Geraint Thomas fine after crash at the Tour de France

That sent the Sky rider thumping into the telephone pole.

“It was really about establishing yourself in the second week, and straight after the rest day Chris Froome did exactly that”.

Sagan risked everything on the descent in pursuit of a victory which instead went to Plaza.

His advantage was slender with around 40km to go, but he was wearing a skinsuit in order to gain an aerodynamic boost.

Sean Lee highlighted his consistency on Sunday, and there’s no reason to suggest that will change, except that I think it will. I have a hunch that Contador will seriously challenge Van Garderen because he won’t be able to match the Spaniard on those climbs.

“We were just coming into a tight right and everyone was braking”, Thomas told reporters after the stage.

“Then the mechanic came with the other one, so I jumped on that”, he said.

“I’m OK, I headbutted the wooden pole thing but luckily there was a barrier and it stopped me falling”. “As for the sprinters, [André] Greipel has performed better than expected and will have massive confidence going into the final stage” he says.

“I’m OK, I just hit my head on a lamppost but I’m alright”, said the chirpy 29-year-old, who reacted with typical dry humour.

My fiancee, Sara, was doing some commentary on the race for Welsh TV channel S4C and she started crying.

Nothing should be taken away from Plaza for his cunning, timely attack and ability to hold on despite the pressure. “It must bad”.

Kerrison revealed Team Sky shared more than one billion data points with UK Anti-Doping at the end of 2013 after scrutiny of Froome’s Tour-winning display.

These people don’t need to come.

Carlton Kirby has watched the race unfold from his place in the Eurosport commentary booth and has been hugely impressed by how Froome stamped his authority on the race.

It can be hard to keep your cool. They can be pretty aggressive.

Froome’s closest rival remains Nairo Quintana, trailing by 3:10. It is not like he is phenomenally different to anyone else. “Then the first day in the Pyrenees he absolutely crushed the opposition and he hasn’t shown any signs of weakness since”. Nothing you can do there.

The whole Tour has been a dream so far.

This col was raced during the Criterium du Dauphine, and AG2R’s Romain Bardet gained more than a minute over Chris Froome on the descent, before going on to win the stage.

“The race is definitely not over, as we could see today”, Froome added.

“Hopefully we’ve got the team to get the job done”. And Alberto Contador might be more than four minutes adrift but he knows how to fight and win a Tour. “Just before the corner, Tejay van Garderen hit me in the shoulder and my finger on the brake lever slipped. The CADF didn’t want it and UK Anti-Doping, I don’t think they did anything with it. But we were willing to give it to an independent body and we’d do the same now, we’ve got no problem with that at all“, Brailsford said.

It’s nice when you hear people saying I could be a future team leader.

Quote of the day: “I lost my glasses as well”.

It has been incredible. Froome, after all, has a Tour to win, while Thomas is just his support rider.

Mark Cavendish (Etixx-Quick Step) and Sir Bradley Wiggins (Team WIGGINS) will make their race debuts, and Cavendish’s sprint rival André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) is also confirmed in the line-up.