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Froome poised for third title as Izaguirre wins stage
MORZINE, FRANCE: Chris Froome enhanced his reputation as one of the best Tour de France riders when he virtually secured his third title, holding on to his overall
MORZINE, FRANCE: Chris Froome enhanced his reputation as one of the best Tour de France riders when he virtually secured his third title, holding on to his overall lead in the last competitive stage, won by Spain’s Ion Izagirre on Saturday.
Froome will wear the yellow jersey in the closing stage, a largely processional ride to the Champs Elysees in Paris on Sunday and is highly likely to join Belgium’s Philippe Thys, American Greg LeMond and France’s Louison Bobet on the list of triple winners.
Ahead of them are five-time champions Miguel Indurain of Spain, Belgian great Eddy Merckx, Frenchmen Bernard Hinault and Jacques Anquetil.
“It’s been a really intense race. It’s an incredible feeling to cross the finish line with my teammates, I want to thank them for their hard work, they’ve been with me every step of the way,” Froome said. The 31-year-old, who started the 146.5-km stage with a bandage on his right knee following a crash on Friday, was never threatened on a stormy and rainy day in the Alps.
He stayed safe on the slippery descents, well protected by his Sky team mates, and crossed the line with a relieved smile on his face.
Froome, who is set to become the first rider to retain his title since Indurain in 1995, leads France’s Romain Bardet by four minutes five seconds.
Nairo Quintana of Colombia, runner-up in 2013 and 2015, is third overall, 4:21 off the pace, while another Briton, Adam Yates, is fourth at 4:42 and will don the white jersey for the best under-25 rider in Paris.
Riders and officials, with German champion Andre Greipel in front of the peloton, observed a minute’s silence in tribute to the victims of Friday’s mass shooting in Munich before the start of the stage.
TOUR WIN AS GOOD AS THE FIRST, SAYS FROOME
Froome said this one feels as good as the first after all but wrapping up a third Tour de France title on Saturday.
“Right to the last finish line I had a lot of stress and a lot of emotion today,” said the 31-year-old Briton.
“To pass the last finish line with my team-mates, it was ouf ! Happiness, that’s it.
“Three weeks of full gas, after everything that has happened these last three weeks, it’s incredible -- the good moments and very difficult moments.”
Froome crashed twice during the Tour, finished one stage on a team-mate’s bike, on another he changed his bike twice in the last kilometre and most memorably ended up running to the line on the epic Mont Ventoux climb.
“The descent to Bagneres-de-Luchon and the one in the crosswinds things like that, you can’t script moments like that.”
