Bardet wins Stage 18, Froome still on top

ONE OF the revelations of last year’s Tour de France won yesterday’s 18th stage, the second in the Alps, with a masterclass in attacking climbing and daredevil descending. He just didn’t expect that would happen when he was stopped by the side of the road.

Stopping short of saying Nibali should have waited for him, Froome said: “It was nearly as if my mechanical (problem) provoked his attack”.

Froome was willing to let Nibali get away – within limits.

Fellow American Tejay van Garderen, who was third overall as the stage began, pulled out of the race with a headache and a lack of energy after fighting a respiratory infection for several days.

“We’re taking nothing for granted – tomorrow’s stage is going to be critical, with such a hard start (a monster category one climb up the Col de Chaussy), and we could see a lot of riders in a breakaway”. “So rather than hunt down the Movistar rider, Froome rode steadily, telling himself: “‘I don’t need to panic but I do need to keep something in reserve.'”.

Though the leader kept bleeding time in the final kilometer, Nibali held on for the stage win.

“One of the hardest days for me”, Tinkoff-Saxo’s Contador said. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) also tried to shake up the GC, attacking in the final five kilometers to distance Chris Froome (Sky), but it was not enough to take the yellow jersey after the 138km day.

There was other unpleasantness out on the road.

On Thursday the Team Sky leader was questioned again in the post-race press conference, this time about his connections to a Monaco-based doctor with an eclectic client list.

“He did see what he was doing”, said Froome. His own podium ambitions were of secondary importance.

With just two stages left in which to make a difference, Quintana is the only realistic rival to Froome in most people’s minds.

“My goal wasn’t necessarily just to win the Tour de France”.

“No, I definitely do not hate being in this position”, he said. I had to stop and get it out before I could continue.

It was Nibali’s fifth Tour stage victory.

“It’s sad for me to leave a special race like Le Tour de France“, Michal Kwiatkowski said.

Froome’s Sky teammate Geraint Thomas moved up from sixth to fourth, vaulting over Contador, and is 6:34 behind his team leader.

“I do think a few commentators have behaved irresponsibly and should be more cautious about what they say”, points out Julien Pretot, of Reuters, who has covered 10 Tours. In my opinion, it’s very unsportsmanlike.

It’s not in the spirit of the Tour de France.

“He’s still got very good legs”, Froome said. The 2007 and 2009 champion was forced to swap bikes with teammate Peter Sagan, and rode in more than two minutes after Froome. But Nibali was long gone, chasing after French rider Pierre Rolland, who summited the Croix de Fer pass first.

A 29-man breakaway started proceedings earlier in the day but that was shredded on the Glandon, which, although averaging only a 5.1 percent gradient, had parts reaching 10 percent.

The descent off the Col de la Croix de Fer proved tricky, with Rolland, Nibali and Valverde all coming close to crashing on the same left-hand corner.

Drips of sweat rolling down his nose, Van Garderen was shown shaking his head as he rides.

With the time clawed back, Nibali jumped to fourth place, now 6:44 behind Froome. Third-placed Alejandro Valverde is 1:19 ahead of the Italian.