-euros Bernard Hinault price to recall the badger’s victory at the world championship in Sallanches in 1980. Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jan Janssen who also won the rainbow jersey in the city of Savoy followed Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) in the super VIP car. It encouraged the Frenchman to score the fifth best time on the finishing line and retain that same place overall. Froome gave it all in the second part of the race to claim his second stage win in the 103rd Tour de France after his downhill solo effort to Bagnères-de-Luchon in the Pyrenees.
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