A relieved Froome heads to Paris to secure 3rd Tour title

Chris Froome and Team Sky lead the pack as the rain pours. I think I just hit one of the white lines on the road and lost my front wheel.

A minute of silence was held at the start of the stage to mourn the nine victims of Friday’s shooting in Munich.

Pantano, however, joined him near the top along with Izagirre, who came from behind, and the three went on to contest the stage win on the risky, wet descent.

“I wasn’t going to run to the finish but luckily they stopped a few hundred metres later and I got on this (bike), and that was that”.

It would be a tall order for second-place Romain Bardet should he launch an attack, but as Froome crossed the line, a grin emblazoned across his face, he knew that a third title was in the bag.

Two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana of Colombia is third, 4:21 behind.

Pantano nearly skidded off the road on the descent while Nibali was uncharacteristically tentative following his crash on Friday, allowing Izaguirre to ride clear and take the first stage win for a Spaniard in this Tour.

“I’m okay. I’m lucky nothing is seriously injured, I just lost a bit of skin obviously and banged my knee a bit”.

Fortunately his Sky team-mate, Geraint Thomas, was riding alongside and immediately swapped bikes with…

On Saturday, Froome just needs to push one more time before earning his victory ride on Sunday, where he will be showered with adulation and the congratulations of his peers in Paris.

“It’s been a really intense race….it was incredible to cross the last finish line with my teammates”, Froome said. With his jersey torn, blood dripping down his right leg, cuts and bruises on his back and blood on his right elbow, Froome understandably looked uncomfortable on Thomas’ bike.

“It feels like it’s been a rollercoaster, there have been wonderful moments where it feels like we’ve really taken on the race and made the race”, Froome added.

After effectively securing a third Tour de France title on Saturday, the Kenyan-born British rider has already turned his focus to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

“I still need to get the yellow jersey to Paris tomorrow but certainly the racing side is done and dusted”, he said.

In more ways than one, Adam as a 23-year-old has thrust us into this position sooner than we would have ever hoped and seeing young guys like him excel is fulfilling and always one of the most inspiring aspects of sport across the board, albeit at club level or on the world’s biggest annual sporting stage.

All of the general classification front runners remained in the peloton with Froome, and the pace was only increased when Roman Kreuziger had leapt from 12th to second overall, causing slight concern among the podium contenders. “It’s bike racing at its best….”