Geschke wins 17th stage, Froome still leads Tour

Froome’s Sky team, meanwhile, have been urged to provide more information as the row with France 2 over their doping slurs rumbles on.

Froome passed another milestone on his way to the overall win.

By Jamey Keaten, The Associated Press on July 22, 2015.

Last week, France-2 ran a report quoting a doctor, Pierre Sallet, who it said works with statisticians for race organizer ASO, analyzing Tour riders’ performances.

“Alberto Contador lost more time in that final descent with his crash and you can only expect him to attack in the next few stages”. “But I did everything I could”.

Geschke continued to lead as the 6.2km ascent to Pra Loup began, with Talansky and Uran closest to him.

Throughout the early parts of the stage, van Garderen was having difficulty.

The 30-year-old Team Sky leader successfully countered attacks from nearest rival Nairo Quintana (Movistar) early and late on the 161-kilometres route as German Geschke won the stage.

“He’s disappointed. He would have liked to have finished this Tour”.

Tejay van Gaderen, who was third, is the highest-placed rider to abandon. He then got in the team vehicle and rode to the finish.

“The best day of my life as a rider”, he said of his win.

“There are still four big days in the Tour de France ahead of us”. Repeated tests by the UCI have found no evidence of this, but LeMond said cycling’s governing body was not doing enough.

It’s all over for Tejay van Garderen. This is the dream position, to be four racing stages away from the Champs-Elysees (on Sunday) with a decent advantage over most of my rivals.

BMC team officials wrapped their arms around his shoulders to comfort the 26-year-old American.

At about 40 kilometers into the 161-kilometer stage, van Garderen began to fall behind the main peloton. He struggled from the start in Digne-les-Bains, dropping two minutes back before tearfully climbing off his bike and into a team auto.

Drips of sweat rolling down his nose, Van Garderen was shown shaking his head as he rides. Although it’ll have taken plenty out of the German, he’ll be hopeful of making further impressions in the Alps as the tough climbs and skilful descents keep coming.

The 17th stage included a harrowing 16-kilometre (10-mile) descent that dealt perhaps the final blow to Alberto Contador’s distant hope of a third Tour victory and doused the ambitions of promising French rider Thibaut Pinot for a stage win.

BMC Racing manager Jim Ochowicz said the team would refocus and set some new goals for the remainder of the Tour.

Froome said after a spectator threw a cup of urine in his face on Saturday, that the febrile atmosphere created by “pseudo-scientists” was putting Sky’s riders at risk of attacks. The American had emerged as a real threat in the first week but apparently came down with illness on the rest day.

Froome responded to several attacks on the first-category Col de Allos and tenaciously followed a move by last year’s champion, Vincenzo Nibali, when the Italian charged away over the summit and on to the notoriously unsafe 16km descent.